Key takeaways
Scopolamine (Transderm Scop) and Sancuso (granisetron) are both prescription medications used to prevent nausea and vomiting, but they have different uses and ways of working. Scopolamine is an anticholinergic that blocks acetylcholine to prevent nausea from motion sickness and surgery, while Sancuso is an antiemetic that blocks serotonin to prevent nausea from chemotherapy. Scopolamine comes as a patch you place behind your ear and lasts up to 3 days, whereas Sancuso is a patch for your upper arm that lasts up to 7 days. Scopolamine can cause side effects like dry mouth, dizziness, and sleepiness, while Sancuso might cause constipation and skin reactions. Scopolamine is available as a lower-cost generic, but Sancuso can be very expensive. Both patches need to be applied ahead of time, but Sancuso requires more caution with heat and sunlight exposure.
