Is Pirotone safe during pregnancy?

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I have been told by my doctor I can take the antihistamine Pirtone (think I have spelt that right) during pregancny but she did not seem that confident when telling me and also could not explain why I could take Pirotone and not other antihistamines. I wondered if anyone had any experience of this and could help. I suffer from asthma and lots of allergies and have not had a good nights sleep for ages due to them being really bad. Would appreciate any advice.

i think it is best to avoid all antihistamines if poss during pg, but if it is not possible, then piriton is the best one - it is the most tried and tested, been around for donkeys years, so the one that they can be most confident won't be any probs

Consulted the BNF which says:

'No evidence of teratogenicity; embryotoxicity in animal studies with high doses of hydroxyzine and loratadine; manufacturers of azatidine, cetirizine, desloratidine, hyroxyzine, loratadine, mizolastine and terfenadine advise avoid'

Piriton is chlorpheniramine so not listed here but I suppose if it was me, I'd avoid it if I could. Is there any other way of relieving the symptoms?

Basically, there isn't much evidence about the safety of antihistamines in pg so in most cases the advice is to avoid them. However, in severe cases, where the benefits outweight the possible risks, Piriton tends to be recommended because it has been on the market for a long time so there is more data about its use in pg women than there is for any of the others. The manufacturer of Piriton, however, says to avoid it, so the doctor would have to take personal responsibility for recommending it (which may explain her reluctance). There is some info here . HTH

My consultant was completely
happy to prescribe it for severe itching in my three pregnancies and it made my life so much easier. (that plus zantac/ranitidine for heartburn!}

Message withdrawn

Spoke to the pharmacist yesterday and he seemed to think they were safe. Thank you for your advice. Really worried about taking something that could cause harm to DD but think your right Yorkiegirl better to have a relaxed mum than a mum who hasn't slept for days........!