Pregnancy and hayfever help

[user1773927]

Hi. Ive just found out im pregnant and I suffer really bad hayfever, I take the galpharm cetirizine hydrochloride tablets. Is it still safe to take these??

I was told 2 years ago and last week that there is no safe anti histemines to take. You need to speak to your GP really

There aren't any hayfever meds which are marked as safe during pregnancy because none of them have been tested but piriton is generally prescribed both for hayfever in pregnancy and other reactions (eg I had it when I developed serious itching in the third trimester).

I’ve been using antihistamines which have loratadine as the active ingredient. According to the NHS website it’s considered safe during pregnancy. I’m suffering terribly with hayfever this year so I need to take something.
www.nhs.uk/medicines/loratadine/

I took loratadine throughout both my pregnancies

I was told no tablet antihistamines are safe, but the NHS website says loretadine is…

Nasal sprays are definitely fine so I’ve been using one of those which seems to be working well.

There's a huge difference between it's safe (= we've tested it on pregnant women and it's fine) vs it's not dangerous (= there's no evidence that there is any risk). For obvious reasons, the former rarely can be stated!

I had really bad hayfever last year when I was pregnant and my GP said not to use antihistamines. They did prescribe me some steroid nose spray so might be worth asking if it's really bad. If not maybe saline spray would help?

I went to the pharmacy yesterday as really suffering and they told me that there's nothing i can take.... I have been making do with cold flannels on my eyes and haymax around my nose which is drug free. Hate this time of year at the best of times for hayfever, its absolute torture without medication!

I'm being super-cautious with my pregnancy as I'm an older mum - I normally use over-the-counter stuff for hayfever but have switched to Sterimar (saltwater spray - clears out anything you've breathed in) and Becodefence Plus (coats the inside of the nostrils to stop anything new getting in there). Combination of the two is working well so far, both are available from Boots/Sains/Amazon etc.

Oh, and both Sterimar and Becodefence Plus are drug-free!

I literally spoke to my GP about this today! I'm 11 weeks pregnant and suffer from hayfever. I've been nervous about taking anything so have been trying not to to, but some days I really need to. Like other users have said - there is no antihistamine that they can say is 100% safe in pregnancy because they can't do trials, however my GP said that Loratadine and Cetirizine are offered to pregnant women as there is no evidence of them causing any issues in pregnancy.

My GP has also prescribed me a steroid nasal spray which apparently is safe in pregnancy (I can't remember the name of it but if you ask your GP I'm sure they will know).

What I'm planning to do is to take loratadine but only when I'm really suffering - like if I know I'm going to be outside all day and the pollen count is high that day - as opposed to every day like I usually would. My hayfever can be really debilitating so weighing up the risk / benefits this is the right thing for me to do

Please do speak to your GP though as everyone seems to have different opinions!