A 7-year-old girl suffered from psychosis due to an overdose of an anti-motion sickness patch containing scopolamine

On May 3, 2026, the Infectious Diseases Department of Children's Hospital 2 (No. 14 Ly Tu Trong, Saigon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) received the case of 7-year-old P.L.D.A, admitted to the hospital because of insomnia and chattering all night. The baby shows symptoms of acute mental disorder: staying up all night, talking nonsense, losing behavioral control, sometimes crawling on the floor or collapsing suddenly, and at the same time the baby has a fever of 38.2 degrees Celsius.

The cause is Scopolamine overdose:

Through a thorough examination and conversation with the family, the doctor discovered an important "clue": at noon on May 2, 2026, the baby and his mother traveled from the countryside to Ho Chi Minh City and the mother and child used motion sickness patches containing the ingredient scopolamine. Due to traffic jams and fearing that the baby would be tired, the mother placed two stickers on the back of the baby's ears during the 5-hour trip and removed the stickers after arriving home. Meanwhile, the recommended dose for children over 8 years old or people under 40kg is ½ piece. The doctor carefully examined and ruled out dangerous causes of meningoencephalitis, and determined that this could be a case of side effects of scopolamine. The baby was placed in the emergency room to closely monitor the progress of the disease. Psychotic symptoms of baby D.A. gradually decreased after 12 hours of monitoring, so the patient was transferred to a normal room. After 3 days in the hospital, the symptoms gradually disappeared, and the girl was as alert and active as before she got sick.

Advice from doctors:

BSCK1 Tran Ngoc Luu warns that the scopolamine ingredient in motion sickness patches can cause side effects such as: dry mouth, dizziness, drowsiness, agitation, impaired vision, confusion, dilated pupils, severe cases can have acute psychotic symptoms (disorientation, hallucinations, paranoia), memory loss, language disorders, malignant hyperthermia, etc. Severe symptoms often appear in children and the elderly. Instructions for use from the manufacturer note that motion sickness patches containing scopolamine should not be used for children under 8 years old and the dose should be reduced for children or people weighing less than 40kg. Parents need to be very careful when using any medicine for children, always read the instructions for use, indications and contraindications carefully before using it for children. When you see anything unusual in your child after using medicine in general and the anti-motion sickness patch containing scopolamine in particular, such as high fever, behavioral changes, rash, etc., parents need to take their child to a medical facility immediately for a careful examination and evaluation. At the same time, inform the doctor about the drug use history, bring the medicine package or take a photo of the medicine label.

What is Scopolamine:

Scopolamine (also known as hyoscine hydrobromide) is a chemical compound belonging to the tropane alkaloid group, with strong anticholinergic effects (parasympathetic nerve inhibition). In medicine, it is used legally under control to treat nausea, vomiting, motion sickness and symptoms related to surgery. However, due to its ability to cause nerve paralysis, temporary memory loss and submissive behavior, it is also known by the dangerous nickname "devil's breath" (burundanga) and is often exploited by criminals.

Medical uses of scopolamine:

Scopolamine is often prepared as a patch behind the ear, oral medication or injection with the following main effects:

Source bvnd2