Hayfever tablets in pregnancy

[jellybean13419]

Hi everyone,
Hayfever has kicked in for me. Wonderful. I'm 11 weeks pregnant and didn't think about not being able to take Benadryl anymore. The packet quite clearly states not to take in pregnancy. Doing further research online, it seems that it's not advisable generally to take hayfever tablets in pregnancy. I'm one of these suffers from March until end of summer people. Is there anything anyone has tried naturally that's pregnancy safe for hayfever or are there types of tablets you can actually take?
Many thanks xxx

@jellybean13419 Hi, I suffer terrible hayfever! I’m not pregnant at the moment but there is a beconase spray you can take during pregnancy i think its called ‘beconase defence’ it specifically says on the packaging suitable for athletes and pregnant women, I used it all summer last year and it worked much better than the normal antihistamine tablets!

With my hay fever, it’s the itchy eyes that drive me insane. The sniffly nose and cough I can put up with. When I was pregnant I found some eye drops that did the trick, however not all of them are suitable during pregnancy so check with your pharmacist.

And Vaseline around your nostrils is supposed to help but I’ve never tried that tip!

Speak to your doctor, mine has been very helpful about this.

I have hay fever and allergies, and I take cetirizine hydrochloride every day. The nhs website says it’s safe in pregnancy so I’ve carried on as otherwise my face and mouth itches all over which is unbearable! Xxx

My GP said cetirozene and loratidine are both safe during pregnancy

I was told not to take them unless I really couldn’t cope so I didn’t.

This time I’ve been having a spoonful of local honey every day for a couple of weeks and am hoping that offers some sort of protection. I figure it’s worth a try!

Here’s the link to the nhs website:

www.nhs.uk/medicines/cetirizine/

Loratidine is seen as a first choice alongside corticosteroid sprays. Cetirizine is also ok

It's not really good for severe allergies, but I've been using Sterimar spray (which is just salt water basically). I get the one in an aerosol which really clears out my sinuses if I remember to take it before things get too bad.

I took a hay fever tablet everyday whilst pregnant with DD, without it I was a streaming sneezing mess and wouldn't have been able to function. My GP just advised me to switch from cetirizine to lorotadine.

I’ve been wondering about this. I’m 19 weeks and I usually start getting hay fever about April. I usually take a loratidine tablet once a day but didn’t know if I should this year. Glad to see it seems like it’s safe.
I’ve read online that doctors sometimes prescribe steroid nasal sprays and eye drops first to see if they help. Does anyone know if it’s preferable to take a nasal spray first to see if that works before trying the tablets? I was going to speak to gp when symptoms kick in but I’m wondering if they are likely to just tell me loratidine is fine?
Thanks x

onlinedoctor.lloydspharmacy.com/uk/allergy/hay-fever-medication-in-pregnancy

I took loratadine daily through both pregnancies (take it year round for urticaria) - the GP switched me from a different one.

Yes I had to take one to help with a pup rash for my last few months of pregnancy, it helped me sleep too!

Speak to your doctor. Mine advised to try just nasal sprays and if that wasn't effective then loratadine.

Pirinase nasal spray has always been my only hayfever cure, from the pharmacy. My midwife said it was fine to use!