Can You Take Dramamine While Pregnant

Can You Take Dramamine While Pregnant?

Pregnancy can be a really special time in a woman’s life. It can also be hell on earth. It just depends on your end of the stick. While you may get that special glow, looking like a divine goddess that’s growing a life inside her, there’s a downside too.

Pregnant women need to be extra careful about what they put in their bodies. Particularly during the first 3 months of pregnancy, when the baby’s organs are developing and the pregnancy is at its most critical stage. 

Dramamine is probably one of the most well-known anti-nausea/ sickness tablets. Some pregnant women swear by it while others claim it doesn’t work. But is it actually safe for pregnant women to take?

Dramamine is generally considered to be a low-risk anti-sickness drug, safe to take during a low-risk pregnancy. However, you should always consult with your doctor before taking any over-the-counter medication.

It seems like every little thing will affect the baby, meanwhile poor mommy is nauseous, tired, gassy, and sometimes even itchy and she can’t take anything about it. Nausea, often referred to morning sickness, is probably one of the worst symptoms of pregnancy.

You get cravings, you eat, then you throw up, and then you get cravings again and the whole thing is a vicious cycle. The solution to this would be to take anti-nausea medicine. 

But you have to be careful with anti-sickness tablets. Though they’d be the perfect solution for morning sickness, some of them aren’t actually suitable for the fetus injected.

What Is Dramamine?

Dramamine is an antihistamine. Traditionally antihistamine tablets are used to treat allergic reactions, and act as an anti-inflammatory.

Because of those anti-inflammatory properties, Dramamine is also a good treatment for nausea, motion sickness, and sometimes even acts as a good short term treatment for insomnia. 

Originally called Compound 1694, the discovery of Dramamine as an anti-sickness medicine was completely coincidental. In 1947 a woman from Baltimore was having an allergic reaction, breaking into hives.

She decided to brave the Monument street trolley to visit John Hopkins allergy treatment. ‘Brave it’ because she suffered from terrible motion sickness as well as allergies.

Once there she was treated with experimental Compound 1694 by allergists Leslie Gay and Paul Carliner. 

After a few weeks of treatment the woman’s allergies had cleared up nicely and she also noticed that her motion sickness was virtually non-existent.

She shared this miraculous side effect with Carliner and Gay and they decided to test out the possible hypothesis that Compound 1694 could also help with motion sickness.

After trials and research they were ready to remarket the drug into an anti-sickness one. A few years after that Compound 1694 was renamed Dramamine for marketability, and the rest is history. 

Can You Take Dramamine While Pregnant?

Depending on the kind of pregnancy you have, whether it’s low risk or high risk, Dramamine is generally considered safe to take while pregnant. It’s a low-risk anti-sickness drug. However you should always consult with your doctor before taking any over-the-counter medication.  Dramamine dosage will vary depending on your age, weight, height, trimester, and other factors.

For the most effective use of Dramamine take your recommended dose 30-60 minutes before eating or your nausea inducing activity.

Dramamine is actually the most recommended anti-sickness medication for pregnant women to take because of how effective it is and low risk.

Dramamine is a Class B medication, which means nothing of worry has been found in any animal and most human trials.

When it comes to pregnancy, drugs are classified into 5 categories; A, B, C, D and X. Category A drugs are the safest to take while any drugs with a Class X classification should be categorically avoided. Class X drugs have been proven to cause fetal abnormalities.

What Kind Of Medicine To Avoid During Pregnancy?

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As we mentioned before, there’s actually a classification system for drugs in relation to pregnancy. They are as follows, with a little more detail;

Category A: No risk to the fetus or mother if ingested. There are currently no category A drugs. 

Category B: Clinical trials in animals showed no risk and in later human trials there was no risk evident. e.g. prenatal vitamins.

Category C: Studies in animals have shown adverse effects on fetus’ or there have been no conclusive human trials. Either way there is not enough evidence to say conclusively whether a negative outcome is guaranteed. In this case Category C drugs are only ever administered if the benefit of the drug will outweigh the potential negatives. 

Category D: Significant risk, evidenced by trials and research. Again, these drugs are only given in life threatening situations. 

Category X: Under no circumstances should category X drugs be taken. They will harm the fetus and the mother and potentially cause fetal abnormalities. 

Some over the counter medicines to avoid are:

Pepto Bismal: This one is sad to hear, especially since the acid reflux during pregnancy is a nightmare and Pepto could actually help. But the Bismuth Subsalicylate could potentially cause fetal abnormalities. 

Ibuprofen/Aspirin: Pain medications can also mess with fetal growth as they affect your hormones, but sometimes the risk with these is low so it’s best to consult your doctor. 

Guaifenesin: This is a common ingredient in most cough and cold medicines and should be avoided.   

How Else Can You Alleviate Morning Sickness?

If you’re suffering from morning sickness and it just seems like no medicine is working for you, there are alternatives to try.

Foods- Using lemon, watermelon or ginger, is handy for relieving nausea relief and settles stomachs. Try lemonade or ginger ale, or even eating raw watermelon.

Rest- Rest is important for any pregnant woman. But make sure not to rest after a meal as that may be causing the sickness. Your food needs time to digest.

Liquids- Liquid intake is key in staying hydrated and helping combat vomiting. But drink liquids either before or after a meal instead of during. This will help avoid that sickly overfull feeling. 

We hope the information in this article helped! Remember it’s always best to consult with your doctor before self medicating. 

Can You Take Dramamine While Pregnant

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