Can I take benzydamine while pregnant or breastfeeding?
A plain-words look at what the NHS, the US drug label and LactMed say about benzydamine.
In short
Pregnancy: If you're pregnant and have a sore throat or mouth ulcers, speak to your doctor or a pharmacist.
Breastfeeding: You can use benzydamine while breastfeeding.
Your doctor, midwife or pharmacist can help you decide.
What this means for you
Pregnancy
- They can go through your options with you and help you choose the best treatment for you and your baby.
- When you use benzydamine, most of it stays in your throat, so only small amounts get into your body.
- For this reason, your doctor may say it's OK for you to use it.
- Benzydamine is unlikely to affect your baby, but it should only be used for a short time (a few days).
- If you think you need it for longer, speak to your doctor or a pharmacist.
Breastfeeding
- Try to keep the length of time you use it as short as you can.
- Nobody knows exactly how much benzydamine gets into breast milk, but the amount is thought to be only tiny.
- It's unlikely to cause side effects in your baby.
- If your baby is not feeding as well as they usually do, or you're worried about your baby in any other way, contact your health visitor, midwife, doctor or pharmacist promptly.
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist
This page is educational, not advice for your own situation. Talk to your doctor, midwife or pharmacist before you start, stop or change any medicine in pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
The details: what each source says
Benzydamine in pregnancy
The NHS says
If you're pregnant and have a sore throat or mouth ulcers, speak to your doctor or a pharmacist. They can go through your options with you and help you choose the best treatment for you and your baby.
When you use benzydamine, most of it stays in your throat, so only small amounts get into your body. For this reason, your doctor may say it's OK for you to use it.
Benzydamine is unlikely to affect your baby, but it should only be used for a short time (a few days). If you think you need it for longer, speak to your doctor or a pharmacist.
In our words, from the NHS page Benzydamine (nhs.uk). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL v3.0). The NHS does not endorse this site.
Benzydamine while breastfeeding
The NHS says
You can use benzydamine while breastfeeding. Try to keep the length of time you use it as short as you can.
Nobody knows exactly how much benzydamine gets into breast milk, but the amount is thought to be only tiny. It's unlikely to cause side effects in your baby.
If your baby is not feeding as well as they usually do, or you're worried about your baby in any other way, contact your health visitor, midwife, doctor or pharmacist promptly.
In our words, from the NHS page Benzydamine (nhs.uk). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL v3.0). The NHS does not endorse this site.
Other names
UK brand names (per the NHS): Difflam.
Sources
- NHS, Benzydamine (nhs.uk), page last reviewed 8 July 2024. Paraphrased. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Sources checked 26 September 2026. How we source and check every page.
Educational summary of named sources, not medical advice.