Question:
I am 4 months pregnant right now and my allergies are acting up real bad.
Does anyone know what kind of medicine your allowed to take while pregnant?
Answer:
I know that plain Sudafed (red) is okay, but best to check with your doc! I haven't had any info on Sudafed, but my SIL's doctor said she could
take any Tylenol product at all (2 yrs ago), and my doctor told me
most children's formula medicines were ok for a pregnant woman in the
12 year old dose. I usually take Triaminic orange for my (severe)
allergies when I'm pregnant, but this time, my morning sickness is
overwhelming everything else. Since I can't eat enough to absorb some
of the stuff, I'm not putting chemicals into my system. Just before I got pregnant with Lili, I was on Seldane, which as everyone
now knows, is a no-no whether you are pregnant or not! I ended up lucking
out with that pregnancy, and had very few allergy problems, and got by
with Sudafed to help with the symptoms, mainly congestion. With number
two, I was taking Claritin, which my OB okayed as long as I wasn't taking
it daily. Since I had quite a bit of problems during that pregnancy with
my allergies, I stopped taking it all together and made due with the
Vancenase nasal inhaler which my primary care physician also prescribed.
This was okayed by my OB to use on a regular basis, and is the only thing
(other than Sudafed and the occasional Robitussun [Guaifenesin]) that I
currently take for my allergies. If I'm not mistaken, it's safe to take Benedryl during pregnancy, but
check always check with your doctor before taking any medication that
he/she hasn't already approved! Someone else mentioned this, but Zyrtec is new and probably hasn't been
extensively tested. You really need to speak with your ob/gyn and
allergist and read up on your options. I'm on Allegra (was on Claritin and same thing applies) and have been told
that it's a no-no during 1st trimester (the most vulnerable time for drugs
and alcohol to cause problems with the fetus), but would be ok after that
if the allergies were bad. You might also try natural allergy remedies (upping water intake helps, if
you haven't already done that, cutting back on certain foods that can
exacerbate symptoms, etc. -- check local bookstores or natural food stores
for resources.
