Talking Allergies

Hi,

The other day I was thinking about 'why' my son has so many severe allergies and what I might have done differently while pregnant with him compared to being pregnant with my daughter who has no allergies (I am not trying to blame myself, but am just curious about any factors). The major difference between the pregnancies is that I had extreme morning sickness with my son's pregnancy and I took Diclectin for the whole 9 months. Diclectin is a morning sickness drug that is a combination of doxylamine succinate (antihistamine) and pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6).

Diclectin has been used in Canada for over 25 years and is apparently the most studied medicine for use during pregnancy - 25 epidemiological studies (200,000 women) and 2 meta-analyses. All studies confirmed Diclectin's safety and efficacy and there is no evidence that it causes any harmful effects on the fetus.

However...I wonder if any of the studies looked at the effects that taking an antihistamine during pregnancy may have on childhood allergies (which often show up beyond the first year of life)? Did anyone else take diclectin while pregnant with your 'allergic' child? Has anyone heard of a possible link between taking antihistamines while pregnant and childhood allergies?

Thanks,
Fiona

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Son 7 yrs: Anaphylactic to eggs, milk, fish, peanuts, tree nuts and allergic to soy, animals & environmental + Asthma.
Daughter 9 yrs: No allergies!
Me: Allergic to animals & environmental.
Hubby: Allergic to deer, horse flies & bees.

I didn't take it.
Curious though, isn't it?

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

I have four children. I didn't take Diclectic my first three pregnancies, my first has environmental allergies, my second is allergic to penicillin and outgrew a peanut allergy and my third is allergic to dairy, eggs, bananas and tree nuts.

With my fourth I took Diclectin for about the first four months of my pregnancy (funny thing, I wasn't sick even for a moment with my first three pregnancies, all boys, but with my fourth I was so sick I couldn't function...and it was girl.). My daughter is only 18m but she's tried all kinds of food, including most of the major allergens and so far no allergies. The only things she hasn't tried are tree nuts and fish/shellfish.

Interesting question though!

Amanda

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DS 1: environmental allergies. DS 2: penicillin allergy, outgrew peanut allergy. DS 3: allergic to dairy, eggs, banana & tree nuts. DD: no allergies. DH: bee sting allergy, lactose intolerant. All have asthma. http://www.familynature.ca

Fiona, I think it is normal to wonder if our children's health issues were somehow caused by something we did, ate etc. while pregnant. I had posted my feelings once and Susan gave me a reply which I never forgot. She asked me if my child needed glasses if I would feel guilty and personally responsible. Of course not, so then the same applies to allergies.
As far as diclectin, I wouldn't worry about having taken it while pregnant with your son. I was severely ill for the entire 9 months with both my pregnancies. I took diclectin for the entire time I was pregnant with my daughter and son. I had very similar pregnacies and similar pregnancy diets. Our daughter is 10 years old and has no allergies, no asthma, she's never even been on antibiotics. Our son has, well, he's our bubble boy as you can see below in my profile

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DD 12 yrs -no allergies
4 yr old DS - asthma/eczema Anaphylactic to Peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame , all pea/lentil legumes, gelatin.
Allergic to trees, grass,ragweed, feathers, dander, mold and dust.
Outgrew eggs, fish, shellfish

Thanks for the quick replies! I suppose deep down that I wish we could know the cause of these severe allergies, so that it might bring science closer to finding a cure. With Diclectin being an antihistamine - which is used to treat allergies - I wondered if exposure in the womb could alter a child's natural histamine responses - making them oversensitive (anaphylactic). I'll keep hoping and dreaming from some kind of treatment and cure.

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Son 7 yrs: Anaphylactic to eggs, milk, fish, peanuts, tree nuts and allergic to soy, animals & environmental + Asthma.
Daughter 9 yrs: No allergies!
Me: Allergic to animals & environmental.
Hubby: Allergic to deer, horse flies & bees.

I just found this old thread doing some research to see if there was a link between the use of diclectin in pregnant women and severe allergies and thought I would throw out my comments to bring it back into conversation.
My 3 yr old has severe food allergies and asthma, I took diclectin for 3 months 4 times a day when I was pregnant with him due to help me from vomitting all the time. Now i'm pregnant with my second baby and dealing with nausea again so just got diclectin today. But a light just went off over my head reading that its actually an antihistamine.... you have to wonder if there is a link between a very influential growing baby being exposed to so much antihistamines and the future impact on that child's immune system in the future from being able to function normally without that antihistimine in their system... So is there any study that looks into this possible correlation? If not, how to we get a study conducted and does one do this, anyone have some connections in the allergy research world??? Can we do a poll here on this forum, does anyone know how to set that up? It would be very interesting to see. Finding possible causes to why this is happening to our kids is how we are going to help find cure! Thanks

Motherisk in Toronto is the world's leading toxicology research centre in regards to safety of drugs in pregnancy and breastfeeding. They operate out of Sick Kid's Hopsital.

http://www.motherisk.org/women/index.jsp

They have a morning sickness "hotline" which is 1-800-436-8477. Call them ... they're the experts. Obviously, drugs are not studied in pregnant women, so this is the place that collects all the un-scientific anecdotal evidence from around the world when pregnant women are exposed to medications. With all this info in 1 place, a picture develops as to the drug's safety.

My personal experience ... I took hardly anything with my 1st (the allergy boy), and took Diclectin all the way through to the 8th month with my 2nd (my girl with NO asthma or allergies), so I don't believe there to be a link.

I took Diclectin for the morning sickness in my second pregnancy with my daughter. She has preservative and additive allergies to do with food. With my son I suffered thru 9 months of ‘morning sickness’ and he has environmental allergies and asthma. Her allergies to the additives started after she severely reacted to penicillin. After that she couldn’t eat anything she used to and we were constantly driving to the ER. Before the severe reaction I didn’t give food too much thought. I also had amoxicillin when I was pregnant with her right after I took the pregnancy test. If I had another child I would use Diclectin because it allowed me to eat and drink.

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son: asthma, allergic to grass, mold, pets, dust mites, birch, suspected lactose intolerance
daughter: allergic to penicillin, food additives/preservatives-phosphates, sulphites, colors, etc.
husband: lactose intolerance, pets
me: none