How Can I Manage My Hay Fever While Pregnant
Itâs important you take special care with your medicines during pregnancy since some may affect your unborn baby.
One way to reduce your need for hay fever medicines, while keeping your baby safe, is to try to avoid any known triggers or allergens. This can be a challenge if you do not know what you are allergic to. Your doctor may refer you to an allergy clinic to help you find out whats causing your allergy symptoms.
There are allergy medicines that are safe for you to take while you are pregnant, including some â but not all â antihistamine tablets and syrups, eye drops and nasal sprays, including corticosteroids and decongestants.
Your pharmacist or doctor can advise you on what medicines you can take while pregnant to help with your hay fever symptoms while minimising the risk to your baby.
Herbals And Dietary Supplements
During pregnancy, herbal remedies are used for nausea, respiratory symptoms, urinary tract infections, pain, and other nonspecific issues.40 However, there are few human data on the safety of herbal remedies in pregnancy. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 requires manufacturers to ensure the safety of supplements before marketing. However, there is no registration process with the FDA, which takes action only if a supplement is found to be unsafe after marketing.41 Herbals were not included in the NBDPS until the year 2000. According to a subanalysis of the NBDPS, 10.9% of women use herbals during pregnancy, most commonly peppermint, cranberry extract, herbal teas, ginger, chamomile, Echinacea, ginseng, raspberry leaf, and ephedra products.42
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Are My Allergies A Risk To My Baby
Allergies can affect your baby, but rarely directly. Because the placenta works like a filter, your blood never enters your babys body.
This is good news because it means your baby will not get your allergy this way, will likely not be affected if you eat something they are allergic to, and will not be affected by all the white blood cells racing around your body.
Eating certain foods during pregnancy will not increase your childs risk of an allergy. The idea that eating peanuts will give your baby a peanut allergy isnt just an old wives tale its the opposite of the truth .
Eating a varied diet during pregnancy, including common allergy triggers, reduces your babys chance of allergies.
Some people maintain overeating of a food type during pregnancy could cause a food aversion or intolerance, but this has not been confirmed. If you are in doubt or worried your baby will not be able to handle some of your favorite foods after birth, just remember to eat a varied diet.
When it comes to allergic reactions, these can absolutely affect your baby, though. If you suffer an anaphylactic shock, the lack of oxygen can affect your baby as well as you. The same goes for asthma and other breathing reactions .
IMPORTANT
If you suffer a food reaction, the loss of water and nutrients could hurt your baby. Vomiting, diarrhea, and just plain discomfort could all be a sign you are not digesting foods well.
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Can I Take Sudafed While Pregnant
Pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine are available over the counter as Sudafed and are safe for many women to use during pregnancy. However, women who have high blood pressure should not take pseudoephedrine without first talking to a doctor. The drug can raise blood pressure and can cause jitters and racing heartbeats.
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Medications For Seasonal Allergies During Pregnancy
- diphenhydramine
There are always risks when taking any medication during pregnancy. Women should talk with their doctors before taking allergy medicines to make sure they arent potentially harmful. While doctors consider many oral over-the-counter medications safe for seasonal allergies, using both oral and nasal spray decongestants isnt as studied or well-known. Use of nasal sprays may be safer than oral decongestants. Thats because nasal sprays arent as likely to be absorbed into the bloodstream. An example is oxymetazoline, an ingredient in brands like Afrin and Neo-Synephrine. Women should exercise caution when using nasal sprays for more than three days. This is because using decongestants for longer can make allergy symptoms worse by causing nasal swelling. Some women also get allergy shots. These are compounds of allergens that are injected as a means to desensitize a person to an allergen. If a woman becomes pregnant while she is in the course of her allergy shots, she can usually keep getting them. Pregnancy isnt a good time to start getting allergy shots. Its possible they can cause strong allergic reactions. Without knowing a womans reaction, its best to delay starting allergy shots until after giving birth.
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Where Can I Learn More About Safe Medicines During Pregnancy
If you have a question about the safety of any medication during pregnancy, talk with your healthcare provider.
An excellent online resource for evidence-based information on medication safety is the MotherToBaby website, a service of the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists. This is a professional scientific organization of experts who study teratogens, which are chemicals or substances in the environment that can cause birth defects. The website provides fact sheets on drugs and exposures that might affect your baby as well as a list of teratogen information services that you can contact for more information.
Learn more:
BabyCenters editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information youre seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies.
Briggs G, et al. 2008. Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation, 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
MotherToBaby. 2020. Acetaminophen.
