Is Terfenadine-COOH Safe in Breastfeeding
Question
I am a breastfeeding mother and i want to know if it is safe to use Terfenadine-COOH? Is Terfenadine-COOH safe for nursing mother and child? Does Terfenadine-COOH extracts into breast milk? Does Terfenadine-COOH has any long term or short term side effects on infants? Can Terfenadine-COOH influence milk supply or can Terfenadine-COOH decrease milk supply in lactating mothers?
Terfenadine-COOH lactation summary
- DrLact safety Score for Terfenadine-COOH is 1 out of 8 which is considered Safe as per our analyses.
- A safety Score of 1 indicates that usage of Terfenadine-COOH is mostly safe during lactation for breastfed baby.
- Our study of different scientific research also indicates that Terfenadine-COOH does not cause any serious side effects in breastfeeding mothers.
- Most of scientific studies and research papers declaring usage of Terfenadine-COOH 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 Terfenadine-COOH usage in lactation
Antihistamine drug of 2nd generation, piperidine derivative, which is an active metabolite of Terfenadine with minimal sedative effect. Oral administration twice a day. It is excreted into breast milk in clinically non-significant amount (Butler 2014, So 2010, Leachman 2006, Lucas 1995). On a telephone interview, 10% of infants whose mothers were on terfenadine, recognized to have experienced colicky pain and hyperexcitability that disappeared without treatment (Ito 1993). American Academy of Pediatrics: medication usually compatible with breastfeeding (AAP 2001).
Answer by DrLact: About Terfenadine-COOH usage in lactation
Because of its lack of sedation and low milk levels, maternal use of Terfenadine-COOH would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants. Terfenadine-COOH might have a negative effect on lactation, especially in combination with a sympathomimetic agent such as pseudoephedrine.
Terfenadine-COOH Side Effects in Breastfeeding
In one telephone follow-up study of 25 infants exposed to the Terfenadine-COOH's parent drug terfenadine, 3 mothers reported irritability in their infants. None of the reactions required medical attention.[2]
Terfenadine-COOH Possible Effects in Breastfeeding
Antihistamines in relatively high doses given by injection can decrease basal serum prolactin in nonlactating women and in early postpartum women.[3][4] However, suckling-induced prolactin secretion is not affected by antihistamine pretreatment of postpartum mothers.[3] Whether lower oral doses of antihistamines have the same effect on serum prolactin or whether the effects on prolactin have any consequences on breastfeeding success have not been studied. The prolactin level in a mother with established lactation may not affect her ability to breastfeed.
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