Can I take fluticasone nasal spray and drops while pregnant or breastfeeding?
A plain-words look at what the NHS, the US drug label and LactMed say about fluticasone nasal spray and drops.
In short
Pregnancy: You can use fluticasone nasal spray and drops in pregnancy.
Breastfeeding: Carrying on with your fluticasone nasal spray or drops as normal is usually OK while breastfeeding.
Your doctor, midwife or pharmacist can help you decide.
What this means for you
Pregnancy
- Only a very small amount of the medicine reaches your blood and almost none reaches your baby.
- Even if a little does reach your baby, it will not harm them.
Breastfeeding
- The amount of fluticasone that reaches breast milk is not known, but it's probably tiny, and your baby will not absorb much of it from the milk.
- Side effects in your baby are very unlikely.
- Some nasal sprays combine fluticasone with other medicines, such as antihistamines.
- These combination sprays are also usually OK to use while breastfeeding, but always ask your doctor or pharmacist first.
- As soon as you can, get in touch with your health visitor, midwife, pharmacist or doctor if your baby is feeding less well than normal, or if anything else about your baby worries you.
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
Fluticasone nasal spray and drops in pregnancy
The NHS says
You can use fluticasone nasal spray and drops in pregnancy.
Only a very small amount of the medicine reaches your blood and almost none reaches your baby. Even if a little does reach your baby, it will not harm them.
In our words, from the NHS page Fluticasone nasal spray and drops (nhs.uk). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL v3.0). The NHS does not endorse this site.
The US drug label says
If pregnant or breast-feeding, ask a health professional before use.
Drug Facts label: Fluticasone (nasal), YYBA CORP. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
This quote is from the nasal formulation label.
Pregnancy: Teratogenic Effects: Pregnancy Category C - Corticosteroids have been shown to be teratogenic in laboratory animals when administered systemically at relatively low dosage levels. Some corticosteroids have been shown to be teratogenic after dermal application in laboratory animals. Teratology studies in the mouse demonstrated fluticasone propionate to be teratogenic (cleft palate) when administered subcutaneously in doses of 45 mcg/kg/day and 150 mcg/kg/day. This dose is approximately 14 and 45 times, respectively, the human topical dose of fluticasone propionate cream, 0.05%. There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Fluticasone Propionate Cream, 0.05%, should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.
Prescribing label, section “Pregnancy”: Fluticasone Propionate (topical), Bryant Ranch Prepack. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
This quote is from the topical formulation label.
Fluticasone nasal spray and drops while breastfeeding
The NHS says
Carrying on with your fluticasone nasal spray or drops as normal is usually OK while breastfeeding.
The amount of fluticasone that reaches breast milk is not known, but it's probably tiny, and your baby will not absorb much of it from the milk. Side effects in your baby are very unlikely.
Some nasal sprays combine fluticasone with other medicines, such as antihistamines. These combination sprays are also usually OK to use while breastfeeding, but always ask your doctor or pharmacist first.
As soon as you can, get in touch with your health visitor, midwife, pharmacist or doctor if your baby is feeding less well than normal, or if anything else about your baby worries you.
In our words, from the NHS page Fluticasone nasal spray and drops (nhs.uk). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL v3.0). The NHS does not endorse this site.
The US prescribing label says
Nursing Mothers - Systemically administered corticosteroids appear in human milk and could suppress growth, interfere with endogenous corticosteroid production, or cause other untoward effects. It is not known whether topical administration of corticosteroids could result in sufficient systemic absorption to produce detectable quantities in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when Fluticasone Propionate Cream, 0.05% is administered to a nursing woman.
Prescribing label, section “Nursing Mothers”: Fluticasone Propionate (topical), Bryant Ranch Prepack. Label on DailyMed. Quoted verbatim; US labels are written for US prescribers and patients.
This quote is from the topical formulation label.
Other names
UK brand names (per the NHS): Flixonase, Avamys, Nasofan.
US name: fluticasone.
The NHS has separate pages for other forms: fluticasone inhalers.
Sources
- NHS, Fluticasone nasal spray and drops (nhs.uk), page last reviewed 24 February 2023. Paraphrased. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- US drug label: Fluticasone (nasal), YYBA CORP, human otc drug, label effective 1 September 2026, set ID 535b2575-8af8-d951-e063-6394a90ac72d. DailyMed (National Library of Medicine). Public domain; quoted verbatim.
- US drug label: Fluticasone Propionate (topical), Bryant Ranch Prepack, human prescription drug, label effective 30 October 2025, set ID 0cd0b88c-1ab3-4699-8eda-554054b8d33c. DailyMed (National Library of Medicine). Public domain; quoted verbatim.
Sources checked 26 September 2026. How we source and check every page.
Educational summary of named sources, not medical advice.