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Menthol topical Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Warnings

Brand names: Aspercreme Pain Relieving Heat Gel, Bengay Cold Therapy Gel, Bengay Ultra Strength Pain Relieving Patch, Biofreeze, Blue Ice, Deep Freeze Cold Gel, Flexall, Gel Glace/Ice Cold, Gold Bond, Gold Bond Medicated Maximum Strength Foot, Halls Mentho-Lyptus Drops, Happinose, Icy Hot Advanced Relief Pain Relief Patch, Icy Hot Extra Strength, Icy Hot Medicated No Mess Applicator, Icy Hot Medicated Spray, Icy Hot Vanishing Scent Pain Relieving Gel, Luden's Honey Licorice Throat Drops, Medicated Foot, Nostroline, Stopain, Stopain Cold, Strepsils Sore Throat and Blocked Nose, Valda Pastilles, Vicks Cough Drops

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Oct 12, 2023.

Menthol topical Pregnancy Warnings

The manufacturer makes no recommendation regarding use during pregnancy.

AU TGA pregnancy category: Exempt
US FDA pregnancy category: Not assigned

Animal studies are not available. There are no controlled data in human pregnancy.

AU Exempt: Medications exempted from pregnancy classification are not absolutely safe for use in pregnancy in all circumstances. Some exempted medicines, for example the complementary medicine, St John's Wort, may interact with other medicines and induce unexpected adverse effects in the mother and/or fetus.

US FDA pregnancy category Not Assigned: The US FDA has amended the pregnancy labeling rule for prescription drug products to require labeling that includes a summary of risk, a discussion of the data supporting that summary, and relevant information to help health care providers make prescribing decisions and counsel women about the use of drugs during pregnancy. Pregnancy categories A, B, C, D, and X are being phased out.

See references

Menthol topical Breastfeeding Warnings

The manufacturer makes no recommendation regarding use during lactation.

Excreted into human milk: Yes

Comments:
-Oral ingestion of menthol resulted in detectable levels in human milk; there are no data on the excretion of topical menthol into human milk.
-If used on the nipples, use after nursing and wipe off before the next nursing.

See references

See also

References for pregnancy information

  1. TGA. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Australian Drug Evaluation Committee (2010) Prescribing medicines in pregnancy: an Australian categorisation of risk of drug use in pregnancy. http://www.tga.gov.au/docs/html/medpreg.htm
  2. (2019) "Product Information. VapoDrops Menthol (menthol topical)." Procter and Gamble Pharmaceuticals

References for breastfeeding information

  1. United States National Library of Medicine (2013) Toxnet. Toxicology Data Network. http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?LACT
  2. (2019) "Product Information. VapoDrops Menthol (menthol topical)." Procter and Gamble Pharmaceuticals

Further information

Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.

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