Help! I am having a severe allergy attack from all of the pollen in my area. My son is 7 1/2 months old and I still breast feed him. I am leary of taking any medications while I'm breast feeding him. Someone told me Sudafed, Ibuprofen, and Tylenol were the only meds I am o.k. to take. What about for allergies?
For the most part, the meds you can take while pregnant are the same ones you can take while breast feeding. Call your doctor, though, and explain that you BF but are having terrible allergies. I nursed my daughter through 3 allergy seasons and found meds I could take.
Hi Bonnie,
I asked my pharmacist the same thing, as I'm still breastfeeding my toddler and have severe pollen allergies. He stated that Claritin is safe for breastfeeding moms. You can double check with your doctor also. I've been taking Claritin, and it seems to be making a difference -- my eyes don't itch and I'm not sneezing as much. If you have sinus congestion, I think Sudafed is also safe while breastfeeding but check with your doctor. I know Sudafed was safe when I was pregnant. Hope this helps!
Hi,
I am a pharmacist, an allergy sufferer and a breastfeeding mommy. I think that kellymom.com is a great source of information regarding medications that are safe while breastfeeding so you might want to check it out. My recommendations are:
1) use a nasal saline spray (like Ocean Spray)
2) If you need an antihistamine, Claritin is a good one. However, there is a very slight possibility that it might dry your milk supply somewhat. I personally think it does dry my milk a bit so I use it only when I really need it. My milk supply goes back to normal as soon as I stop it. Drink lots of water just in case.
3) If you have itchy eyes try Naphcon-A or Opcon-A, or the new over-the-counter medication called Zaditor (it is also available as a generic). I like Zaditor because it can be used on a regular basis without causing rebound red-eye and it is dosed every 12 hours (vs. every 4 hours with the others).
Beware that, although Sudafed is considered compatible with breastfeeding (no harm to baby), it can definitely dry your milk supply so use it very sparringly, if at all (I stay away from it when breastfeeding because I don't have much milk to begin with).
May you feel better soon!
in addition to kellymom.com (love it!!) also check out the articles on drjacknewman.com
good luck to you!!
My doctor allowed me to take claritin. I also took it throughtout my whole pregnancy. Benedryl was also ok when I was pregnant, not sure about breastfeeding though. Hope this helped!
I've heard that you can take all the medicines that you mentioned. I am also hesitant to take anything while breastfeeding...it's so hard! I love this product called OCEAN. It's a saline rinse that brings quick relief to a stuffy nose and sinus headache. You can buy it at any old drug store ... bought it at Longs. Hope that helps!
Two things I found that help(ed) me with sinus / allergy issues - one is ASAP Silver (ASAP has a lot of published research): for my daughter and I we diluted the silver with water 50% to drop in our eyes (we get that itchy eye thing that drives us batty). Also, I bought Neti Cups, where you rinse your nasal passages with water and salt, WOW, what a great help (although it takes a while to learn to use it and then it is easy; Thank you to Dr. Oz and Oprah)
I believe when I was pregnant, they told one of the ok allergy meds were Chlortrimeton. I imagine this would also be ok if you nursing. Check with the pedi MD, or you OB. They might be able to offer you some advice.
Trish
Bonnie - if I were you I would call my dr. and check - seems like there was 2 different allergy medicines that they recommended to me when I was in the same position. One was Zyrtec, and the other was Claritan - but I don't think you could get the Claritan D? I really don't remember but you could call your Dr., or even just the local pharmacy would be able to tell you what is safe to take! I know that my pharmacist is awesome!
Here is a website that shows what is OK while breastfeeding and what is not. I found it very useful when I was still breastfeeding. There are other websites out there too.
http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/cold-remedy.html#antihistamines
Benadrly is fine for you take. I have really sever allergies as well and had to take something or i was just sneezing all dy long. No fun. Plus the bendraly can make your little one a little tired to and nap time might be eaiser. I know it was for me. James would wake up from his long nap happy and ready to go. Yo can also take zyrtec because it is approved for babys as young as 6 month to take on there own.
My doctors have always known, I remind them regularly, that I take Mucinex, 24 Hr Sudafed & Claritin 365 days a year. I have never been told to stop taking them, and I nursed my son until he was 4, he is now 6. I am currently 21 weeks pregnant with our 2nd & they still haven't told me to stop taking them, even through fertility treatments.
I have tried and had alot of luck with honey. Local honey found at your local Co-op or Health Food Store. Just a teaspoon everyday. In a week or so you should notice a huge difference in your allergies. And that wont affect your baby.
Good Luck.
We found mangosteen juice to work wonders for our allergies. It is pricey but you don't have to take much of it and it's all natural juice with antihistamine properties. Look up Xango on the web if you want further info. It's good stuff.
Sudafed is fine as is Benadryl (sp?) the jury is still out on claratin and allegra. Also nasal sprays are fine since you don't get much of a blood concentration. I use NasalCrom spray during the day and Benadryl at night.
Some people (babies) are allergic to honey, so I'd do a tiny bit at a time to test it out at first, but supposedly eating local honey helps with allergies. Good luck! Chris
I would check kellymom.com for a list of APA approved meds while breastfeeding. This is a great website that pulls together research done on breastfeeding.
I have had two different doctor's reccomend Claritan while breastfeeding. One said that Claritan D was good too. That said both said the first time to take it first thing in the morning so you know if your baby has any reaction. I also had a doctor tell me the reason they don't give babies antihistamines is that they make them act like they are on speed. It speeds up thier hearts, thier breathing, and makes them jumpy and jittery. That is why he recommended not taking antihistamines and decongestants while pregnant and breastfeeding. We also have been taking local bees pollen to try and prevent allergy symptoms but it must be local and it takes awhile to have effect. You actually start with just a granule or two to watch for allergic reactions. We get ours at Whole Foods. We also have begun trying homeopathics for allergies. So far we have noticed no problems with homepathics and our current nursling.
Heidi
I am not too sure about the meds. I was able to take Claritin while pregnant but found a much better solution. Have a tsp. of raw LOCAL honey everyday. It must be local as the bees will have an "antibody" to the local pollens, etc. You may want to take the tsp. towards your bedtime because it can also help you sleep.