Asthma & Pregnancy

[subhiea]

I'm 10 weeks pregnant,
I have coughing every 5 min.
Doctor recommend to use:
1. loratidin daily
2. Budesonide 1mg by nebuliser twice daily
3. Spiromycin 3 times daily.

I'm afraid from using a medicines during pregnancy.  Please advice?
Regards

[David Tinkelman, M.D.]

Also, if you really are having “a coughing fit” every 5 minutes you might ask your doctor if you could have whooping cough, a disease not at all uncommon in young adults these days.

[David Tinkelman, M.D.]

I cannot advise you to either take or not take this medication but I can share what is known about these drugs in pregnancy.  There is general agreement in the medical community that it is safe to take loratidin or budesonide.   The question of safety of Spiramycin has not been determined with certainty.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has categorized the relative safety (of the fetus) of drug
taken during pregnancy as follows.  To my knowledge, Spiramycin has not been categorized by the FDA but other similar drugs in the same category are usually placed in Category C.

Given the preceding, that is not a recommendation, I suggest that you speak with your doctor about these issues with the drug and whether he/she has reason to believe that you have an infection with a parasite named Toxoplasmosis.  If not, what infection is being treated, what is the indication for the treatment and might there be other drugs deemed safer that might serve the same purpose.

Good luck.

FDA Pregnancy Categories
The FDA has established five categories to indicate the potential of a drug to cause birth defects if used during pregnancy. The categories are determined by the reliability of documentation and the risk to benefit ratio. They do not take into account any risks from pharmaceutical agents or their metabolites in breast milk. The categories are:
Category A
Adequate and well-controlled studies have failed to demonstrate a risk to the fetus in the first trimester of pregnancy (and there is no evidence of risk in later trimesters).
Category B
Animal reproduction studies have failed to demonstrate a risk to the fetus and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women.
Category C
Animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in humans, but potential benefits may warrant use of the drug in pregnant women despite potential risks.