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What If Nothing Works
The last line of defense for all allergy sufferers is allergen immunotherapy. This can be in the form of allergy shots or tablets that dissolve under the tongue. Immunotherapy has been shown to be effective in adults and older children, and particularly in preventing allergic asthma.7 While women may not start immunotherapy during pregnancy, you may be able to continue the treatment during pregnancy if your provider tells you itâs okay to do so. If youâve tried other medications and they didnât relieve your allergies, see your health care provider. They may refer you to a specialist for allergen immunotherapy.
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How Often Should You Take Vitamin D Supplements
Unlike other nutrients, our bodies store vitamin D in fat cells, which allow them to release it when needed. Many supplements with higher doses of vitamin D are not designed to be taken each day since there likely already is some stored in the body. Taking too much vitamin D can result in stomach discomfort, weight loss and kidney issues. A lower vitamin D supplement is considered safe, particularly if youre deficient in vitamin D.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
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Allergy Medications For Pregnancy And Children
Choosing the safest allergy relief medication can be overwhelming, especially if youâre pregnant or looking for the best allergy medicine for kids.
Here youâll find answers to your questions about allergy pills and common allergy medicines, including if you can take allergy medications during pregnancy and which allergy medications are safe for children.
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Are Nasal Sprays Safe For Pregnant Women
If your allergies are causing lots of nasal congestion, sneezing, and buildup of mucus, intranasal steroid sprays are some of the best treatment options to try. These sprays typically contain a combination of medication and a saline solution, and most are available without a prescription.
Certain nasal sprays are safe to use while pregnant as long as you stick with the recommended dosage each time you use one. In addition, you can get the benefits of a nasal spray without the medication by using a neti pot.
Neti pots contain the same type of saltwater solution that nasal sprays do, but they arent medicated. A neti pot is a great home remedy for allergies to turn to while pregnant or any other time.
Drug Safety During Pregnancy
The Food and Drug Administration does not consider any drug completely safe during pregnancy. This is because of the ethical problems with testing drugs in pregnant women.
Instead, the FDA has created pregnancy registries. These are studies that help doctors understand how safe certain drugs might be. They contain information that doctors have gained while observing pregnant patients who take medications. You and your doctor can use this information to decide if a drug is right for you.
It is your doctor’s responsibility to talk to you about drug risks and benefits. This includes continuing, stopping, or starting a medication while pregnant. Every person is different, so the decision is always based on individual needs.
Every pregnancy is different. Talk to your doctor about medication risks and benefits and how they might apply to you.
Drugs used to be put into categories labeled A, B, C, D, and X. For example, low-risk drugs were in category A those proven harmful were in category X. Today, a new prescription labeling system has replaced the old one. These new labels provide more detailed information about the risks to mothers, fetuses, and breastfeeding babies.
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Should I Continue My Allergy Shots During Pregnancy
It is appropriate to continue allergy shots during pregnancy in women who are not having reactions to the shots, because they may lessen your allergic or asthma symptoms. There is no evidence that they have any influence on preventing allergies in the newborn. It is not generally recommended that allergy shots be started during pregnancy.
To summarize: It is extremely important to monitor closely any asthma or allergic problems during your pregnancy. In the vast majority of cases, you and your child can look forward to a good outcome, even if your asthma is severe, so long as you follow your doctorâs instructions carefully. At the very first signs of breathing difficulty, call your doctor.
Remember the danger of providing an inadequate supply of oxygen to your baby is a much greater risk than taking the commonly used asthma medications.
The best way to take control of your allergies and have a healthy pregnancy is to speak with an allergist.
This page was reviewed for accuracy 4/17/2018.
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What Eye Drops Are Safe During Pregnancy
So how about those eye drops in your medicine cabinet. Are they OK to use? And if not, what eye drops are safe during pregnancy?
Its difficult to provide a comprehensive list of the eye drops that are safe to use during pregnancy. Not many scientific studies have been carried out on humans due to the risks involved. Studies have been carried out on animals, but the results may not necessarily apply to human beings.
It is known that certain eye drops are not advised. This includes glaucoma eye drops such as Brinzolamide, Xalatan, Xalacom, Lumigan and Travatan. But others, like Miotics, havent been shown to have any adverse effects when taken during pregnancy.
Therefore because of the uncertainty involved, the best advice is not to use any eye drops until youve consulted a medical practitioner, such as an eye doctor, family doctor or pharmacist.
Youll be advised of any risks involved, and whether these risks outweigh the benefits. If the eye drops are confirmed as being safe, you can rest assured that its OK to use them.
