Colds & Pregnancy

[joneshockey]

Hey Everyone!

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what I can take, in anything, beside sudifed for a cold/sore throat while pregnant? It has been awhile since I have has to worry about what I take and now I can't remember! I want to take something, expecially for the sore throat, because it has been driving me CRAZY all day! I have been making frozen fruit smoothies all day, but have grown tired of them. Let me know if any of you have suggestions - Thanks!

 

[witzend]

You should probably contact your OB/GYN's office for advice. They have a doctor on call that can answer for you. No one wants to be miserable.

 

[emotionallybankrupt]

I know there are some things you can take, but I wouldn't dare say what they are, just in case advice has changed since my last pregnancy. For non-medication though...a Listerine gargle helps my throat more than anything. Nobody ever told me to do this, but it helps me tons more than the warm salt water advice everybody gives. It cuts the crud on the back of your throat so you can spit it out, and for me the warm salt water doesn't do anything for that. Yes, it tastes awful, makes your eyes water, etc., but it really helps me, and it gets easier with practice. I told a nurse practitioner about it, and she said it made a lot of sense because Listerine is a germ killer.

I've also put metal spoons in ice water to get them freezing cold and then held the back of the spoon against my throat, as far back as I could. I don't know how crazy that sounds to anybody else, but you do whatever you can figure out that helps.

For the stuffy nose, an ice pack on your face for a while helps take down the swelling in the nasal passages.

 

[Marguerite]

For a really sore throat, try a small spoonful of honey. The best honey for this is of course New Zealand manuka honey, or Aussie melaleuca honey. Those can be used on wound dressings too. But frankly, any honey from an apiarist is best. You want the pure stuff, not the supermarket pre-heated homogenised stuff. But use what you can get.

My mother used to heat it a little to make it runny, then mix it with fresh lemon juice (again, fresh and natural, not something out of a bottle).

The honey coats and soothes the throat plus has some antibacterial qualities.

Marg

 

[GoingNorth]

Hot water or tea with honey and lemon dissolved in can be very helpful. As Marg says, you want natural raw honey, not the pasteurized stuff. Homemade chicken soup with raw garlic, ginger, and hot peppers cooked in is VERY helpful for colds and other URIs.

The chicken soup itself is antibacterial and thins mucus. The added seasonings increase thinning and antibacterial effects. They will make you sweat if you make it properly and use enough ginger and hot pepper.

Not sure how far along you are, but chili pepper can be a bit irritating to the bladder. So be aware of that if you are far enough along that you are already running to the bathroom.

FORCE fluids, again: thins the mucus and works as an expectorant as does the soup.

 

[Marguerite]

I make what I call Asian-style chicken stock. it's better for sick tummies as well as for breaking a fever; instead of the usual European herbs for seasoning, I leave out the herbs, leave out the ginger and instead put in a couple of star anise chunks and several slices of raw ginger root. Salt to taste - don't cook it unsalted, or you end up adding even more salt later, than you would have it you used salt originally. I also sometimes make a small bouquet garni bag and put in a few Szechuan peppercorns. Don't just toss them in, unless you plan to strain the stock. Biting into a peppercorn is not pleasant!

A dash of sesame oil before serving is loaded with Vitamin E and adds to the Asian flavour. I find it refreshing, and the ginger is known to break a fever as well as help clear the head a little.

Also if head-clearing is on the agenda, try a little eucalyptus oil or lavender oil on a hankie. I make up my own "breathe easy" mix with eucalyptus oil, peppermint oil, ti-tree oil and lavender oil. A drop on the pyjama collar works wonders at bed time.

Marg

 

[Marg's Man]

My mother used to heat it a little to make it runny, then mix it with fresh lemon juice (again, fresh and natural, not something out of a bottle).

The honey coats and soothes the throat plus has some antibacterial qualities.

Something I learned from the apiarist Marg & I get our honey from is to NOT overheat the honey or becomes, effectively, pasteurised. You need RAW honey because are after enzymes that soothe a a sore throat that are present in natural honey but are broken down by too much heat.

The magic number is 65 degrees Celsius (about 150 degrees F).

As a good rule of thumb: If it's too hot to put you finger in don't use it medicinally it's no longer any good.

It's still tastes great and is okay for your toast though!

Marg's Man

 

[Andy]

Honey is a great remedy for sore throats.

