> Whenever I go to the US, I have a shopping list to restock our medicine cabinet
Ha, that's funny, I do something kind of like that when I go to the UK. Though it's just one medicine -- Kwells. Easily available OTC there, not available at all here in the US except as a prescription-only transdermal patch.
Aha! I have heard Americans say they buy Buscopan for IBS when in the Uk as it’s not available at all in the US and it has the same active ingredient! I had no idea it was good for nausea too.
I think Buscopan is different. Apparently hycosine hydrobromide (Kwells, Scopolamine) can cross the blood-brain barrier, while hyoscine butylbromide (Buscopan, a derivative of hycosine hydrobromide) cannot. The effect on the body seems pretty dissimilar.
I think it is generally pretty effective for most people. Science says it is roughly comparable to hycosine.
For me, I find that one Dramamine I (dimenhydrinate) pill is very effective at preventing motion sickness, but it will put me to sleep quite reliably a couple hours later. Two pills and I can play Unreal Tournament 2004 until I'm too tired to sit up. I'd be quite concerned though with 3 or 4 pills about hallucinations -- and from my understanding, the hallucinations you get on dimenhydrinate are not good.
Dramamine II (aka Less Drowsy), which is meclizine, is a little less effective but usually adequate, but still reliably makes me really sleepy the rest of the day.
Kwells (hycosine) is the least effective overall for me, but I can take a little more if I need to, and it does not make me drowsy at all. I would take original dramamine every time based on effectiveness if not for the drowsy part.
Ha, that's funny, I do something kind of like that when I go to the UK. Though it's just one medicine -- Kwells. Easily available OTC there, not available at all here in the US except as a prescription-only transdermal patch.