Can you use eye drops while breastfeeding?

Ask your doctor or pharmacist before using any eye drops while breastfeeding. Quell’s label doesn’t address nursing one way or the other, and that silence isn’t a yes. A pharmacist can look at the full ingredient list, including the egg and bird caution, and answer for your situation in a few minutes. Bring the box or a photo of the Drug Facts panel so they can see exactly what’s in it.

What Quell’s label says, and doesn’t

The Drug Facts panel covers what the drop is for, how to use it and when to stop. The label’s Uses line reads: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. The directions read: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. Its warnings include: Caution should be used in those with egg or bird allergies — For use in the eyes only. It also says: Stop use and ask a doctor if you feel eye pain or changes in your vision, if irritation or redness continues, or if the condition worsens or persists for 72 hours.

There’s no line about pregnancy or breastfeeding on Quell’s label. That’s not a statement either way. It simply means the label leaves the question to you and your health professional.

Why some medicine boxes mention breastfeeding

If you’ve noticed a pregnancy and breastfeeding line on some OTC packages, that comes from an FDA regulation, 21 CFR 201.63. It requires a general warning telling people who are pregnant or breast-feeding to ask a health professional before use, and it applies to OTC drugs intended for systemic absorption, meaning drugs meant to be absorbed into the body. Products that don’t fall under that rule may not carry the line.

So a box without that sentence hasn’t told you anything about nursing. It’s one more reason to ask, rather than to assume.

Questions to bring to your pharmacist

A pharmacist is often the quickest person to ask, since you don’t need an appointment. Our general list of questions to ask your pharmacist is a good start; for nursing, add these:

• Is there anything in this ingredient list I should know about while breastfeeding?
• Does it matter how many drops a day I use?
• I’m also using these other products or medicines. Does that change anything?
• Is there anything about my baby’s age that matters here?
• What should make me stop and call you or my doctor?

The ingredient list to show them

Quell’s active ingredients are Glycerol (1.0%), Polysorbate 80 (1.0%) and Light Mineral Oil (0.5%). The 10 inactive ingredients are Caprylyl Glycol, Dead Sea Salt (Sodium Chloride), Emu Oil, Glyceryl Laurate, Glyceryl Undecylenate, Manuka Honey, Polaxamer 188, Sterile Water, Terminalia Chubula and Tromethamine. Having both lists in front of the pharmacist saves time. Our pages on the natural ingredients in Quell and the full Drug Facts show the same information.

The label’s caution about egg and bird allergies applies to you as the user, nursing or not. If you have either allergy, raise it right away.

Why dry eyes can show up after a baby arrives

New parents describe dry, tired eyes all the time, and some everyday reasons are easy to spot:

• Broken sleep and middle-of-the-night feeds mean less rest for the eyes.
• Long stretches looking at a phone during feeds, which slows blinking.
• Nurseries often run a heater, fan or white-noise machine with a fan, all of which move or dry the air.
• Less time to drink water than you used to have.

Some of these respond to small changes, such as keeping the phone farther away during feeds and blinking fully, aiming a nursery fan away from the glider, or keeping a water bottle where you nurse. None of these replace advice from your own doctor about your eyes.

If your pharmacist or doctor says yes

• Follow the label’s directions exactly: Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye.
• Wash your hands first, and follow the label: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination.
• Use the drop when your hands are free, not while holding the baby.
• Store the bottle where the label says (Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F)) and out of your baby’s reach as they start grabbing things.
• If you wear contact lenses, the label doesn’t cover using it with them; ask your eye doctor.

When to call a doctor instead

Eye pain, vision changes or irritation that keeps going are reasons to call a doctor, whether or not you’re nursing. Many postpartum changes deserve a professional look, and your eyes are part of that. Working out the cause is your doctor’s job. Our guide on eye symptoms that need a doctor lists the signs, and if you were pregnant recently, our guide on eye drops while pregnant covers the same question earlier on.