The sensitivity of the immune system, which is a characteristic feature of pregnancy, mediates that 20% of pregnant women become susceptible to allergic symptoms. During pregnancy, allergic reactions can occur even in those mothers who had a history of allergic diseases. During pregnancy, the expectant mother is concerned about many questions: how will the allergy affect the health of the unborn child, will it change the normal course of pregnancy, how will allergy medicines the health of the child?
During pregnancy, allergies can be caused by a variety of factors: the usual cream that you have been using for several years can provoke skin rashes. Therefore, during pregnancy it is necessary to be careful with all substances, including those that have not previously caused a negative reaction.
The development of allergies during pregnancy
There are several stages in the development of allergic reactions. In particular, this is observed during pregnancy:
- Stage 1 - at the first contact with the allergen, a recognition mechanism occurs that is not associated with allergic reactions. This is determined by the fact that the body of a pregnant woman only “learns” to respond to the allergen.
- Stage 2 - upon secondary contact with the allergen, the body begins to produce special antibodies to it, which give special signals to mast cells. This results in the production of histamine.
- Stage 3 - the produced histamine has a direct effect on the occurrence of allergic reactions, affecting the cells of the skin, bronchi, mucous membranes of the eyes and nose. As a result of its influence, an allergic reaction develops.
Causes of allergies in pregnant women:
- genetic transmission of a tendency to allergies, from the parents or close relatives of a woman;
- poor nutrition;
- malfunctions of the immune and endocrine systems that occur during pregnancy;
- the presence of concomitant diseases;
- the presence of allergies in history before the state of pregnancy;
During pregnancy, changes in the state of the woman's immune system can also play a beneficial role in the course of allergic diseases. It often happens that during pregnancy, allergic manifestations recede. Unfortunately, such a comforting forecast is not the rule.
Allergy symptoms during pregnancy:
- Redness of the eyes caused by local expansion of the vessel;
- Inflammation of the skin around the eyes;
- Increased tearfulness;
- Swelling of the nasal sinuses;
- Nasal congestion;
- Constant coryza, with a transparent secretion;
- Skin rashes;
- Symptoms of bronchial asthma.
The impact of allergies on pregnancy
Allergies have a direct impact on pregnancy as it worsens the overall health of the mother. In addition, symptoms such as asthma attacks, nasal swelling or anaphylactic shock cause respiratory failure, which can lead to oxygen deficiency in the fetus. This condition is potentially dangerous for the health of the child. In addition, the manifestations of allergies greatly interfere with everyday life, which also causes nervous disorders and insomnia. Everyone knows that during pregnancy, the mother should not experience discomfort. For this reason, in modern medical practice, allergy symptoms are not ignored.
Allergy medication during pregnancy
Medicines during pregnancy should be used with extreme caution, which in the case of allergies occurs quite often. The introduction of drugs during pregnancy should be exclusively in the order that your allergist will indicate to you, after getting acquainted with the symptoms, your general well-being, as well as the duration of the pregnancy. After that, there is a careful comparison of the risk that the use of this drug carries with those positive effects on the health of the mother and child that should occur if it is used.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to guarantee the safety of any drug when it comes to pregnancy. However, there are medications available to treat allergies that are highly safe. The course of therapy in pregnant women should also consist of such drugs.
Antihistamine medicines
This class of drugs is based on their ability to block the contact of histamine with receptors, so that the histamine signal about the onset of allergic reactions does not reach sensitive cells. Histamine is a hormone that, during allergic reactions, affects the cells of the respiratory system (causing bronchospasm, swelling of the larynx, nasal mucosa), skin cells (appearance of allergic rashes, local vasodilation, inflammation.
The first antihistamine drugs cause significant side effects, including lethargy, weakness, daytime sleepiness. This feature is due to their ability to infiltrate the brain, where they are able to influence nervous activity. Also, their ability to affect other hormonal systems can provoke: drying out of the oral cavity, dizziness, nausea, tachycardia.
Among these drugs during pregnancy are not used:
Diphenhydramine, because it can provoke the development of a miscarriage.
Tavegil, in view of the fact that its use can provoke the development of fetal defects.
Clemastine, although it does not have an effect on the fetus that has been experimentally confirmed, is not used during breastfeeding.
Subsequent antihistamine drugs do not cause a deteriorating effect on the nervous system, and also do not affect other systems of hormonal regulation. For this reason, they are safer and more comfortable during treatment. However, among them there are prohibited for use in pregnant women: betadrin, pipolfen, astemizol, betadrin.
