Allergy Medicine While BF

My ob said to only take claritan (over the counter) when I am breastfeeding. I normally take zyrtec, but the claritan worked just as well.

Depending on how bad you are, have you thought about a nasal spray? The first doc to diagnose me with seasonal allergies put me on Claritan and I was always in a fog. When I told a different doc that we wanted to get pregnant, he put me on generic Flonase. I've been on that through my pregnancy and a year of breastfeeding with no side effects. Talk to you doc!

Hi J.,

I think I heard that Sudafed and Claritin are okay. I've used both myself while BF'ing.

I know when I was BF right after my son was born I had a terrible rash. The doc told me to take Benadryl for the itching, but when I called my OB first, they told me if I took it too often it could dry up my milk. So I had to only take it infrequently. I don't know about the ones you're talking about, but I would assume any anti-histamine would have the same affect. Check with your ped or OB/GYN. Good luck!

Hi, J.!
First, please let me reassure you that you CAN, VERY SAFELY take certain meds while nursing. There has been a LOT of research showing what drugs transfer into milk, in what amounts & if it's safe or not.

Dr. Thomas Hale is the expert on this & his book "Medications & Mother's Milk" is a list of all the drugs on the market today & if they're safe or not. (I have this book, and your local LLL Leader should as well).

The ratings go from L1-L5 (1=safest, 5=not at all safe). Zyrtec is only an L2, so that's perfectly safe. There have been no adverse effects in infants reported but they should be watched for excessive drousiness.

Claritin is an L1 so that's as safe as it gets! It's as safe as a multivitamin would be. There also, have been no adverse pediatric effects reported, but they should be watched (again) for excessive drousiness & for tachycardia/palpitations.

If you're interested in an all-natural CURE, I have heard amazing things about using LOCAL bee pollen. You can often find it at local health food stores and/or farmers markets. (Local honey can work well too, but bee pollen is far more potent & effective).

If you start taking the bee pollen now, in small doses, your body will start to build up an immunity to the exact things in your area that bother you. Gradually increase the dosage and by the time that summer hits, chances are that your body will have been sensatized to it & not be effected by it.

Hope that helps some!
Keep up the good work nursing your child & remember that there are many, many safe, effective ways for both of you to stay healthy & happy & enjoy your breastfeeding relationship!
A.

Hi J.,

Contact your local Doc. You can contact your local La Leche league representative.

www.llli.org

Good luck. D.

I have bad indoor and outdoor allergies so I understand the problems of not taking your allergy medicine! I too breastfeed and have been told that its not a problem to take Zyrtec. Claritin is probably better but it doesn't do much to help me. I was only told that it could cause drowsiness in my baby, but that hasn't been an issue at all. Some people may suggest not taking anything at all, but if you are sick and feeling horrible how can you be expected to take care of your child? Personally, if I don't take my medicine I'll end up having bad asthma attacks so in the end, a little bit of allergy medicine getting through to my son is better than his mom being in the emergency room multiple times....

J.,

I'm not sure abotu zyrtec off the top of my head, but regular claritan, including the generic loratadine, is fine to take while breastfeeding. Claritin D, and anything containing pseudoephedrine (basically all the "good" stuff" has been shown to lower supply while breastfeeding. As little as one dose has been shown to a 25% reduction in supply. If you're just taking one dose, that might be something you can work through, but if it's something you're going to be doing long term, it could definately jeopardize your supply.

A great resources is Thomas Hale's book, Medications and Mothers Milk. You can search inside this book on Amazon.com. Just long in with your amazon account (free, so get one if you don't have one) and then look up the book and select the serach inside feature.

You may also get some relief from a saline nasal spray. Both DD and I have used them when congestion was a problem.

Best wishes,

S.

hi J.,
pick 1. nurse baby or allergy meds .
EVERYTHING effects a baby ... think about it .
freeze lots of milk before MAY 2009 .
you seem to have made up your mind .
you may be able to continue nursing with a p-l-a-n-
a=dispose of contaiminated med. milk
hence, continue to pump .
b= feed baby froozen milk from pre May
c= end of june ... your milk should be still producing and ready for baby !!!!
simple
I nursed my 2 babies and loved every minute of it.
[ a women thing]
good luck
*think of baby in long term issues .
t

You do NOT have to "choose" between nursing and allergy relief (as indicated here by a member). That is a very old-fashioned, outdated concept that all medication passes through your milk and harms the baby (a few do, but check the "serology").

I LOVE www.kellymom.com. It has the most recent, up-to-date information and a med check section. The med book recommended by LLLeague is also great.
:)

I took Allegra-D for allergies year-round for several years. When I learned I was expecting I switched to Claritin as the Allegra could pass the placental wall. I continued with Claritin but when the season allergies got severe I went to my Primary Care who recommended a nasal spray as needed to supplement. I used this through the remainder of the pregnancy and throughout almost ten months of nursing. I don't know if it would make a difference in milk supply to start as I had been taking the meds since day one.