If you need to change the type of eye drops that youre taking, youll need to consult with a medical practitioner once again. Different eye drops have different chemical make-ups. This means that some may contain ingredients that have potentially damaging effects, while others will be perfectly safe.
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Can You Take Allergy Medications When Pregnant
Check with your practitioner to see what medications you can safely take during pregnancy. That goes even if you were already regularly taking prescription, over-the-counter or homeopathic medications: Dont continue to use any of them until you get the go-ahead from a practitioner, who should be the first and final word on any allergy treatments you use.
That said, there are some general dos and donts about allergy medications during pregnancy:Trusted SourceAmerican College of Allergy, Asthma & ImmunologyPregnancy and AllergiesSee All Sources
Will Taking Benadryl Cause Birth Defects
The U.S. FDA classifies Benadryl as a Category B medication during pregnancy. Category B medications are ones that are believed to pose no risk to humans during pregnancy, including the fetus. It is important to realize that no medication is ever 100 percent safe. Benadryl isnt a Category A medicine. Category A medicines are the ones that are considered the safest during pregnancy with no known adverse reactions. While its unlikely Benadryl would cause birth defects, always consult a physician first. There are some instances where the use of Benadryl or diphenhydramine in the first trimester has been linked to an increased risk of a baby being born with a cleft lip or palate, although this risk is very low. Along with trying to avoid Benadryl during the first trimester, its also best to use allergy medications as minimally as possible during pregnancy.
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Some Tips To Avoid Safely Allergies :
Getting an allergy medication during pregnancy can be quite difficult, especially if it is severe. Try the following in order to avoid allergies at this stage:
- Avoid food that causes allergies. Take alternatives for integrators who are deprived of avoiding such foods.
- Avoid dust allergy, keeping dust free environment. Intake must be adapted in order to prevent the spread of airborne dust particles.
- The pollution and pollen allergies could be prevented by keeping away from both flora causing problems. Close doors and windows between 05: 00-10: 00 when the pollen activity and pollution are high.
- Keep the bedding and pillows clean. They must be washed in hot water to kill dust mites.
- stay away from pets that cause allergy.
- exercise regularly, this helps reduce the nasal inflammation.
- drink enough water, at least 3 liters per day, to keep the system clean.
- Use nasal sprays or strips in the night after consulting your doctor to have undisturbed sleep. adequate rest is also important for pregnancy
If you are under allergy medications before pregnancy or allergy diagnosis during pregnancy, do not consult their doctor for drugs safe to use during pregnancy. Only a doctor can better judge about the benefits and risks arising due to medication.You you can not decide what the allergy medicine is safe during pregnancy.
not to share tips and experiences with other readers in the comments section below.
References: 1, 2, 3
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Can Pregnancy Make Allergies Better
Asthma and seasonal allergy symptoms may worsen, improve, or remain unchanged during pregnancy. We cant predict exactly how a pregnant womans body and hormonal changes alter how the immune system reacts to foreign substances. For example, pregnancy induces swelling of the nasal mucosa, the inner lining of the nose.15 2018 .
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Can Allergy Medications Safely Be Used During Pregnancy
Antihistamines may be useful during pregnancy to treat the nasal and eye symptoms of seasonal or perennial allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, the itching of urticaria or eczema, and as an adjunct to the treatment of serious allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis . With the exception of life-threatening anaphylaxis, the benefits from their use must be weighed against any risk to the fetus. Because symptoms may be of such severity to affect maternal eating, sleeping or emotional well-being, and because uncontrolled rhinitis may pre-dispose to sinusitis or may worsen asthma, antihistamines may provide definite benefit during pregnancy.
Chlorpheniramine , and diphenhydramine have been used for many years during pregnancy with reassuring animal studies. Generally, chlorpheniramine would be the preferred choice, but a major drawback of these medications is drowsiness and performance impairment in some patients.. Two of the newer less sedating antihistamines loratadine , and cetirizine have reassuring animal and human study data and are currently recommended when indicated for use during pregnancy.
When women with asthma and allergies get pregnant, one-third find their asthma and allergies improved, one-third find they worsen and one-third remain unchanged.
Allergist James Sublett, MD
Food Allergies During Pregnancy
Wondering if peanut butter is safe for the little peanut you’re feeding? Good news: The latest research suggests that eating peanuts while pregnant not only doesn’t trigger peanut and other allergies in baby-to-be, but it may actually prevent them. So as long as you’re not personally allergic to peanuts, there’s no reason to skip them now that you’re expecting. Same goes for dairy and other highly-allergenic foods.
From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy.
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