Dimenhydrinate (originally known as Compound 1694) was being tested as a potential treatment for
hay fever and
hives at
Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1947 by allergists Dr. Leslie Gay and Dr. Paul Carliner. Among those who received the drug was a pregnant woman who had suffered from motion sickness her entire life. She remained symptom-free if she took dimenhydrinate a few minutes before boarding a trolley, whereas the placebo was ineffective. To confirm these findings, the following year, G.D. Searle & Co. conducted a trial in which dimenhydrinate or placebo was given to U.S. troops crossing the Atlantic during "a rough passage" in a converted freight ship, the
General Ballou, for ten days as a rescue therapy for
sea sickness. The findings were positive, as were the findings of a second trial of mostly women on the ship's return voyage. Gay and Carliner announced their discovery at a meeting of the Johns Hopkins Medical Society on February 14, 1949, as well as in the
Bulletin of The Johns Hopkins Hospital. The
New York Times, the
Baltimore Sun, and other national newspapers covered the discovery, and Dramamine was made available in drugstores later that year. == Brand names ==