Our midwife, lactation consultant as well as the primary care doc all agreed that there was no risk to our baby. He is a bright-eyed, happy little fellow who will be 10 months tomorrow. He is just over 20 pounds and just under 30 inches so I think it is clear the milk supply has been sufficient!

Good luck!
- J. :)

I think if you ask your Ob/Gyn they should be able to guide you. Have you tried any natural remedies? Try local honey for your area if you have the seasonal allergies. A tablespoon- straight, not mixed with anything really worked for me.

Hi J.. After talking to my Dr. I got the ok to take a generic form of Claritin for my allergies. My daughter seemed to be fine. (This all was prompted after I took a Benedryl one morning and DD was up for 5 hours straight at 2 months old- poor thing.)
Good luck.

Hi J.,

I know you got many responses and I did not read through all of them. I can tell you that my lactation consultant told me both were safe and I've taken both. I took Zyrtec (works best for me!) but can't afford it anymore (times are tough). I actually just switched to Claritan (don't work as well for me and I know I'll be suffering once our Silver Maples start to bloom) a few weeks ago. My son has been fine BF with both. Don't take pseudafed though, that is not recommended as I was told it can decrease your supply. Good luck!

I have horrible year round allergies and could not live without zyrtec. I took it my entire pregnancy and through 12 months of breastfeeding. It never affected my milk supply and asked many doctors to make sure it was safe. I will say sudafed you should be careful with because certain ones go through your milk and can start to dry you up a bit. Also the netti pot is great and safe to use. It takes a little time to adjust to using it though.

When I was breastfeeding last allergy season I asked the pediatrician if I could take claritin and he advised against it as it can dry up your milk supply - he checked his medical sources while I was at the office that day. All the antihistamines have the same effects. I know that raw honey can work but I don't know if it gets excreted in breastmilk. I know you can't take it when you are pregnant. The best thing is to check with your pediatrician or ob/gyn. Good luck!

I only have a partial answer to your question, but I wish somebody would have told me so I'm telling you.

I had a bad sinus/allergy type cold while nursing, so I took a medication that contained a specific ingredient meant to dry up your sinuses. It helps reduce the runny nose, post nasal drip, etc.

Anyways - the same ingredient that does that - dries up your milk!!! Very quickly too... just be careful.

I couldn't believe that within 2 days of taking it, my milk was nowhere to be found. I'm sorry I don't have an answer of what you can take, but I wanted to let you know what you shouldn't take! Talk to you dr. Good luck!

http://www.obfocus.com/reference/Formulary/Drugs%20in%20P...

Cetirizine (Zyrtec®)
Antihistamine. Metabolite of hydroxyzine.

BREAST FEEDING: Excreted into human milk. Not considered compatible with breastfeeding by the manufacturer [1].

I know for a fact that Claritin, Rhinocort, and Nasalcrom (over the counter) are all safe while pregnant and breastfeeding. Talk to your allergist and get the right regimen for your allergy needs.

Hi J.!
I know how you feel! I have terrible allergies as do my whole family, I have 4 children. My oldest also has multiple food allergies in addition to the environmental ones. A couple of friends of mine recommended a doctor who performs the NAET treatment for allergies. And while very skeptical at first I have seen a huge difference in my son who is going to Dr. Kang. His allergies are so much better and his eczema is just about gone, no more steroid creams! She is doing wonders for him. We have only seen her 4 times and now he can eat egg and she is treating him for his milk allergy now. I tried it because it did work for 2 of my friends with their food and environmental allergies and it is non invasive and I would like to get my son off of the zyrtec and inhalers! Here is the website for NAET www.naet.com Dr. Kang is across from Paoli hospital and has been practicing for 22 years and is incredible! This is the first time we have tried anything like this but what she has done is nothing short of a miracle!
Good Luck!
M.

I would ask your OB/GYN if it is safe to take allergy medication while breastfeeding before taking anything.

Hi J.! I'm a pharmacist, so I did some checking in our references. Both Claritin and Zyrtec show minimal risk to the infant when used at their standard dose of 10mg a day. Studies are often done at much higher than normal doses, and even those showed very little drug in the milk. Hope this helps you.

I nursed my first child 1 year and my second 3 years all while taking allergy meds. I was orig. on zyrtec and advair and for the second child singulair, nasonex and advair. I have asthma too. No problems whatsoever. More important that you are healthy to provide for your child. My second child has a rare chronic illness which is why I've nursed him so long. Good luck!