What Cold Medicine Is Safe While Nursing? Any?

Hi K.,
Just like when pregnant... Any Tylenol product. Hope you feel better soon!

Good Luck!
E.

Try Boiron Homeopathic ColdCalm. CVS now sells the Boiron products (here in The Colony, TX) but you can also find it at Sprouts, Whole foods, etc.

Homeopathic remedies are safe , have no drug interactions, and are very dilute forms of plant and mineral substances that trigger the body's own immune response. Also Immunity TakeCare by New Chapter to prevent colds is made of berries, only!
Go to BoironUSA.com

I hope you feel better soon. It is the worst being sick when you are a mom. You just don't have time to be sick or usually have anyone to really take care of you!

Check www.kellymom.com to see if they have a safe medications list. It is a great website for nursing support.

I also recommend taking Zycam at the first sign of a cold. It alays works for me by either making my cold symptoms much less severe or not developing at all. Also, I have found that taking Oscillococcinum (sp?)helps a lot too. It is a homeopathic medicine that you can find at Kroger or Walmart in either the flu med. It is made by Boiron. Whole Foods has a store brand that is a bit cheaper too. Both are zycam and ocsillo are completely safe while breastfeeding.

Feel better soon!

Be careful with this as many cold medications are designed to dry up the congestion - runny nose, etc. However, the drying effect is not specialized to your head and could dry up your breastmilk as well. I highly recommend you get in touch with a breastfeeding resource center. There's a great one at Harris Methodist HEB. There's another good one at Harris Fort Worth. I touched base with these outstanding breastfeeding resource people on all questions and their information proved very helpful. They kept me from taking medications that would've dried me up!

I have a great food supplement that is safe and effective for you and your baby, it builds your immune system and get well fast, most of all all natural and developed by a nutrition scientist. Your whole family can stay health, we have not been on meds for God knows so many years.

Best Wishes

A.
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Any Tylenol product. Hope you feel better!

Please check with your physician first, but I believe homeopathic remedies would be fine. We use Cold Calm and like it a lot.

Again, ALWAYS check with a physician first.

Most over the counter meds, coricidin without antihistamine, zyrtec for colds, anything that doesn't have diphenhydramine (benedryl) or psuedoephedrine should be safe. It should give you some relief while not decreasing your milk supply which is perfect to help baby not be as sick. I am so sorry you have a cold, nothing is worse trying to take care of small kids than feeling so down yourself. The good news is that nursing will actually help you to feel better during and for a while after.
hope this is helpful,
K. @ The Nestingplace

Sudafed and claritin were the only things that my doc. approved. Sadly, for me, neither one worked very well. You can, however, use vicks vapor rub, and I use their vaporizer in my room. A cool-mist humidifier works pretty well for congestion too. Make sure you take some extra vitamin C and keep taking your prenatal vitamins.
My 17 cent cure is ramen noodles. It clears out my nose, at least for a little while. And honey or peppermint tea is great for a sore throat if you have one.

I second www.kellymom.com as a great reference. I use Sudafed for my colds, and haven't noticed a decrease in milk production. If you are really concerned call yout doctor's office or even your pediatrician's office. They should be able to help you out. I have done that too before I knew what to use.

FOR SURE drink hot tea, and hot cocoa. The tea will help your throat and a little with congestion, and the hot cocoa will help with a cough. My husband swears by hot showers to "loosen all the stuff up".
I just don't know about actual medicine though...

Try asking the pharmacist. And if says it's a go, get some Mucinex (or generic). It works wonders!

I think Afrin is also ok. You might want to call a lactation consultant to see what they say. Perhaps the hospital you had the baby at can refer someone. Good luck!

Here's the link:
http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/cold-remedy.html

Decongestants are often "safe" while BFing, but often can result in your milk supply taking a dip. Most BFing moms avoid them for that reason.

This has all been said, but my doctor said Sudafed and Afrin were ok, but to be careful of losing your milk supply. I used them, but I also took fenugreek or you could drink mother's milk tea. It will boost your milk supply. You will start to smell like maple syrup, but there are worse things!! Read about it on the La Leche League website.

Both my babies were preemies in the NICU so I was VERY careful about what I took. I'm still nursing my youngest and she's 21 months!! Good luck!

When I was nursing, I tried to be as "good" as possible, and felt that anything taken orally most likely was getting to my baby thru the breastmilk. So I found great relief with the Netti Pot (sp?)- it is just a nasal irrigation that is good for allergies or colds, and it just basically washes out the nasal passages and sinuses. Feels really weird the first time or two, but it is really not as bad as it might sound, (doesn't feel like your drowning or anything, which is what I was worried about!) and if you hold your head right, it just feels like a warm gentle flush. Give it a try!!

FYI, I have always taken prescription antihistimines and decongestants while under my OB's care, never affected the babies or did anything to my milk supply.

The best cough medicine I have encountered including prescription was recommended by my pediatrician because it is for adults and children, and lasts 12 hours. Delsym. It works better, doesn't taste gross, and has the added bonus of cutting down the number of bottles you have in your medicine cabinet. Also, running a cool mist vaporizer is always helpful.

As colds are a virus no medication will end it, just relieve some of the symptoms.
Vitamin C is really good for boosting your immune system.
And believe or not there is proof that good old fashion chicken soup does work.
Another good thing to have around is the neti pot and Echinacea.
The more natural the better for both you and the baby!

The best thing to do is check with your dr... but I used Robitussen D when I was nursing and had a bad cough

HTH
A. J

Anything tylenol. You can check with your doctor as well. When I was pregnant, I had real bad allergies and I took Tylenol allergy.

www.safefetus.com another great refrence.

Your OB should know-I don't remember anything is ok because they can dry up your milk. You may have to tough it out, but Cold Ese throat losenges shorten the duration of a cold and help your throat. They really work and are very good, one every 2-3 hours and drink lots of water. Stay off dairy as this produces more mucas and sinus junk.
Hope you feel better soon.
V. B.

Hi K.! Although I don't know for sure, you might look into Sudafed & Chlortrimaton. I am pregnant, & when I came down w/a cold a few months ago, my dr. said I could take these two in combination together (I took the generic Chlortrimaton, but can't remember what it's called. It was a Walgreen's brand. You could ask a pharmacist.). They worked like a charm! I'd assume that if they're safe in pregnancy, they're safe while breastfeeding - but of course, I'm not a medical professional! :) Just wanted to give you something to look into. Best of luck!

I took Thera Flu and Robitussin both while nursing with no adverse effects. I check my meds through Kellymom: http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/cold-remedy.html

Her sources are absolutely impeccable.

S.

Greetings K.:

Just about any remedy you take for your symptoms will be fine for the baby. OTC meds only help with symptoms anyway. It is good that you are still nursing through your cold. Many moms will stop til the get over being sick, but it is better for you to nurse while you are sick because your body will create antibodies to fight your aliment and you pass those good antibodies to your baby. The only thing with OTC's is that some contain drowsiness formulas which the baby will get, so your kidlet may get drowsy if your take something like Benedryl. Stay committed to nursing and be blessed.