Antihistamines for Morning Sickness
Topic Overview
Certain antihistamines such as dimenhydrinate or doxylamine, taken as your doctor advises, may relieve morning
sickness.1 Doxylamine is a nonprescription medicine
that is sold as Unisom Night-Time Sleep-Aid Tablets. If one of these
antihistamines alone does not relieve your morning sickness, you can try taking
it with vitamin B6.2
Vitamin B6 and
doxylamine was prescribed as Bendectin in the U.S. until 1983, when it was
taken off of the market. It has continued to be available in Canada as
Diclectin. In the past Bendectin was thought to cause fetal problems, but this has not been proved.2
Talk to your doctor
about the right doxylamine dosage for you.
Note: Do not confuse Unisom Tablets with Unisom SleepGels, which contain
a different medicine.
References
Citations
- Festin M (2009). Nausea and vomiting in
early pregnancy, search date May 2008. BMJ Clinical Evidence. Available online: http://www.clinicalevidence.com.
- Kelly TF, Savides TJ. (2009). Gastrointestinal disease in pregnancy. In RK Creasy et al., eds., Creasy and Resnik's Maternal-Fetal Medicine: Principles and Practice, 6th ed., pp. 1041–1057. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.
Credits
| By | Healthwise Staff |
|---|
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Sarah Marshall, MD - Family Medicine |
|---|
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Kirtly Jones, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology |
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| Last Revised | July 23, 2012 |
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Last Revised:
July 23, 2012
Festin M (2009). Nausea and vomiting in
early pregnancy, search date May 2008. BMJ Clinical Evidence. Available online: http://www.clinicalevidence.com.
Kelly TF, Savides TJ. (2009). Gastrointestinal disease in pregnancy. In RK Creasy et al., eds., Creasy and Resnik's Maternal-Fetal Medicine: Principles and Practice, 6th ed., pp. 1041–1057. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.
