Loratadine During Pregnancy – Safety And Side Effects
Once you are pregnant, your doctor may ask you to evaluate every medication that you take, including prescription drugs. Your doctor will consistently try to reduce how many medications she prescribes, and even the medicines she does prescribe you will be rather benign, and safe for your use during your pregnancy.
As pregnancy weakens your immune system, you are susceptible to many infections. Your doctor will often prescribe an antihistamine in such cases. And, Loratadine is one such antihistamine that your doctor may prescribe. So, if you want to know why the medication is used and whether or not you can take it safely while you are pregnant, do read on.
What Is Loratadine?
Loratadine is an antihistamine, which reduces the effects of natural chemical histamines in your body. An antihistamine minimizes the physiological effects of histamine and treats allergies. Histamines can lead to various allergic symptoms such as watery eyes, sneezing, itching and even a runny nose. Loratadine eases symptoms like sneezing, watery eyes, runny nose, hives, itching, and skin rashes.
Loratadine is most commonly available as a prescribed drug and in some cases is also available as an over the counter drug.
[ Read: Over The Counter (OTC) Medications During Pregnancy ]
Other Medical Names Of Loratadine:
Here are some other names for the drug loratadine as it is available in the market, in tablets, capsules or as disintegrating tablets:
- Claritin
- Alavert
- Bactimicina Allergy
- Claritin 24 Hour Allergy Relief
- Claritin Hives Relief
- Tavist ND
- Loratadine Reditab
- Vicks QlearQuil All Day and All Night 24 Hour Allergy Relief
- Ohm Allergy Relief
- Wal-itin
- Clear-Atadine Children’s
- Dimetapp Children’s ND Non-Drowsy Allergy [1]
[ Read: Can You Take Benadryl While Pregnant ]
Is It Safe To Take Loratadine During Pregnancy?
The best person to advise you about the use and safety of loratadine while you are pregnant is your doctor. Remember that every pregnancy is different, and what may suit one pregnant female may not suit you, and vice versa. Also, your doctor will be the best judge of your overall health and the health of your pregnancy, and will be able to form an informed decision. Here are a few things you should keep in mind when you think of taking loratadine while pregnant:
- The US FDA has put loratadine on the pregnancy category B status, which means that there are no known side effects if you take the drug while you are pregnant. However, there are no medical research studies that have been done on human beings to test the reaction of the drug, and the only studies that are available have been done on animals.
- As such, even though it is a pregnancy category B drug, your doctor will only prescribe it for you when the benefits seem to outweigh any potential risk.
- Your doctor will first check all your symptoms and decide if prescribing loratadine will help to ease the symptoms, without causing any side effect. For instance, your doctor may prescribe loratadine if it will help to reduce or prevent your symptoms of asthma, and it will also help to reduce your requirement for any additional medications for asthma.
[ Read: It Is Safe To Take Allergy Medications During Pregnancy ]
- Treating your allergies with the help of loratadine will also help you sleep better and will help to improve your emotional well-being.
- It is considered that if you take loratadine during pregnancy, it will cause less drowsiness as compared to other antihistamines.
While you are pregnant, you are sometimes more prone to experience cold and cough and related allergies. Do speak to your doctor to understand whether you can safely take loratadine during these months, without any risk to your or your unborn baby’s health.
Moms, did your doctor prescribe you any loratadine while you were pregnant? Do share your experiences here.
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