Since honey should not be given to infants, I did some research to see if that went for unborns also and found that according to the attached, honey is safe for a pregnant person to eat. I would verify with your doctor though before consuming honey.

http://www.ivillage.com/honey-it-safe-during-pregnancy/6-n-145722

 

[susiestar]

The ban on honey for infants is made because many people don't pay attention to the difference between pasteurized honey and unpasteurized honey. Babies don't have the immune response to handle the bacteria that can be present in raw honey and can die from it. I cannot remember the specific bacteria, but it is one of the really bad ones that in a very small amount is no big deal to most older kids (over age 6) and adults. I have an aunt who learned this the hard way. She let her kids put honey on EVERYTHING as a dip - they would put NOTHING in their mouths with-o honey except for poptarts. Even if they got donuts they dipped them in honey (her kids were the two worst brats I have EVER encountered at this time also, largely because they ate nothing but sugar - ever tried chocolate cake dipped in honey - AFTER it has a half inch of chocolate frosting all over it? Her kids have. The youngest was about 2 and ended up in the hospital on IV antibiotics because she got sick from honey from a local beekeeper. Just days before my aunt had been telling me the ban on honey for kids was because it was "processed" and she gave her kids the unprocessed kind so they were safe. Even with articles about unpasteurized honey being dangerous for kids she said I was ridiculous. Because of the type of bacteria, the health dept went over her kitchen with a fine tooth comb and guess what? Her honey is where they traced the bacteria to. Docs at the hospital also read her the riot act for letting the kids drown everything in honey. One even sent a letter to her children's doctor about it and pushed for her to go through nutritional counselling because she was counting those fruit snacks (basically gummy bears if you read the ingredients) as 3 or 4 of their fruit/veggie servings each day.

My docs never let me take anything but sudafed and tylenol while pregnant. I used heated rice bags to help clear my sinuses, as well as putting some of the topical capsaicin medication on my sinuses BELOW my eyes (be very careful not to get it close to your eyes or above your eyes - it will migrate down into your eyes if you put it above!). I keep it on hand in the lotion applicator type instead of the cream because once the lotion absorbs it tends not to spread, where the creams can spread hours later. Using this topically works very very well to clear my sinuses.

If you don't have a neti pot or sinus rinse bottle, I strongly recommend them. Walgreens carries them for sure. They will rinse gunk out of your nose and clear out anything like pollen that could be making things worse. You can use the packets that come with the pot or bottle, or you can mix salt and baking soda together and use that. I use the mix (3:1 salt:baking soda ratio. put 1/8 teaspoon into 8 oz water) because I fumble the little packets.

It makes a much bigger difference than you would expect. Do NOT put essential oils in the water you flush your nose with.

It is sometimes helpful to put a couple of drops of essential oil into very hot water, then hold your face over the bowl while covering face and bowl with a towel to keep the steam in. Any of the oils Marg suggested can be used.

My husband swears by vaporub and those odd little inhaler things with vaporub or whatever in them. I think it smells awful but that is just me.

 

[hearts and roses]

1) HOT homemade Chicken vegetable soup~
2) Decaf tea with honey and lemon.
3) Pour hot water into a bowl and drop a dollop of Vicks Vaporub - bend over the bowl with a towel over your head to breathe in the steam, eventually through your nose - it will help clear it out.
4) A neti pot is a great idea, but be certain to use it properly, especially while you're congested. If you don't, you could end up worse and eventually with a sinus infection (my allergist explained this to me - a neti pot used regularly will help prevent congestion, but if used when you're already congested, it could make the congestion worse so be careful!). I use a simple saline spray nightly in a hot shower to clean out the sinuses and it is much easier and less messy than a neti pot. But that's me.
5) Put something under the top of your matress to raise it up. This will help control the post nasal drip you're likely experiencing at night while sleeping, which in turn causes throat pain. It will also help drain the sinuses down, rather than further up, which causes sinus headaches.
6) If you use Vicks Vaporub, please do not insert any into your nose, but just UNDER your nostrils, so you can breathe it in. Direct contact of Vicks on your sensitive nasal passages could cause major irritation.
7) LOTS of water/juices/broths.

If you need to take some type of medication, look into some homeopathic remedies - I've found them to be quite effective and not as harmful as things like OTC cold medications such as sudafed or Tylenol cold, etc. Hope you feel better~