Can I Prevent Allergies
While people with allergies cannot prevent the condition, they can try to avoid or reduce exposure to allergens or triggers. Pollen is a common allergen in Australia, and can be hard to avoid, but to minimise your exposure you could try to:
- stay indoors where possible during pollen season, on windy days, or after thunderstorms
- avoid activities that expose you to pollen, such as mowing grass
- shower as soon as you can after youve been exposed to pollen
- switch your car air-conditioning setting to use re-circulated air when pollen levels are high
Is It Really Allergies
Rhinitis is inflammation of the mucous membranes in your nose. It’s usually caused by allergies or a viral illness like the common cold.
But it can also strike when you’re pregnantâand it has nothing to do with allergies or acute illness.
Research shows this pregnancy rhinitis affects between 20% and 40% of pregnancies. Symptoms include:
- Nasal congestion
Researchers suspect hormonal changes in pregnancy make some mucus-producing glands more active.
Also, your blood volume increases during pregnancy. That means blood vessels widen and take up more space. In a tight space like nasal passages, this can lead to allergy-like symptoms.
A healthcare provider uses the following criteria to diagnose pregnancy rhinitis:
- Symptoms are present during the last six or more weeks of pregnancy
- There are no signs of a respiratory tract infection
- There is no known allergic cause
- Symptoms disappear in the two weeks after delivery
If you have rhinitis symptoms but antihistamines aren’t helping, this may be why. Talk to your healthcare provider about the possibility of pregnancy rhinitis.
What Are Some Reasons Why People Take Benadryl During Pregnancy
Benadryl is a brand name for the drug diphenhydramine . Its an antihistamine. This means that it helps calm down your immune system from overreacting to pollen, dust, cats, and other allergens.
Taking Benadryl can give you some relief from allergies, asthma, hay fever, and cold symptoms, like:
- itchy eyes, nose, or throat
This OTC medication is also used to stop or ease dizziness, nausea, and vomiting from being car or motion sick. Since it can make you drowsy, some women also use it to help with sleeplessness during pregnancy.
Recommended Reading: What Essential Oils Help With Allergies
Safety Of Benadryl During Pregnancy
Youre not alone in seeking allergy relief while pregnant. Up to 15 percent of women in the United States report taking antihistamines like Benadryl while they were pregnant. Medical research shows that Benadryl is most likely safe for your growing baby.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that Benadryl is in a group of antihistamine drugs called H. This group has been tested by many research studies and found to be safe during pregnancy.
Other brand-name allergy meds in this family of antihistamines include Claritin and Zyrtec. Doxylamine, another H antihistamine commonly used to help with sleeplessness in pregnancy, is considered safe. You may know it by its brand name, Unisom.
Another kind of allergy antihistamine drug is called H. This kind has been tested by fewer medical studies and may not be safe during pregnancy. OTC antihistamines in this group include Pepcid, Zantac, and Tagamet these should only be used under the supervision of a doctor.
Allergy Medicine While Pregnant
Environmental allergens like cat dander, pollen fungus and dust are present all around us. Being sensitive to any of these allergens can lead to allergic reactions that can cause eye watering, sniffing and sneezing. During pregnancy, these allergic symptoms can become better or get worse. If this happens, then questions like “Is my baby going to be affected” or “Can I take allergy medicine while pregnant” can come into your mind.
Recommended Reading: How To Test For Nut Allergy
At Chapel Hill Obgyn We Will Guide You Through Every Step Of Your Pregnancyincluding Allergy Medicines While Pregnant
Allergies can be annoying and make day-to-day life challenging. When youre pregnant, this only adds to the challenges.
We want you to find relief for your allergies, but we want to be sure its done in a way that is safe for your baby. Thats why we have a team of OBGYNS in Chapel Hill and OBGYNS in Durham ready to serve you and answer all your questions about taking allergy medicines while pregnant.
We have served generations of women, providing the convenience of a small practice with the advanced technology available at major medical centers.
See why weve been recognized as one of the best in the Triangle by the INDY Best of the Triangle awards.
How To Choose An Allergy Medicine While Pregnant
After youve identified which medications are safe to take, you need to determine which ones are effective for you.
If you suffer from chronic or environmental allergies , you may want to consider an antihistamine to take every day, such as Zyrtec or Claritin.
You can also treat seasonal allergies with this method, but Benadryl is a good, super-safe option if your symptoms are rare.
However, Benadryl may cause you to become extremely drowsy. Therefore, apply caution when you take it.
If you are unsure how Benadryl will affect you, dont take it before driving or operating a machine. Does it make you sleepy? Use it in the evening before going to bed. It may even improve your sleep!
If you experience pressure or sinus pain during allergies, one of the nasal steroid sprays is an ideal choice.
Pregnant women often experience excess nasal congestion due to increased fluid and blood volume. This can cause swelling throughout the body, not only in the ankles. Therefore, a nasal steroid can alleviate some of those additional symptoms.
Also Check: Are Air Purifiers Good For Allergies
Allergy Medications To Avoid During Pregnancy
- Pseudoephedrine : While some studies found that pseudoephedrine is safe in pregnancy, there have been reports of an increase in abdominal wall defects in the babies of mothers who used the medication during pregnancy, according to the ACAAI.
- Phenylephrine and phenylpropanolamine: These decongestants are considered less desirable than taking pseudoephedrine, according to the ACAAI.
Allergy Medicine While Pregnant: What Is Safe To Use
Can you take allergy medicine while pregnant? What allergy medications are safe to use while pregnant?
Continue reading to discover safer medications and a guide to better allergy treatments.
It can feel risky taking medications that you usually rely on. Your condition may feel worse because of temporary changes to your pregnant body, like heightened stress or morning sickness.
In addition, you might find yourself waking up with a stuffy nose in the middle of the night when all you want to do is rest.
Youre already overloaded with donts for pregnancy. The list of things to avoid seems to grow by the week. So, if you suffer from allergies while pregnant, you may be restricted in your choices.
Pregnancy is already stressful enough, but choosing the ideal allergy medicine while pregnant for you and your baby shouldnt be.
After all, there are plenty of options that work as well as or better than your regular allergy medicine.
Therefore, you will require a little digging and time to discover whats safe and whats not.
Allergy sufferers often take antihistamines to relieve their symptoms. Some studies have shown that taking over-the-counter allergy medicines while pregnant is safe, including chlorpheniramine, hydroxyzine, and dexchlorpheniramine.
Cetirizine and loratadine are among the newer antihistamines that are potentially safe. Additionally, you can use a corticosteroid nasal spray safe during pregnancy.
Recommended Reading: Can You Get Chills From Allergies
Can You Take Allergy Medications When Pregnant
Check with your practitioner to see what medications you can safely take during pregnancy. That goes even if you were already regularly taking prescription, over-the-counter or homeopathic medications: Don’t continue to use any of them until you get the go-ahead from a practitioner, who should be the first and final word on any allergy treatments you use.
That said, there are some general do’s and don’ts about allergy medications during pregnancy:Trusted SourceAmerican College of Allergy, Asthma & ImmunologyPregnancy and AllergiesSee All Sources
Is Benadryl Safe When Pregnant
Benadryl is considered to be safe during pregnancy. Doctors and nurses recommend this OTC medication to help relieve allergy symptoms, even while you’re pregnant. Recent studies have found Benadryl to be safe. However, always remember that no medicine prescription or OTC is ever 100 percent safe during pregnancy.
Also Check: Do Allergies Make You Dizzy
Key Findings: Antihistamines And Birth Defects
Pregnant woman talking to her doctor about medication use.
In a new CDC study, researchers reviewed more than 50 published scientific articles to see if there was a risk of birth defects from using antihistamines, like allergy medication, during pregnancy. Researchers found the evidence to be generally reassuring: most antihistamines do not appear to be linked to birth defects. However, researchers need to study certain antihistamine medications further to determine if they increase the risk for birth defects. You can read the articles abstract hereexternal icon. Read more below for a summary of the findings from this article.
Is It Safe To Take Allergy Medicine While Pregnant
You can make use of some allergy medicine while pregnant. However, it is important to take care when using drugs during pregnancy because the FDA claims that no drug is completely safe for pregnant women, especially in the first trimester.So, consult your doctor before taking any allergy medicine.
The following medicines are usually used for treating allergies. We are going to discuss whether you can take them safely during your pregnancy one by one.
1. OTC Antihistamines
OTC or Over-the-counter antihistamines are usually considered safe for pregnant women even though they have some adverse effects like drowsiness. Still, it is better to ask your doctor about their safety before using them.
Oral antihistamines that are considered to be safe include cetirizine , loratadine , chlorpheniramine , diphenhydramine and fexofenadine . The steroid spray and nasal sprays containing cromolyn sodium prescribed by doctors are also considered safe. The best thing about sprays is that the drug contained in them doesn’t travel throughout the body and remains focused in the nose.
2. Allergy Shots
Pregnant women can get allergy shots only if they had been receiving them for some time prior to conception. Allergists believe that starting allergy shots during pregnancy isn’t a good idea because they can cause changes in the immune system leading to unexpected reactions.
3. Decongestants
Recommended Reading: Is Coughing Up Mucus A Sign Of Allergies
Can You Take Claritin And Benadryl
Taking Claritin and Benadryl together is not recommended.
Combining them can increase the risk of adverse effects since they have similar side effects.
Claritin has a long half-life, so taking Benadryl 12 hours after Claritin may not be a safe idea.
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Allergies Vs Nasal Congestion During Pregnancy
Expectant noses are, unfortunately, stuffy noses. Nasal congestion usually starts sometime in the second trimester, as high levels of estrogen and progesterone increase blood flow throughout your body including in your nose causing mucus membranes to swell and soften.
This can make you as stuffed up as if you had a cold or an allergy, resulting in nosebleeds during pregnancy and/or postnasal drip that may make you cough at night.
So how can you tell the difference between allergies and a bad case of pregnancy congestion? If you’re suffering from allergies, you’ll most likely experience the additional symptoms mentioned above along with the stuffiness and coughing. If noticeable itchiness and sneezing aren’t plaguing you, it could just be the hormone-related congestion of pregnancy. If you’re not sure, talk to your doctor.
Also Check: Can Allergies Cause Yellow Eye Discharge
About Antihistamines And This Study
About antihistamines
Antihistamines include both prescription and over-the-counter medications. They typically are used to treat
- Asthma and/or allergies
About 10-15% of women report taking antihistamines during pregnancy.
About this study
Researchers reviewed more than 50 published scientific articles that looked at the link between antihistamine use during pregnancy and birth defects. They evaluated the articles based on certain criteria: how researchers selected their study populations, how researchers determined antihistamine use in pregnancy, and how researchers identified babies with birth defects.
Shelve Certain Allergy Medications For Now
Certain oral decongestants are associated with an increased risk of birth defects. These are medications taken by mouth that relieve congestion. Avoid antihistamines that are combined with a decongestant. You can recognize those because they often have a D for decongestant after the name, like Claritin-D.
Nasal sprays, as prescribed or recommended by a doctor, are medications applied in the nose. That means their effects dont go throughout the body like oral medications. Its still recommended that pregnant people avoid nasal spray decongestants. There isnt enough evidence to show whether theyre safe.
If youve been considering starting allergy shots, put them off until after your baby is born. If you were already taking allergy shots when you became pregnant, you can continue.
Keep taking allergic asthma medication if you were prescribed it. Uncontrolled asthma can cause serious health issues during pregnancy.
Also Check: Do Your Ears Get Clogged With Allergies
Should I Continue My Allergy Shots During Pregnancy
It is appropriate to continue allergy shots during pregnancy in women who are not having reactions to the shots, because they may lessen your allergic or asthma symptoms. There is no evidence that they have any influence on preventing allergies in the newborn. It is not generally recommended that allergy shots be started during pregnancy.
To summarize: It is extremely important to monitor closely any asthma or allergic problems during your pregnancy. In the vast majority of cases, you and your child can look forward to a good outcome, even if your asthma is severe, so long as you follow your doctorâs instructions carefully. At the very first signs of breathing difficulty, call your doctor.
Remember the danger of providing an inadequate supply of oxygen to your baby is a much greater risk than taking the commonly used asthma medications.
The best way to take control of your allergies and have a healthy pregnancy is to speak with an allergist.
This page was reviewed for accuracy 4/17/2018.
What Else Can You Do For Allergy During Pregnant
Although it is safe for you to take some allergy medicine while pregnant, you can do many things to prevent allergic reactions from happening too.
1. Avoid the Allergen
Consult with your physician and find out whether allergies or nasal congestion is causing your symptoms. If you are having an allergic reaction during pregnancy, then you can try the following tips to avoid certain allergen.
- For pollen allergy: Stay indoors where the air is conditioned and filtered. Wear wraparound sunglasses when going outdoors to keep your eyes safe from pollen. Thoroughly wash your face and hands when coming indoors.
- For dust allergy: Ask someone else to clean for you. To avoid dust, ask your helpers to use wet mop or a vacuum that has a HEPA filter.
- For food allergies: Refrain from eating foods you are allergic to. Check the labels of food items carefully to ensure they do not contain ingredients you are allergic to.
- For pet allergies: Ask your pet-owning friends to make arrangements before you go to their homes. If you become allergic to your own pet, then try to keep your room pet-free.
- Other tips. Avoiding smokers can keep you safe from allergies and secondhand smoke, which is bad for both you and your baby. And you should stay away from household chemicals. For example, paint thinners can trigger allergic reaction.
2. Relieve Allergic Symptoms
Minor lifestyle changes can help you in avoiding the use of allergy medicine while pregnant and also keep your symptoms under check.
Also Check: How Common Is Peanut Allergy In Babies
Behavioral Advice For People With Allergies
However, there is several pregnancy-safe allergy medicines you can take. You can also prevent it by changing your lifestyle. Here are some behavioral pieces of advice for people with allergies.
First of all, be sure to talk to your doctor about your allergy symptoms. Here are some preventive actions in case you expect allergies during pregnancy:
- Stay away from smokers
- If you are allergic to pollen, try to equip your home with an air purifier. When leaving the house, wear a mask and sunglasses and wash your hands and face on return
- If you are sensitive to dust, it is best to ask someone else to clean the dust in your home
- If you are allergic to pets, it is best to leave the pet with a friend or allocate a separate room in the house for that animal before your allergy symptoms begin
- Use a solution of warm water and salt to rinse your nose to reduce symptoms
- Use a fumigator at night to keep the bedroom moist
- Avoid allergens
- Most allergens enter the home during early mornings and evenings, so close the windows at these times
- Use mint incense.
Can You Get Allergies During Pregnancy
Yes, you can get allergies while you’re pregnant, sometimes for the first time and certainly if you have a history of them. Allergies are very common in pregnancy, and not all women who experience them are long-term allergy sufferers. Many women with no known prior allergies only complain of their symptoms during pregnancy.
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Common Causes Of Hay Fever
You may feel the symptoms of hay fever at specific times of the year, when certain triggers, or allergens, are in the air. This is known as seasonal allergic rhinitis. The allergens might include pollens from trees, grasses, weeds, fungi or moulds. If you experience year-round symptoms known as perennial allergic rhinitis your triggers might include common household allergens such as dust mites, cockroaches, animal dander, fungi or moulds.
