Mirvaso (brimonidine) topical gel 0.33% for Rosacea

[Hdevert50]

Can anyone provide any research on the safety of this topical gel while breastfeeding? I am currently nursing my 17m toddler only at night. I was wondering if it was safe to use this medication. I was instructed to apply a small amount to my cheek one a day in the morning to help constrict the blood causing the redness in my cheek.

When reading the drug insert, it says: tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding. It is not known if Mirvaso topical gel passes into your breast milk. You and your doctor should decide if you will use Mirvaso or breastfeed. You should not do both.

Thanks in advance!

Holly

[admin-james]

Hi, thanks for your post.

You are right that we don't know how much of this medication gets into breastmilk. However, we do know from the initial drug trials that women applying one gram per day to their entire face had a maximum of 46 pg/mL of the medication in their blood. "Pg" is picograms, or 10 to the -12 power. Only a small portion of that would theoretically get into the breastmilk. It is unlikely that an exposure to such a small quantity would cause any problems. Older children are at even lower risk because they consume less breastmilk relative to body weight compared with neonates and their ability to process medications approaches that of adults. Observe your child for dizziness, blurred vision, vomiting, sedation, or difficulty breathing. These are the symptoms reported in children who got ahold of the medicine and ate a significant amount of it.

As with all topical medications, avoid exposing your child directly to medication residues that may still be on your skin or clothing.

Please call us at the InfantRisk Center if this has not completely answered your question. (806)352-2519

-James Abbey, MD
and
-Thomas W. Hale, Ph.D.