
Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments.

Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. If you are worried about being drowsy, meclizine (Dramamine Less Drowsy) may be an option to try.Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. The choice of drug, therefore, is a balance between effectiveness, side effects, and how often each is dosed. However, it can cause more sedation than meclizine. This would mean that Dramamine (dimenhydrinate) may work better in this regard when compared to meclizine.Ĭomparative studies often report results showing Dramamine is slightly more effective than meclizine. In general, antihistamines with stronger anticholinergic effects are more effective in treating motion sickness. MeclizineĪs written above, the difference is between Dramamine and meclizine is that they are different antihistamines:

It does however have weaker anticholinergic effects than dimenhydrinate, which is why it tends to be better tolerated. Unlike dimenhydrinate, which is an ethanolamine, meclizine is a piperazine-derivative.Īs an antihistamine, meclizine works in the same manner as dimenhydrinate for the treatment of motion sickness. Meclizine is also an antihistamine, but in a different class and generally has less sedating effects. In total, dimenhydrinate contains about 55% diphenhydramine and about 45% 8- chlorotheophylline. This is why Dramamine Less Drowsy Formula exists. This makes dimenhydrinate slightly less sedating than Benadryl, but still can cause significant drowsiness in many individuals. While many anticholinergic effects are undesirable, they also help to relieve motion sickness by inhibiting stimulation of the inner ear.Ĩ-chlorotheophylline is a derivative of theophylline, which itself is structurally similar to caffeine. Specifically, it is further classified as an ethanolamine antihistamine.Įthanolamine antihistamines are known for their strong anticholinergic effects, which can cause the following side effects: Dimenhydrinate is over 50% diphenhydramine by weight and therefore, the bulk of its effects comes from that.ĭiphenhydramine is classified as a sedating antihistamine. You may recognize diphenhydramine as it is the active ingredient in Benadryl.

It is also the active ingredient in Bonine. In fact, meclizine is the active ingredient in another Dramamine product, Dramamine Less Drowsy Formula. Meclizine is also an antihistamine but is generally less sedating. Dramamine is a brand name product that contains the active ingredient dimenhydrinate, which is an antihistamine.
