Dimenhydrinate 50mg tablets
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
Drugs used in nausea and vertigo
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
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Official medicine documents
Safety monitoring data
Yellow Card reports
The MHRA Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected side effects from healthcare professionals and patients. View the Drug Analysis Profile (iDAP) for real-world adverse reaction data.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Dimenhydrinate
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Data from the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. A reported reaction does not necessarily mean the medicine caused it. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
EudraVigilance
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) collects suspected adverse reaction reports from across the EU/EEA through the EudraVigilance system. Search for safety data on this medicine.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Dimenhydrinate
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EudraVigilance data is published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A suspected adverse reaction is not necessarily caused by the medicine.
1 branded products available
WHO defined daily dose (DDD)
300 mg
Not a recommended dose. The DDD is the assumed average maintenance dose per day for a drug used for its main indication in adults. It is a statistical measure used for research and comparison purposes only.
Source: WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology, distributed via NHS dm+d BNF mapping files. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and NHS BNF section grouping. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
Clinical guidelines and formulary information
British National Formulary
Dimenhydrinate
Source: British National Formulary, NICE. Joint Formulary Committee. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Check stock at pharmacies and supply information
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Supply & product information
Official product databases and supply status monitoring
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. emc (electronic medicines compendium) is operated by Datapharm Ltd. Shortage information sourced from NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS), sps.nhs.uk.
Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
Browse tools
SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. BNF codes from NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). ATC codes from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology (whocc.no).
Active and completed clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data accessed via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Trial information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
1 found
Half-life
5-8 hours
Mechanism
Dimenhydrinate is a theoclate salt that separates into [diphenhydramine] and [8-chlorotheophylline].
Food interactions
1 warning
Human targets
1 target
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
50 mg
Half-life
5-8 hours
[L33000]
Protein binding
70-85%
[L33000]
Volume of distribution
3-4 L/kg
[L33000]
Metabolism
[L32985]…
Elimination
1-3%
[L33000]
1-3% of the dissociated diphenhydramine is eliminated in the urine unchanged,…
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Dimenhydrinate, also known as B-dimethylaminoethyl benzohydrol ether 8-chlorotheophyllinate, is indicated to prevent nausea, vomiting, and dizziness caused by motion sickness.[L32980][L32985][L32995] Dimenhydrinate is a combination of [Diphenhydramine] and [8-chlorotheophylline] in a salt form, with 53%-55.5% dried diphenhydramine, and 44%-47% died 8-chlorotheophylline.[L32985]
The antiemetic properties of dimenhydrinate are primarily thought to be produced by diphenhydramine's antagonism of H1 histamine receptors in the vestibular system[A1540] while the excitatory effects are thought to be produced by 8-chlorotheophylline's adenosine receptor blockade.[A33889]
When used in large doses, dimenhydrinate has been shown to cause a "high" characterized by hallucinations, excitement, incoordination, and disorientation.[A1539]
Dimenhydrinate was granted FDA approval on 31 May 1972.[L32975]
[L32980][L32985]
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 979 interactions
[L32985]
Adults experiencing an overdose may present with drowsiness, convulsions, coma, or respiratory depression.
[L32985]
Treat overdoses with symptomatic and supportive measures including mechanically assisted ventilation.
[L32985]
In mice the oral LD50 is 203 mg/kg, while in rats it is 1320 mg/kg.
[L32985]
The intraperitoneal LD50 in mice is 149 mg/kg.
[L32985]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[L33000]
A 100 mg suppository reaches a Cmax of 112.2 ng/mL with a Tmax of 5.3 hours.
[L33010]
[L33000]
[L33000]
[L33000]
[L32985]
diphenhydramine can either be N-glucuronidated by UGTs to diphenhydramine N-glucuronide or N-demethylated by CYP2D6, CYP1A2, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19 to N-desmethyldiphenhydramine.
[A415]
N-desmethyldiphenhydramine can be N-demethylated again by the same enzymes to N,N-didesmethyldiphenhydramine, which undergoes oxidative deamination to form diphenylmethoxyacetic acid.
[A415]
[L33000]
1-3% of the dissociated diphenhydramine is eliminated in the urine unchanged, while 64% of diphenhydramine is eliminated in the urine as metabolites.
[L33010]
The elimination of dimenhydrinate has not been fully studied.
[L33010]
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
PMID:33828102 PMID:8280179
Through the H1 receptor, histamine mediates the contraction of smooth muscles and increases capillary permeability due to contraction of terminal venules. Also mediates neurotransmission in the central nervous system and thereby regulates circadian rhythms, emotional and locomotor activities as well as cognitive functions (By similarity)
ATC R06AA11
ATC R06AA61
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
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Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Dimenhydrinate
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
9782
ChemSpider
10210
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:5182
GenAtlas
HRH1
GeneCards
HRH1
GenBank Gene Database
Z34897
GenBank Protein Database
510296
Guide to Pharmacology
262
UniProt Accession
HRH1_HUMAN
International reference pricing
Reference pricing from DrugBank. Prices are indicative and may not reflect current UK costs.
Source: DrugBank. Used under CC BY-NC 4.0 academic licence for non-commercial purposes.
DrugBank citations
If you use DrugBank data in your research, please cite the following publications: