Is it safe to take allergy medicine while breastfeeding?
Many people have heard that it’s not safe to take any medication while pregnant or breastfeeding. This is true for certain medications, but some allergy medications are safe during breastfeeding. There is no need to suffer through the symptoms associated with allergies while breastfeeding.
There are three things to consider when it comes to taking allergy medications while breastfeeding:
- What effect the drug will have
- What effect it will have on the baby
- How it might affect milk production
Always get advice from a health care provider before taking any medicine while breastfeeding. For something very minimal, health care providers will recommend saline nose or eye drops to alleviate stuffiness or itchy, dry eyes.
Another alternative to treat allergies while nursing is allergy injections or allergen immunotherapy. According to the Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters, “There is no evidence of an increased risk of prescribing or continuing allergen immunotherapy for a parent while breastfeeding and no risk for the breastfed child.”
For continued uncontrolled symptoms, there are also oral allergy medications that are safe to take while breastfeeding.
