- Many types of nasal allergies are temporarily relieved by nasal saline. Nasal saline is completely safe to use during pregnancy because it is not a medication, it is salt water. It is available without a prescription and is a cost-effective and safe way to treat nasal allergies. Because it is only salt water, it can be used as often as needed.
- Some antihistamines, like tripelennamine and chlorpheniramine are often used to treat allergies during pregnancy. Over the counter antihistamines, like Claritin and Zyrtec can also be use. In general, antihistamines are considered to be category B medications. Category B medications have shown no negative results in studies with pregnant animals but there have been no studies done with pregnant women.
- Decongestants should not be used during your first trimester of pregnancy. Decongestants have been associated with infant gastroschisis. This is a birth defect that occurs when the baby's intestines are outside of the baby's body. Decongestants are a category C medication. This means that they may have negative effects on the fetus in animal studies. However, it is possible that the benefits of the drug may outweigh the risks.
- Medicated nasal sprays like NasalCrom can be helpful for treating allergies. You can purchase medicated nasal sprays over the counter. This type of medication is considered a category B drug. If medicated sprays do not seem to help, nasal steroids are also available. However, most nasal steroids are category C and, therefore, pose a higher risk during pregnancy. Budesonide is the one nasal steroid that is classified as a category B.
- If you took allergy shots before you became pregnant, it is possible to continue to do so during pregnancy. However, most doctors will not recommend beginning shots during your pregnancy. Usually during pregnancy, the dosage of each allergy shot will be decreased by 50 percent. Let your allergist know that you are pregnant as soon as possible. Some allergists dislike giving pregnant women allergy shots due to the risk of anaphylaxis.
