Can pregnant women use penicillin eye drops?

I am eight months pregnant and my eyes have been uncomfortable recently. My friend suggested that I could use penicillin eye drops, but can pregnant women use penicillin eye drops? Because pregnancy is a very critical period, if medication is used, it will have adverse effects on the fetus. So I have not used eye drops, but my eyes are sore and unbearable, and I don’t want to use other medications to alleviate this situation, for fear of affecting the health of the fetus.

Can pregnant women use penicillin eye drops? There is no problem. Generally speaking, it can be used for the following reasons:

Penicillin belongs to the β-lactam antibiotic class. There is a β-lactam ring in its molecular structure, which can combine with the penicillin-binding protein of sensitive bacteria, inhibiting the synthesis of bacterial cell walls and causing the bacteria to lyse and die. However, there are no cell walls in the cell structure of humans and animals, so penicillin itself is very low in toxicity (and has no nephrotoxicity) and can generally be used safely except in those who are allergic. In addition, penicillin has no teratogenic, carcinogenic or mutagenic effects, so pregnant women can use it safely as long as they are not allergic.

Women should be careful when using topical medications during pregnancy and lactation. Even low concentrations like eye drops may enter breast milk and the entire blood circulation system, thus affecting the growth and development of the baby. Some drugs may cause irreversible toxic effects on the baby even at very low concentrations. Therefore, it is best not to use eye drops during pregnancy.

Regarding the use of eye drops by pregnant women, we should not only understand what eye drops pregnant women can use, but also understand which eye drops are absolutely not used. Pregnant women should not use chloramphenicol eye drops because chloramphenicol has a serious bone marrow suppression effect. If used by pregnant women, it may cause serious adverse reactions in newborns. Therefore, it is recommended that pregnant mothers should not use tetracycline because it is easy to cause fetal malformations. Therefore, doctors recommend that it be used with caution. Erythromycin is relatively safe.

There are still some drugs that can be used during pregnancy. The safest are penicillin and cephalosporin, which have basically no adverse effects on the fetus and can be used with confidence. If the eye drops are quinolones, they will theoretically have adverse effects on the cartilage development of the fetus, but at most a few drops of eye drops are used.

The above content is about the situation in which pregnant women can use penicillin eye drops. We understand that it needs to be decided based on the pregnant woman’s own situation. However, a small amount of penicillin eye drops is still okay. If the dosage is too large, it is necessary to use it according to the doctor's advice. Therefore, it is better to go to a regular hospital for examination and treatment, which is safer and more reliable, especially during an important period such as pregnancy.