Animal studies on Nasarel and pregnancy show that the drug may increase the risk of birth defects and miscarriages. Since animals do not always respond to medicines the same way that humans do, however, a healthcare provider can still prescribe the drug to a pregnant woman if the benefits outweigh the risks. If you are taking Nasarel and pregnancy occurs, contact your healthcare provider immediately.
Nasarel and Pregnancy: An Overview
Nasarel™ (
flunisolide nasal solution) is a prescription medication approved to treat nasal
allergies (also known as allergic rhinitis). Nasarel belongs to a group of medications known as nasal corticosteroids. As with many other corticosteroids, animal studies have shown that the drug can increase the risk of birth defects and miscarriages.
Nasarel and Pregnancy Category C
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses a category system to classify the possible risks to a fetus when a specific medicine is taken during pregnancy. Pregnancy Category C is given to medicines that have not been studied in pregnant humans but that do appear to cause harm to the fetus in animal studies. Also, medicines that have not been studied in any pregnant women or animals are automatically given a pregnancy Category C rating.
Nasarel was assigned a pregnancy Category C classification because of problems in animal studies. When given to rabbits and rats,
flunisolide (the active ingredient in Nasarel) increased the risk of birth defects and miscarriages. Nasarel has not been adequately studied in any pregnant women, so it is not known if similar problems are likely to occur in humans.
It is important to note that animals do not always respond to medicines the same way that humans do. Therefore, a pregnancy Category C medicine may be given to a pregnant woman if a healthcare provider believes that the benefits to the woman outweigh any possible risks to the unborn child.
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