Hay Fever During Pregnancy: What Safely and Effectively Helps Expectant Moms

Hello hay fever: Weeping, itchy eyes, a runny nose and violent sneezing attacks - unfortunately, even pregnant women are not always spared from allergies. But don't worry: you can relieve your hay fever symptoms without endangering the baby. Allergy expert Prof. Bettina Wedi explains which medications are effective and safe during pregnancy.

It's such a thing with the pregnancy hormones: a pregnant woman suffering from hay fever is spared her hay fever thanks to hormonal changes and a reduced immune system. With the other, exactly the opposite happens - and the allergic symptoms increase with the baby in the stomach, which is really uncomfortable. Studies show that every fifth pregnant woman suffers from hay fever symptoms.

Fortunately, there are now many effective medications for hay fever that have hardly any side effects. Anyone who is expecting a baby naturally asks himself: Which of these can pregnant women also use or take without hesitation? We discussed this with Prof. Dr. medical habil. Bettina Wedi, Senior Physician and Head of Allergology at the Clinic for Dermatology, Allergology and Venereology at the Hannover Medical School.

1. 1.Hay fever during pregnancy - which medications are allowed?
2. 1.1Stuffy nose - what helps?
3. 1.2Are there any drugs that pregnant women can take without medical advice?
4. 1.3What about antihistamines during pregnancy?
5. 1.4Is cortisone allowed for hay fever during pregnancy?
6. 1.5 Hay fever during pregnancy: is hyposensitization possible?
7. 2.What can I do in everyday life to protect myself from pollen?
8. 3.When does which pollen actually fly?
9. 4.Hay Fever & Pregnancy: How Can I Prevent My Baby from Getting Allergic?
10. 5.Hay fever & medication: What applies to breastfeeding?

Hay fever during pregnancy - which medications are allowed?

The good news: hay fever can also be treated during pregnancy! If you suffer from a severe allergy, you should even do something about it and use medication that alleviates the symptoms. "Otherwise, bronchial asthma can develop, which is very stressful for both the pregnant woman with allergies and her child," explains the allergy specialist. Asthma attacks can lead to a lack of oxygen in the blood - a much higher risk for the baby in the womb than taking certain medications for hay fever symptoms.

Stuffy nose - what helps?

Many pregnant women struggle with a stuffy nose due to the hormones. This has nothing to do with an allergy, but rather with the increased estrogen level. However, if you also have hay fever symptoms, breathing freely and sleeping well at night is almost impossible.

Prof. Dr. medical habil. Bettina Wedi, Senior Physician and Head of Allergology at the Clinic for Dermatology, Allergology and Venereology at the Hannover Medical School, advises nasal sprays with a saline solution as a first step. Decongestant nasal sprays, on the other hand, should be used carefully by pregnant women and not used over a long period of time, as they can narrow the blood vessels.

“Pregnant women may use the active substances xylometazoline or oxymetazoline for a maximum of ten days”. Here it makes sense - even for non-pregnant women - to consult your doctor briefly, because prolonged use can lead to addiction. Babies should also be careful when it comes to decongestant nasal sprays.

Are there any drugs that pregnant women can take without medical advice?

“The use of saline solution as a nasal spray or nasal rinse is harmless. And there are also many studies on medicines with cromoglicic acid that show that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with taking them during pregnancy,” explains Professor Bettina Wedi. “However, cromoglicic acid does not help immediately the first time it is used in an acute situation. Those affected must take the active ingredient regularly as a prophylaxis.”

What About Antihistamines During Pregnancy?

If a pregnant woman suffers greatly from her hay fever, antihistamines are often unavoidable. The allergist advises: “For topical antihistamines such as nasal sprays and eye drops, I recommend the active ingredients azelastine and levocabastine to pregnant women. Otherwise, loratadine tablets are the safest. More than 5,000 tests were carried out here on use during pregnancy.”

The second most experiences are with the antihistamine tablets with cetirizine. Anyone suffering from hay fever should take the medication according to the recommendations in the instructions for use.

What helped me against hay fever

During pregnancy, after a lot of research and a conversation with my doctor, I took loratadine tablets and a nasal spray for children on bad hay fever days. Regular nasal rinses have also helped me a lot.

Is cortisone allowed for hay fever during pregnancy?

Topical glucocorticosteroids – i.e. nasal drops and sprays with cortisone – can also be used by pregnant women. "They are helpful when the nose is very blocked," explains allergy specialist Bettina Wedi. "The active ingredient recommended during pregnancy is budenoside." But sometimes that's not enough to get hay fever under control.

In extreme cases, glucocorticosteroids can also be taken in tablet form. Then experts recommend prednisolone. “Depot glucocorticosteroids are not suitable during pregnancy – and in general. These are long-acting drugs that are injected into the muscle. They have many undesirable side effects, are difficult to control due to their depot effect and pose a significant safety risk, so that their use by allergy sufferers is considered malpractice."

Hay fever during pregnancy: is hyposensitization possible?

"Due to the very rare side effect of an anaphylactic shock, pregnant women should not start any desensitization treatment - also known as allergen-specific immunotherapy." medical Bettina Wedi up.

Those who started the hyposensitization before pregnancy and have tolerated it well so far can continue it. "This is advisable in the case of a life-threatening allergy to insect venom - for example from bees or wasps - and also possible in the case of allergic rhinitis, i.e. hay fever." You can discuss in detail with your treating allergist how you proceed individually.

Anyone planning a (further) pregnancy should check with an allergist beforehand about possible allergies such as hay fever. This is because the diagnostic options are also limited during pregnancy. For example, skin tests are not carried out in order not to unnecessarily endanger the child in the event of a possible allergic reaction from the mother.

In general, the following applies to pregnant hay fever sufferers: Always ask your doctor which medicines you can use and which not. This also applies to herbal and non-prescription products.

It didn't hit me that badly

Nevertheless, I had hay fever with all its symptoms when I was pregnant. I was helped by seawater nasal spray, ice packs and baby eye drops to flush my eyes. I also recommend an air filter.

What can I do in everyday life to protect myself from pollen?

The allergist Bettina Wedi has two good tips:

1. If you have hay fever in spring, there is no point in chopping down the birch in the garden, because the pollen travels many kilometers. Pollen protection grids on the windows and doors and air cleaners and pollen filters in the car offer a certain degree of protection.
2. Simple, general behavioral measures are also helpful, because pollen is brought into the house in the hair or with the clothing. It is therefore advisable to change clothes, not leave pollen-covered clothes open in the bedroom and to wash your hair before going to bed.

When does which pollen actually fly?

Most hay fever sufferers are only allergic to certain pollens. Anyone who knows what these are can find current pollen count forecasts at the German Weather Service.

Our pollen count calendar shows when which allergy triggers typically fly:

It often also makes sense to keep an allergy diary to find out when pollen and co. cause the biggest problems - and what is the best individual remedy.

Hay fever & pregnant: How can I prevent an allergy in my baby?

Anyone who suffers from an allergy such as hay fever starts thinking about whether and how it can be possible to spare your baby the annoying symptoms. Part of the risk is genetic, so it may be inherited. However, parents can have a positive influence on some things – during pregnancy and when the baby is born:

Hay fever & medication: What applies to breastfeeding?

"Saline solution, topical azelastine, levocabastine and budenoside, oral loratadine and cetirizine as well as prednisolone are harmless when breastfeeding," explains allergy specialist Bettina Wedi. The doctor also gives the go-ahead for hyposensitization treatment during breastfeeding.

Selected sources, as of January 2022:

Allergy prevention: tips for supplementary food

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