Hayfever in pregnancy - can I take anything?

[pinkypig]

Hi,

I have been suffering pretty bad hayfever for all 20 weeks of my pregnancy (I'm in Aus but this may affect some of you UK ladies soon).

I have taken it that I can't take anything to ease the symptoms but just wondered if there is anything safe out there?

Thanks

PP

Oh no poor you, 3 out of my 4 were summer pgs and I had terrible hayfever and was told that I couldn't take anything - sorry not what you want to hear.

you can use a little pot called hayban. Its pricey for the size but completely stops the itching sneezing and runny nose.
Also contact your homeopath who will help you further

peanuts its called

haymax

Would the antihistamine in Piriton help? The chloro-something; I took that for insect bites in one pregnancy (had ok from GP).

am GP they think piriton (chlorphenamine) is safe in preg after all you can give it to kids too.

Or you could could get a nose spray and soe eyedrops if you don't want to take tabs & treat your symptoms that way

Piriton is fine during pregnancy, according to my obstetrician. I had tot ake it.

You can take Nelsons - Pollena - homeopathic remedy:

www.worldwideshoppingmall.com

i took beconase nasal spray having checked it with my obstetrician and also phenergren which i think is an antihistamine but which i took to control nausea (weird but true) and it did help

Homeopathic stuff might help. Otherwise after a big of Googling have found that our resident GP SarahandTiny is of course right and Piriton appears to be fine, simply by virtue of having been around for years with no recorded side effects. It's one of the drowsy ones, though, so take care if driving. Wish I knew this yesterday when I had a major allergic reaction to a horse I decided to stroke and thought I couldn't take anything!

Nasal drops are preferred as they are not absorbed into the system like the tablets which can be passed through to the baby.

Its also recommended for mummy's who are breastfeeding.

Do not take the steroid nasal sprays without talking to your doctor!
Most GPs are only OK with Piriton which, as pinchpants says, is a really old-school antihistamine and can make you drowsy (I was knocked out by it). If you are really suffering, as I was, you might find a sympathetic doctor who will prescribe you Claritin (sp?) which is the most widely used and studied of the newer non-drowsy antihistamines. I took Claritin (and Zyrtec) during pregnancy with the blessing of my GP, but I know that that's unusual. I took as few as I could, and DD is absolutely fine. The problem, of course, is that it's not ethical to test drugs on pregnant women, so doctors are normally very cautious.
I assume that you're already doing all the normal stuff like showering after you come in from indoors, using a air purifier in the room where you sleep etc.

My GP has said that she can prescribe me eye drops and a nasal spray when the time comes to help alleviate the symptons.

I often feel sorry for British women. They play it fast and loose with the drugs in teh US, so whenever I was bothered by things like hayfever and the like, I'd log onto a US board and see what their doctors - because antenatal care is handled by consultants there - were letting them have.

My GP prescribed Beconase. It takes a while to build up in your system (2-3 days) but it stops your symptoms appearing rather than just treating them.

Beconase is a steroid-based nasal spray and my doctors during both pgs said it was safe.