I am 36 1/2 weeks along, and have come down with an awful cold? over the weekend. I am a little afraid to take anything becuase of possible side affects of any drugs to the baby. I am completly stuffed up, having a hard time breathing (I do use a huidifier at night which seems to help a lot), or getting my nose totally clear so I can breathe other than through my mouth. I am completly out of energy, I am usually fine and very fit, but even walking to my car has seemed to make me very tired, so I've been resting as much as I possibly can all weekend. Does anyone have any non medicated home solutions I can try until I am able to ask my doctor what to do? I know it will pass eventually, just don't want it to turn into something worse and make real issues.
thanks everyone. I did get in touch with my doctor. He said take the nasal saline drops and sudefed, and hot/cold on nasal passages and rest, lots of liquids. He also told me other signs to watch for that if happen to call him immediatly.(high fever, cough that hurts, etc) But I appreciate all the help and ideas from everybody, they may also come very much in handy! Love coming here and getting ideas and hearing what others have done with the same experience
6 cups of water, boiled, 1.5" of Ginger finely minced, 1 lemon juice, 2 table spoons of honey, mix and drink, till you feel hands and feet are warm, repeat 3 times daily, 2-3 days max you should be fine.
I put eucalyptus oil on my chest for my cold when I was pregnant or baby grade chest rub if you're scared. Stay away from ibuprophen.
My doctor let me use zinc; it doesn't help with the symptoms, but it shortens the duration of the cold. I believe it inhibits the virus from reproducing which is how the cold is shorter - you need to start it at the beginning of your symptoms though. Also, echinacea is ok to use during pregnancy; again, it isn't symptom relief, but it ramps up your immune system to fight it off.
A Neti pot or any brand of nasal wash will help clear out your nose for a while and may even shorten the life of the cold. Not just a nasal, saline spray - it is a nasal WASH. I like the Ayr brand I found at Rite Aid. My dr said that Benadryl and Sudafed were fine to use during pregnancy, and I have used them with my first 3, and now my fourth, with no problems so far. Being pregnant and sick is the pits - good luck!
My friend swore by her neti-pot when she was pregnant. I was fortunate not to get a cold while pregnant so I've never used one. You can also use a saline solution to clear out your nose.
Hi M.,
Many don't recommend herbal remedies during pregnancies because they really haven't been tested in studies. Many don't recommend OTC because they have side effects even when you are not pregnant. I believe some are safe natural supplements/herbs are safe but without knowing you and your body I would hesitate to mention any. Natural things like the Netipot mentioned are fine as well as the humidifier you are using. What is really necessary to get rid of the cold, and keep it away, is to build your immune system. Most vitamins, even prenatal ones, don't absorb well so you need to be real picky about what you are taking. I take a brand that is guaranteed to absorb and I feel it's benefits. I'll be glad to recommend it to you if you like. Bobbi McCaughey (you may have seen her and her septuplets on TV over the last few years) carried seven healthy babies to term and will sing it's praises. Her doctor actually said she should abort 4 to be able to carry 3 to term. She obviously refused!
Eating well, especially avoiding certain things, will help. Things that break down the immune system are all types of sugars (from regular sugar to refined flour like breads and cakes, even white potatoes...), sodas, especially diet ones, and processed foods, frozen as well as fast foods.
Chiropractic care will also help, not just with your cold but keeping your body working right for the baby to develop right. If you are unfamiliar with the wellness benefits of chiropractic, I'll be glad to elaborate. If you know their benefits and just haven't tried it, I would suggest an upper cervical specialist. They seem to understand the immune system more than most. If you don't know of one in your area, you can go to upcspine.com and look one up. The chiropractor I use has the largest pediatric chiropractic clinic in the state of Georgia. They didn't aspire that calling but because the results with the children were so good, their practice has grown to an enormous size. I also got regular adjustments during my second (and final) pregnancy and that child has had less health related issues as my oldest daughter.
Hope this info helps and let me know if you'd like more info...
See what your doctor says. My midwife said most of the major over the counter cold medications were okay in the last trimester (including sudafed, claritin, mucinex, some cough medicine and nasal spray). I wouldn't go overboard or anything but if you know what works for you just so you can get the rest you need it can help a lot. I had a horrible cold when my first was born (I couldn't even speak over a whisper) and the delivery had complications for my son and an unplanned c-section for me. I was more comfortable taking a chance with the cold medications than with a bad delivery situation which kept my first in the hospital for 10 weeks. Obviously this doesn't happen to most people but everything has some possible risks and you need to pick what risk makes sense to you.
Lots of long showers, chicken soup (its been proven to actually help), spicy stuff to help your congestion if you can stand it and wont get heartburn, and keep up the rest. You also are always able to take tylenol or sudephed although they don't recommend taking the combination pills and some DRs suggest that you don't take them at the same time. Oh and stay very HYDRATED because dehydration can easily bring on labor at your stage of the game.
You can take children's cold meds. Do a google search to see what is ok.
You can use saline spray to help with the stuffy nose. There are also some great homeopathic treatments out there but I'd check with your dr. on those first.
Try homeopathic medicine--safe for you and baby.....
A regular saline nasal spray works wonders! And if you have a sinus infection, eat yogurt. Yogurt has live cultures, in other words, good bacteria. The good bacteria will fight the bad bacteria for space...that's how my doctor explained it.
Be wary of anything that dries you out, even if your doc says its okay. They work by constricting blood flow to your nose, but in reality it constricts or limits blood flow everywhere including your placenta.
don' t know if anyone said it or not, but Tylenol products are okay during pregnancy too.
I like the Neil Med nasal rinses. I can keep a sinus infection at bay with these, so I'm sure you'd find relief. GL and congratulations!
Oh, I feel for you! This same thing happened to me when I was pregnant. My midwife had me do nasal rinses with a netti pot, saltwater, and eucalyptus essential oil. You can buy a netti pot at a natural foods store. Mix 1/4 t salt, a pinch of baking soda and 1 drop of eucalyptus oil. Mix the oil into the salt and then add warm (almost hot) water to fill the netti pot. Its pretty intense at first, but feels amazing! This cleared my sinuses right away and will prevent a sinus infection. If you can't get the salt water to go through your sinuses at first, keep trying. Rest a ton, like you are doing, and drink warm liquids. Vitamin C is completely safe when pregnant. You can also take Elderberry extract. Think of this time as self care before you have the baby. You won't get this time again!
Add fresh garlic to your meals, I usually add some minced to my scrambled eggs for breakfast.
