Is Nitazoxanide safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what LactMed, the Drugs and Lactation Database published by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), reports about Nitazoxanide. The text below is quoted from that source — it is not our own verdict.
Summary of use during breastfeeding
Limited information indicates that a maternal dose of 500 mg of nitazoxanide produces low levels of an active metabolite, tizoxanide, in breastmilk and would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants, especially if the infant is older than 2 months. But until more data become available, an alternate drug may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant.
Effects on the breastfed infant
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Effects on milk supply
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Levels in milk
After oral administration, nitazoxanide is not found in the bloodstream, but is rapidly converted to the active metabolites, tizoxanide and tizoxanide glucuronide, which are detectable in plasma.
Maternal Levels. A volunteer lactating mother took a single 500 mg oral dose of nitazoxanide as a commercial suspension (Nitazode, Al Andalous Medical Co., Cairo, Egypt). The concentration of the active metabolite, tizoxanide, was 1.4 mg/L at 6 hours after the dose. Tizoxanide glucuronide was not measured.[1]
Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
“No published information” means the studies do not exist yet — not that Nitazoxanide is known to be harmful, and not that it is known to be safe. Your prescriber or pharmacist can weigh your baby's age and whether a better-studied alternative would do the same job. Worth asking before stopping a medicine you need.
Source: Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), via NCBI Bookshelf, record “Nitazoxanide” (LM1005). LactMed on NCBI Bookshelf. LactMed is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Educational summary of an authoritative source — not medical advice. Never start, stop, or change a medicine while breastfeeding without confirming with your doctor.