What allergy medications are safe during breastfeeding?

Mothers commonly ask what medications can be taken while breastfeeding. The following list of medications can be used for allergies and congestion.

Diphenhydramine –Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is often used in cough, cold, sinus, and allergy medications. Levels are low in breastmilk but it can cause drowsiness, which is not ideal for a breastfeeding mother. It is recommended to have some support to care for your baby if you are consuming any type of medication that has a sedating effect. Some people do report a drop in milk production with Benadryl, but the medical literature does not support this. Caution should be taken if you are struggling with low milk supply. Other medications that can be taken instead include cetirizine (Zyrtec), loratadine (Claritin), or fexofenadine (Allegra)

Nasal Saline Irrigation – Using saline is the safest possible treatment for nasal congestion in breastfeeding mothers.

Oxymetazoline (Afrin) – There are no good studies on the safety of this medication during breastfeeding, but due to it’s properties it is not expected to reach the milk. Typically this is only used for a brief period of time, about 3 days.

Triamcinolone (Nasacort) -The Infant Risk Center states that there is virtually no risk to a breastfeeding infant when the mother uses this product nasally.

Fluticasone ( Flonase) – It is not likely that milk levels will be clinically significant when using this medication.

Mometasone (Nasonex) – It is unlikely that mometasone would be available in human milk in significant levels if you use it intranasally.