Allergist and Immunologist Questions Seasonal allergy

Are antihistamines safe to be consumed during pregnancy?

I have a seasonal allergy during winters where I get little hives when I'm exposed to cold weather, and I normally take antihistamines for this. But can I take them when I'm pregnant?

2 Answers

AllergistandImmunologistSeasonalallergy
Yes, both short acting (Benadryl) and the long acting antihistamines (ex. Claritin, Zyrtec, etc) are considered safe during pregnancy and carry pregnancy cat. B rating. So you can safely continue to use them to keep your symptoms under control.
You can take either cetirizine (generic Zyrtec) 10mg or loratadine (generic Claritin) 10mg during pregnancy. In general, you can Google “name of medicine” pregnancy category and find out the safety profile of a medication. You can always consult your OB doctor or your regular doctor too.