Question

I am a breastfeeding mother and i want to know if it is safe to use Bismuth Subnitrate? Is Bismuth Subnitrate safe for nursing mother and child? Does Bismuth Subnitrate extracts into breast milk? Does Bismuth Subnitrate has any long term or short term side effects on infants? Can Bismuth Subnitrate influence milk supply or can Bismuth Subnitrate decrease milk supply in lactating mothers?

Bismuth Subnitrate lactation summary

Bismuth Subnitrate is safe in breastfeeding
  • DrLact safety Score for Bismuth Subnitrate is 1 out of 8 which is considered Safe as per our analyses.
  • A safety Score of 1 indicates that usage of Bismuth Subnitrate is mostly safe during lactation for breastfed baby.
  • Our study of different scientific research also indicates that Bismuth Subnitrate does not cause any serious side effects in breastfeeding mothers.
  • Most of scientific studies and research papers declaring usage of Bismuth Subnitrate safe in breastfeeding are based on normal dosage and may not hold true for higher dosage.
  • Score calculated using the DrLact safety Version 1.2 model, this score ranges from 0 to 8 and measures overall safety of drug in lactation. Scores are primarily calculated using publicly available case studies, research papers, other scientific journals and publically available data.

Answer by Dr. Ru: About Bismuth Subnitrate usage in lactation

Bismuth salts are used alone or together with other components in preparations against gastritis and diarrhea.Bismuth salicylate contains about 60% bismuth and 40% salicylate. At latest update no published data on excretion into breast milk were found. Bismuth is not absorbed into the systemic circulation of the mother. There may be a risk of absorption of salicylate in the case of bismuth salicylate, although in small quantity (<1% of the maternal dose), but no cases of Reye's syndrome have been reported after taking bismuth salicylate or other non-acetylated salicylate compounds. Due to the otherwise minimum risk of Reye's syndrome and the indiscriminate use of bismuth subsalicylate for treatment of gastroenteritis cannot be justifiable since most of gastroenteritis do not require medication instead a simply adequate hydration, a safer alternative should be desirable while breastfeeding, like the other salts of bismuth (citrate, etc).
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