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Online doctor

All it takes is three simple steps...

Step 1 Register online to create your secure online patient record

Step 2 Answer short questionnaire and make card payment for jet lag treatment

Step 3 Pick-up the jet lag treatment in your chosen pharmacy or await delivery

Same day in-pharmacy pickup

or

Next day home delivery

Jet lag treatment pack - how we can help you plan ahead

Through this online service you can obtain medicine to help you avoid and overcome jet lag when flying to a country where the time-difference is three or more hours ahead or behind the UK.

About jet lag

Your body clock is designed for a regular rhythm of daylight and darkness. If you fly a long distance either east or west then your body clock can be disrupted – this is called jet lag. It takes several days for your body clock to adjust to the new rhythm of daylight and darkness.

How medicine can minimise the symptoms of jet lag

The medicine that our doctors can prescribe is a tablet form of a hormone that is produced naturally in the brain. The body releases this hormone naturally in the evening to tell your brain that it is time to sleep. Taking the hormone in a tablet helps to mimic the body’s natural processes and thereby helps your body adapt to the local time at your destination.

How the service works

Register online, fill in the online questionnaire and make payment using a valid debit or credit card. If it is appropriate to do so, one of our doctors will then prescribe the medicines for you to collect in one of around 390 Lloydspharmacies or to receive by post at your chosen delivery address. Medicines sent by post are sent using Royal Mail Special Delivery. Someone will need to sign for the medicines upon delivery.

Effectiveness of the jet lag medicine

There is no conclusive evidence that taking the hormone in a tablet can prevent or alleviate the symptoms of jet lag. As such this medicine is not licensed for the treatment of jet lag. However, available evidence does suggest that this medicine can help with the symptoms of jet lag in patients who fly to a destination where the local time is many hours different from the time in the UK. The evidence is particularly compelling for patients flying east, such as flying from the UK to Thailand.

How to take the jet lag medicine

You should only take this medicine if the time-difference between the UK and your destination is at least three hours. Take one tablet with water an hour before bedtime and after food, preferably between 10 pm and midnight local time, for two to four nights on arrival at your final destination. Taking the medicine earlier in the day can cause sleepiness and delay your body adapting to local time.

Potential side-effects of the jet lag medicine

Like any medicine, this jet lag medicine can cause nausea and diarrhoea. Rarely it can cause a headache, sore throat, stomach or back pain. For a full list of the potential side-effects please read the leaflet accompanying the medicine itself.

Alternative treatment options

The body will naturally adapt to the local time at a destination. Taking this medicine aims to accelerate the process.

Who should not use this service

You should not request this jet lag treatment if you are allergic to melatonin. You should not request this medicine if you are not intending to travel to a country where the local time is fewer than three hours ahead or behind time in the UK. You should not request this medicine if you routinely take any form of medicine to help you sleep.