Hay fever whilst breastfeeding...

[embiemomma]

anyone know what i can safely take (if anything) for hay fever? My LO is 16 months old and only feeds before he goes to bed now but i don't want to stop just because of my hay fever! It's particularly bad at the moment due to the weather... Stuffy nose, itchy eyes and nose and a thick throat ☹ driving me mad!! Even if i could just sort my nose out if be happy!

[Elibee48]

Hi I suffered so bad towards the end of my pregnancy and didn’t take anything I just tried local honey which didn’t really help. As soon as I had him I asked the midwives on the ward as was so bad (full on cold, sore eyes, itchy mouth etc) and they said 1 x priton was okay while breastfeeding. I believe this is the non drowsy one. It’s worth booking a gp appointment and confirming with yours though. But this was he advice I was given.

[claire16c in reply to Elibee48]

Piriton is actually the anti histamine which makes you drowsy. The non drowsy ones are loratadine and ceterazine. But yes low doses of piriton are sometimes ok but it’s strange they suggested that first! X

[AllWeNeedIsluv]

I'm not sure but I was still breast feeding my daughter at that age and she has hay fever and the Dr prescribed her a medicine a really can't remember what it's calked she hasnt needed it this year but it begins with an L anyway I used to take that as she was for my hay fever and it helped xx loratadine its called xx

[misswinky34]

Hi my son is 18 months and I’m still bfeeding him three times a day. The gp said it’s fine e for me to take nasal and eye drops but they didn’t touch me. They said the next best thing is loratadine or cloraphenamine (piriton) but just stick to the lowest dose you can stand or it affects your supply. They told me if I’m feeding once or twice a day is probably worn off by the next feed anyways xx

[Hidden]

Its awful isn’t it! I would speak to a pharmacist and get a professional opinion. My dr told me not to take antihistamine as it crosses the milk and affects supply. X

[claire16c in reply to Hidden]

That’s a shame the dr told you that. The bfn leaflet I’ve posted below should be helpful for you. Even the nhs website lists the anti histamines that bf mums can take I wish drs would check!

nhs.uk/common-health-questi...

[claire16c]

There are anti histamines you can take, nasal sprays and eye drops

breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk...

[embiemomma in reply to claire16c]

thank you so much for this advice! I emailed a pharmacist on this site who sent a prompt reply... A few days on medication and I'm a new woman! wish I'd known about this site sooner!! Xx

[claire16c in reply to embiemomma]

It’s really frustrating that bf mums are not given the right info more easily! I’d recommend joining some bf groups on Facebook too x

[claire16c]

I would always advise looking on the Bfn drugs in breastmilk factsheets for any thing you are wanting to know if you can take when bf.

[misswinky34]

The majority of ones that affect breast milk do so because regular use, say 4 times a day, will dry up the supply faster. For people like me who are feeding 2 or three times a day max, isn’t really applicable, than I’d say I had a newborn feeding on demand 12 times a day. In small amounts, the gp from his own mouth told me this is safe. I’ve bfed 3 children for 6 years in total and have had hay fever with each summer, took anti histamine, and me and the kids have been completely fine. X