Doctors prescribe Claritin, the brand name of the medication loratadine, to provide temporary relief of allergy symptoms including sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes, nose or throat. Pregnant women should take caution when taking any medications because they can cause unwanted side-effects to the fetus. Claritin, classified as a category B medication, is not known to cause any damage during pregnancy, but consult your doctor on the risks versus benefits of taking Claritin.
Category B Classification
In 1997, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made changes to the guidelines for drug labeling with respect to how a drug affects reproduction and pregnancy. They created letter categories that drug companies use to help doctors and patients make better-informed decisions on the safety of using a medication during pregnancy. Claritin, rated a category B drug, shows no evidence of risk to pregnant women in controlled studies despite possible adverse findings in animal studies. A drug might receive a category B classification if animal studies show no risk to the fetus but adequate human studies have not yet been performed. As a patient, you should realize that category B medications carry only a remote risk of being harmful to your fetus, but that a possibility still remains.
Common Side-effects
If you take Claritin for your allergies, regardless of whether you are pregnant, you might experience a variety of side-effects, including headaches, dry mouth, nosebleeds, sore throat, mouth sores, and itchy or watery eyes. Claritin can also cause digestive side-effects that include stomach pain and diarrhea. Claritin might make you feel nervous or weak and cause you to have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.
Avoid Allergy Trigger
Although many doctors consider Claritin safe to take during pregnancy, you can avoid the potential for possible harm to your unborn baby by finding other ways to manage your allergy symptoms. The most obvious way to avoid allergy symptoms is to avoid the allergy trigger. An allergy occurs when the immune cells in your body mistakenly identify a normal substance, like pollen, as a foreign invader. The immune system produces a specific type of antibody, known as IgE that stimulates the release of histamines causing the allergy symptoms. If you know what you are allergic to, you can avoid the allergy trigger and eliminate the need for Claritin.
Natural Remedies
Before taking Claritin during your pregnancy, try more natural remedies to relieve your allergy symptoms. Saline nasal sprays, available over-the-counter, can help relieve nasal congestion, dryness and bleeding. You can also try using a neti pot. Dr. Roger Harms at MayoClinic.com describes how to use a neti pot. Fill it with warm saltwater, tilt your head over a sink and then pour the warm saltwater into your upper nostril and allow it to flow through the nasal cavity and out the other nostril. This can help reduce itchiness in your nose and relieve congestion. Using nasal adhesive strips at night can also help clear congestion and open your nasal passages without putting your baby at risk.
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