The use of drugs such as diazolin, claritin, erius is carried out with great care and constant monitoring of the mother's well-being.
In addition to drugs, during the treatment of allergies, vitamins such as vitamin C are also used (which minimizes the manifestations of allergic rhinitis, as well as reduces the intensity of skin manifestations); Vitamins B12 (eliminates itching and burning of the skin during dermatitis or urticaria); Vitamin RR.
Special attention should be paid to such a medicine as fish oil, which contains a high concentration of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids have a minimizing effect on the body's production of substances that are necessary for the development of inflammatory reactions. It has a beneficial effect on allergy symptoms. It should be borne in mind that these substances do not contribute to the complete elimination of allergic manifestations, while their deficiency can increase the symptoms of allergies. Therefore, in pregnant women, their use allows, with a high degree of safety, to enhance the effectiveness of therapy.
Corticosteroid medications during pregnancy
Recent evidence suggests that women who use high doses of corticosteroid drugs to treat allergic asthma during the first trimester of pregnancy increase the likelihood of birth defects in the baby. It should be noted that this applies only to high doses of corticosteroid drugs. In such cases, the risk from their use is 1.6 times compared with women who did not use these drugs. While the use of these drugs in low and medium ranges do not have this side effect.
Bronchial asthma, with allergies, is a significant danger in terms of the development of oxygen starvation in the fetus. Therefore, with this allergy symptom, the use of inhaled corticosteroids is simply necessary. The best solution, in this case, would be a laboratory examination to identify the minimum threshold dosage of the drug that can neutralize asthmatic manifestations.
However, a number of scientists (moreover, there are quite a lot of them in medical circles) deny the fact that corticosteroids can affect the development of the fetus. And so, let's start with the fact that the effect on the fetus, when a new drug is released, is tested primarily on animals. But drugs based on corticosteroids began to be used in medical practice as early as the 40s of the last century, when such protocols were not followed before the introduction of the drug.
And so, modern scientists put forward a number of counter-arguments against the harm of corticosteroid drugs for pregnant women:
The frequency of these cases, with the use of corticosteroids, is too low to consider a causal relationship between the use of corticosteroids and fetal abnormalities;
It is far from certain that fetal anomalies developed under the influence of corticosteroids;
It should be remembered that the use of corticosteroids occurs in case of serious chronic diseases, which themselves can lead to a similar result;
On average, the fact of the development of fetal abnormalities when using corticosteroids is noted as 2 out of 1000, which is clearly not enough to draw conclusions about the negative effects of these drugs.
Diagnosis of allergies in pregnant women
Diagnosis of allergies in pregnant women has its own specifics, due to the inadmissibility of the use of skin and provocative tests, which are based on the introduction of an allergen into the patient's body. During pregnancy, contact with a substance that causes an allergy must be avoided by all possible means!
Of great importance in establishing the nature of allergies are blood tests that allow you to diagnose the level of general and special antibodies in pregnant women. The level of total antibodies (IgE) can go up in various disorders, not necessarily related to allergies. Therefore, it is of less significance for diagnosis.
As for the level of specific antibodies, it is highly indicative in the presence of allergies. A blood test for antibodies is carried out in a laboratory. At the same time, solutions of allergens are injected into a special test tube in which the patient's blood is located. A positive reaction to an allergen is considered a sharp increase in the level of antibodies after contact.
Prevention of allergies in pregnant women
The best way to avoid allergies has always been, and remains to this day, avoiding the allergen. Without it, an allergic reaction does not develop under any circumstances. The use of drugs in pregnant women, including for allergies, is an extreme case, while many women underestimate the preventive measures that will help avoid the unpleasant consequences of allergies.
If you are a victim of allergies, then it is imperative that you follow a specialized hypoallergenic diet while pregnant. Alas, it is often ignored by most pregnant women. In the case of allergies, this is unacceptable. A hypoallergenic diet involves the elimination from the diet of foods such as chocolate and other cocoa beans, honey and bee products, crustaceans, molluscs, fish, as well as fish caviar, raspberries and strawberries, sweet soda, citrus fruits, currants.
At the same time, the main products that a pregnant woman’s diet should consist of are cereals, lean meats (veal, rabbit, chicken breasts, turkey), non-allergenic fruits and vegetables. It is advisable to refuse excessively fatty foods and sweets during an allergy.
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