Allergy Shots and Pregnancy

Hi J.,

I am 14 weeks pregnant with Baby #1. I have been on allergy shots for maybe 2 1/2 years now. My OB suggested that I stopped taking them as well, but my allergist said they prefer just reducing them to lowest dose possible. Otherwise I would have to start over from scratch after the baby is born. My OB said that would be fine, so I am still taking them every week. I have also continued to taking Zyrtec every day.

Hope this helps!

S.

Hi,
I have terrible allergies, and have been off and on shots ever since I was 2 years old. With my first pregnancy, I had missed a bunch of shots and they (my drs) wouldn't let me start back up again. I was miserable! I am pregnant again right now and taking shots. My OB says there isn't a problem and that there is no information that is harmful at all. I am 20 weeks and the baby is doing great. My allergist is keeping my shots at the dose I was at when we found out I was pregnant because if you go into anaphalactic shock, they use epinephrine and that could cause you to miscarry. He also siad I could go every 2 weeks, but right now I'm still going every week to get a bit more relief. It's a bad allergy year and I'm not doing great, but couldn't imagine what not getting them would be like! Hope this helps you! I really just think it's a personal choice....

Oh, and I'm still taking Zyrec and Singular too

J.

I decided not to do the allergy shots, although when I went to have the testing done and was considering it I had concerns about this same issue. I was told the same thing as the other response, as long as your body is used to them it will not hurt you just don't want to start them while you are pregnant.

I was taking allergy shots while trying to conceive and during the beginning of my pregnancy and there were no adverse effects. My allergist, however, informed me that once I ran out of the current mix of serum, I would have to discontinue shots until after the baby was born as they would not be able to start me on a new batch of serum as new batches had a tendency to be slightly stronger than the older and could cause serious reactions during pregnancy. Therefore, I ended up stopping shots for the last 5 to 6 months of my pregnancy. Your OB may have specific reasons as to why he/she wants you to discontinue shots. I would question him/her as to why.

Hi Dear J., I had the allergy shots during my pregnancy and both Dr, My gyno and allergist told me that wont affect the baby the only It could happen is that baby receives the inmunology to allergies from the shot but that's it.
Probably your case is different, but I would ask the opinion of the allergist also and ask why Gyno say you have to stop for 2 months. Good luck with it. Bye.

I had been taking allergy shot for 1 year before I got pregnant. My doctor told me that it was ok to continue them throughout the pregnancy, so I did. My son is great, no effects on him. He may have to take shots when he's older because his dad and I have horrible allergies. I would try to stay least miserable as possible.

I took allergy shots for almost 10 years. I actually had one of the worst proven allergy cases in the state. They had to make a special serum for my shots. I was never pregnant at the time but my doctor and I did discuss pregnancy while I was on the shots in case I was thinking about it. What he told me is that right now there is no record of allergy shots hurting a pregnancy or lessening your chances of conception. Also, i've read the same thing on every website. What my doctor told me is that you don't want to start on allergy shots when you're pregnant or trying to conceive, but if you have been on them for a while then it shouldn't have any effect on the baby. You don't want to up your dosage and may even consider reducing it a little but there is no need to stop them. What you do is completely up to you and your obgyn though. He may know something that I don't. If you do decide to stop the allergy shots, you may want to consider taking another allergy medicine that is safe during pregnancy. Those would be Zyrtec, Benadryl, Claritin (Not Claritin-D), and Cromolyn which can be prescribed to you. Allegra could be taken if absolutely needed but because of it's contents, it could harm the baby so you would only want to take it if nothing else works. You should definetly consider taking something for your allergies while you are pregnant because you risk for Anaphylaxis (an allergic reaction caused from common allergens such as food and could result in death) will be heightened during your pregnancy. I really hope this helps!

I've taken allergy shots with 2 of my 3 pregnancies (the last one being just a few months ago). With both of those pregnancies they weren't planned per se so I didn't have a chance to talk to my allergist about it. I didn't have a real issue with them during my pregnancy and both of the kids I have had that were exposed to the allergens are fine (my oldest daughter has allergies/asthma herself, but I don't attribute that to the shots...just heredity!). My allergist also kept my dose held the entire time of my pregnancy so I didn't move up and he has just now released me to start moving up (usually they don't do that when you're nursing but since this is round #2 for me he felt fine about trying it). When you're pregnant you definitely don't want to have issues with allergies since everything is already swollen!
Good luck!

I took zyrtec for allergies while I was pregnant. Of course I had a huge advanatage, my OBGYN had been a pharmacist for several years before returning to school to become a Doctor.

I don't know if allergy shots would harm the growth and development of a fetus. My best friend from high school was told that her asthma inhaler (which she used only because of her cat) was OK during pregnancy. This was back in the early 80's. It WASN'T OK. Her child was born with severe learning disabilities.

But I do know 2 things to help with allergies naturally:

1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8sDIbRAXlg

Buy yourself a NETI POT - - it is like a shower for your sinuses! You use warm water (test it on your elbow) and REAL SALT. (That's the brand name of the only salt I will ever use. Find it at Central Market or Whole Foods.) The warm, salty water is seen as just another body fluid by your nerves and you may not even feel it. So, it does not feel the same as when you turn upside down in a swimming pool and cold water goes up your nose stinging your nasal passages.

