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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

Hayfever tablets pregnant?

18 replies

Flower11111 · 12/04/2021 09:50

Hello All,
I wanted to ask opinions on what others have done being Allergy/ hayfever sufferers during pregnancy 🤰🏻 I recently spoke to my doctor who was very unhelpful just decided to prescribe me a hayfrver tablet that says clearly under the prescription not recommended for pregnant women 🤔 to then be told by other experienced mums it's not really recommended you take one. I then went back to my doctor complaining of this prescription to then be prescribed " the safest hayfever tablet" why they didn't prescribe me that in the first place and why I wasn't told by my doctor that they'd preferably prefer me not to take any?
I am a terrible hayfever sufferer and already waking sneezing puffy itchy eyes it's going to be hell this summer! 🤭

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 12/04/2021 10:43

Loratidine and cetirizine are considered ok in pregnancy. What were you offered?

dementedpixie · 12/04/2021 10:44

There are also corticosteroid nasal sprays you can use

lilomum · 12/04/2021 10:50

I'm in a similar boat. My midwife told me that as much as possible I should not take anything and instead try to manage it by taking myself away where I can. She said at some point, ie when there's a real danger to mum, those risks would outweigh the risk to the baby and then they say it's ok but the sense I got was unless I'm struggling to breeze and it's getting into epi-pen territory I should not take anything. I'm already starting to struggle. Not looking forward to the next few months without relief!

ButterscotchWhip · 12/04/2021 10:55

I am also pregnant and in hayfever hell! My pharmacist told me that loratidine is fine, but I did some internet research and although it's seen as generally safe there isn't a huge amount of info (as always with pregnancy risk stuff, I guess). I've decided to play it safe with eye drops and nasal sprays, but my god, it's bad this year! I also bathe my face in cold water which is temporarily helpful (and generally impractical unless you're at home). Apparently vaseline around the nostrils works to trap pollen, but I'm not wild about the idea of greasy nostrils, tbh.

peachesandpippin · 15/04/2021 10:15

I just found out I'm pregnant and I have rhinitis which is hayfever all year round 😩 I'm dreading the summer as I've already been bad this year. I haven't spoke to a midwife yet but I'm hoping to get some help.

Fleetw00d · 15/04/2021 10:34

I was told to take targeted meds so nasal spray and eye drops rather than tablets!

dementedpixie · 15/04/2021 10:37

Loratidine and cetirizine are considered safe too

Megan2018 · 15/04/2021 10:41

I was told to stay away from the tablets and to only use the nasal sprays.
Interestingly my hayfever was much less severe when pregnant (back to horrendous now).
The tablets are untested in pregnancy so I decided not to risk it. Some people do but I wasn’t prepared to.

Moorelewis · 15/04/2021 10:45

Nothing can be really considered "100% safe" in pregnancy. Loratidine and ceritizine are the safest anti histamine to take. No pharmacist would give me antihistamines, I had to go through the gp.

dementedpixie · 15/04/2021 10:46

Or you can buy them off the shelf in a supermarket without going through a pharmacist or gp

romdowa · 15/04/2021 10:49

So interesting to see that other gps are recommending nasal sprays in pregnancy . Mine refuses flatly to give me one , even though I'm now getting nose bleeds from the sinusitis. It's crazy how they all differ so much

dementedpixie · 15/04/2021 10:50

Some Corticosteroid sprays are considered ok
decongestant ones aren't OK

Vida9090 · 15/04/2021 12:04

I took certirizine in my first pregnancy but only on really bad days. I discovered that it seemed to completely eliminate my morning sickness which was great but it concerned me a bit as I didn’t like that it was having some impact on pregnancy hormones! It’s meant to be ok to use though

TheGriffle · 15/04/2021 12:07

I think it’s B&M or Homebargains that also do hayfever wipes as well which might offer you slight relief. The only time I’ve ever suffered hayfever was when I was pregnant and didn’t want to risk taking anything!

Notlostjustexploring · 15/04/2021 12:16

I was prescribed fexofenidine. I don't remember the details of the conversation with the gp, but it went along the lines of, "its fine to take in pregnancy, we just can't officially say it's fine because there have been no trials on pregnant women because its unethical".

Much nicer than the gp who said regarding morning sickness that as long as I could keep water down, to basically suck it up...

TTCAbroad · 15/04/2021 12:17

My ObGyn told me cetrizine was fine but to try and use it sparingly. She seemed generally unconcerned when I used it for two weeks when my symptoms were at their worst.

Rayna37 · 15/04/2021 12:24

I followed the advice to do without tablets but stuck with the nasal spray which is far more effective anyway. Honestly sufferers if you've not tried a spray do, stick with it for a few weeks and it really does help. It's been life changing for me and I know I would suffer without because on the odd occasion I run out, or even when I'm at the bottom of a bottle and the dosage decreases I can really tell!

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