2) Eat LOCAL, RAW, UNFILTERED HONEY. The small amounts of pollen contained in local, unfiltered honey, matches the pollen in our air. You body will build up resistance, little by little, as you consume the pollen. DO NOT FEED HONEY TO A BABY UNDER 1 YEAR OLD. I did give it to my kids when they were older than a year, and we NEVER had problems with allergies. I put the honey on their oatmeal, unsweetened Cheerios, and mixed it half-n-half with peanut butter for dipping with apple wedges or sliced bananas. Oh, I also mixed it with vanilla yogurt to make a dip for strawberries. You could use it as a sweetener for your tea. We would go through a huge quart jar of the honey every couple of months or so.

I have a 22 month old daughter. I took allergy shots throughout my pregnancy. My allergist said that as long as I was already taking them, continuing them is not a problem-they won't let you start taking them while pregnant. I don't think the shots had any adverse effects on her. She does seem to have allergies, but no more so than my sisters' children (my sisters did not take allergy shots) or other children at her daycare. I would talk to your allergist or whomever is giving you the allergy shots about it. I hope this helps.

A. S.

J.,
I will be praying for your decision. I think this is not an easy one.... I always lean toward protecting the baby at all cost. They truly have no idea what these things do the the babies. Remember that big pharmaceutical companies are doing all the research....

I was taking allergy shots while I was pregnant. My OB/GYN/allergist had me stop taking allergy shots once I got to 6 or 7 months. Maybe the allergens might affect the baby once the baby gets bigger. I didn't have any problems with taking the allergy shots while I was pregnant. My allergies and asthma got a lot better while I was pregnant.

My allergy Nurses said I could take the shots again after I had the baby. I chose not to because I was breast feeding.

I had been on allergy shots for about two years before I was pregnant. I stayed on them while we were trying and after I was pregnant at my OB and my allergists advice. Most allegy shots only contain allergens, so there are no drugs in them. I would confirm that with your allergist. I think you are much better off with the shots than letting your allergies make you sick and need other drugs. Both my doctors wouldn't let me take ANY allergy meds, only shots. The only danger with the shots I took was if I had a bad reaction, so if you are not on a steady dose, that could be a problem. My doctor did not increase my dose through the pregnancy and wouldn't let me get them less than a week apart. I worked out perfectly. My daughter is 9 months old and cute as a button. She has also not been sick at all (knock on wood). Hopefully she got some of the good from the shots.

I am on the allergy shots and just had my little one. both my allergist and OBGYN said it was fine. I had no troubles. However, noone told me that the "D" part of my allegra-D, or the decongestant can cause milk suppression. And, I was unable to breast feed. We are not sure how much of that was do to that or my breast reduction. I was able to secrete colastrum but no milk. So maybe the "D" part had some effect. I will try not taking the "D" next time.

In my day, I was told not to take antihistamines or aspirin when I was pregnant. I'd have horrible headaches which I now know were sinus and allergy related during my second pregnancy. Making a vapor tent over a pot of boiling water did relatively nothing.

After that pregnancy, my problems increased and I finally went to an allergist for testing. I was found to be highly allergic to several things, and I started taking allergy shots.

I took them for almost two years and then because of something going on at that time in my life, I just quit taking them. A few years later, I went back to a different allergist (the old one wasn't on my plan) and I didn't test positive for any of the things I used to be allergic to. In fact, the only thing I tested strongly enough to to warrant shots was garlic. The allergist said that the shots must have boosted my immune system's response to the former allergens enough to have taken care of them.

That was about 20 years ago and in Kentucky. Nine years ago we moved down here and I had my preventive regimen down, so that I wasn't having the back to back sinus infections, colds, and flu all winter, spring, and fall. Unfortunately, when I got to a different climate, my cortisone nose spray started to give me headaches and nosebleeds, etc. and I had to adjust everything.

I went without antihistamines for two weeks prior to another round of testing and they did not find any strong allergies. Now I've caught everything that's gone around that's respiratory or upper respiratory this year and been sick all winter, so I'm going to go back for testing again. For years, daily Zyrtec and decongestants when needed kept everything at bay, but not this year!

So, use your better judgment about whether to take the shots or not. Allergies are something dynamic that sometimes appear and disappear throughout your life. There are some things though that I just wouldn't mess with. For example, one of my daughter's developed an allergy to penicillin the second time she took it. She's 27 now, but there's no way I would counsel her to attempt to take penicillin. The risk is too high.

I was able to continue my allergy shots while I was pregant with both kids. My OB and my allergist agreed. They just kept me at the same dose the entire time I was pregnant and then after I delivered they could increase my dose. Hope this helps!

You might want to look into whether the shots have mercury and/or aluminum in them. I don't know much about allergy shots, but I would be cautious about exposing baby's brain to these ingredients.

Hi J.,
My daughter used to need allergy shots but now she just takes some supplements. One is a very high quality bee pollen but not a brand you can get in a health food store. The other is a natural molecule extracted from colostrum. My daughter is a distributor for one of the products and she would be happy to get it for you at wholesale. Email me if you would like more info. Allergy shots while pregnant have been known to interfere with conception, cause a miscariage, and increase the chances of the baby having allergies and other problems. There are safe ways to help allergies that pose no risk and have many benefits.