What to do when your sick and pregnant
Which Cold & Flu Medication Is Safe to Take During Pregnancy? | UNM Health Blog
By Maria Montoya, MD | February 04, 2022
You are pregnant and start feeling sick. Before you reach for that bottle of cold or flu medicine, are you certain it is safe for your baby?
When you are pregnant, your baby will be exposed to everything you are exposed to. This means that when you are sick with a cold or flu your baby will not only be exposed to the cold or flu virus, but also any medication you may take.
Typically, with most viruses, you must wait for your immune system to fight the infection. Over-the-counter medications can help soothe your symptoms while you wait.
However, not all over-the-counter medicines are safe to take during pregnancy. Certain medications may hurt the baby or cause problems for you, such as increasing your blood pressure.
Use this quick list of pregnancy-safe natural cold and flu remedies and over-the-counter medications as a starting point. Remember, read the directions on the package for any medication you might take. It’s also a good idea to talk with your doctor or midwife before taking a cold or flu medication.
Natural, Pregnancy-Safe Remedies
Before you try any medications, there are natural remedies you may find adequate relief from first. Here are a couple of safe, natural remedies to try:
- Gargle warm salt water
- Get as much restful sleep as possible
- Sip honey in hot water
- Stay well hydrated
- Use nasal saline sprays
- Try a humidifier
While not all herbs and supplements are safe in pregnancy. You may be able to safely take:
- Vitamin C
- Zinc
- Manuka Honey
- Elderberry
Talk with your doctor or midwife before taking any supplements or trying at-home remedies or essential oils during pregnancy.
If natural remedies don’t provide enough relief, consider these pregnancy-safe medications.
Pregnancy-Safe Cold & Flu Medication
It is best to avoid taking medications when possible. If you do need to take something, follow the package directions carefully. Talk with your doctor or midwife before taking medication during pregnancy.
These over-the-counter medications are considered safe for most pregnant patients:
- Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
- Safe during the entire pregnancy.
- Take only as needed.
- Try to limit regular exposure.
- Not safe if you are allergic to it or have liver problems.
- Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed)
- Safe in the second and third trimester
- Not safe in the first trimester due to a small risk of abdominal wall birth defects
- Not safe if you have high blood pressure (hypertension) or a history of heart disease
- Chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton)
- Safe during pregnancy.
- Not safe while breastfeeding.
- Diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
- Safe throughout pregnancy.
Watch out for extra ingredients. Many cold and flu medications treat more symptoms than you may be experiencing. For example, Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom treats headaches, fever, body aches, cough, chest congestion, stuffy nose, and more. If you just have a stuffy nose, this is more medication than you need.
A word about antibiotics. Some sinus infections are treated with antibiotics. In general, pregnant patients should not take antibiotics unless it is necessary. Make sure your health care provider knows you are pregnant if they prescribe antibiotics.
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Medications to Avoid in Pregnancy
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medications can hurt your developing baby.
Do not take NSAIDs such as these when you are pregnant:
- Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)
- Naproxen (Aleve, Midol)
- Celecoxib (Celebrex)
- Aspirin (Bayer), unless your doctor or midwife prescribes daily low-dose aspirin.
Do not take these medications during pregnancy. These drugs can hurt the developing baby:
- Benzocaine (throat lozenges/throat sprays)
- Codeine (a pain and cough medication)
- Phenylephrine (i.e., Sudafed PE): it not considered safe while pregnant because studies with animals showed adverse effects to the fetus.
When you don’t feel well, the last thing you might want to do is read a medication label. However, it is worth taking a few extra moments to read the label and avoid additional risks. If you’re not sure what medicine is safe to take, call us. We are always here to help you.
To find out whether you or a loved one might benefit from Ob/Gyn care
Call 505-272-2245.
Categories: Women's Health
Treating a Cold or Flu When Pregnant
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When you become pregnant, everything that happens to you can affect not just your body but the fetus, too. This can make dealing with being sick more complicated. Before pregnancy, if you got a cold or became sick with the flu, you may have taken an over-the-counter (OTC) decongestant. Now that you’re pregnant, you might wonder whether it’s safe. Although medications can relieve your symptoms, some may harm a developing fetus. But treating a cold or flu during pregnancy doesn’t have to be a stressful experience, and you can take many medications while pregnant.
Medications
According to most OB-GYNs, it’s best to avoid all medications in the first
12 weeks of pregnancy. That’s a critical time for the development of a fetus’s vital organs. It’s a good idea to speak with your doctor if you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant and currently taking medication or considering taking medication.
Several medications are considered safe after 12 weeks of pregnancy. These include:
- topical menthol
- nasal strips
- cough drops or lozenges
- acetaminophen (Tylenol) for aches, pains, and fevers
- cough suppressant at night
- expectorant during the day
- calcium-carbonate (Mylanta, Tums) or similar medications for heartburn, nausea, or upset stomach
- plain cough syrup
- dextromethorphan (Robitussin) and dextromethorphan-guaifenesin (Robitussin DM) cough syrups
Avoid all-in-one medications that combine ingredients to tackle many symptoms. Instead, choose single medications for the symptoms you’re dealing with. You should also avoid the following medications while pregnant unless your doctor recommends you take them. They increase the risk for problems:
- aspirin (Bayer)
- ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)
- naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn)
- codeine
- Bactrim, an antibiotic
Home remedies for cold and flu during pregnancy
When you get sick while pregnant, your first steps should be to:
- Get plenty of rest.
- Drink a lot of fluids.
- Gargle with warm salt water if you have a sore throat or cough.
If your symptoms worsen, you might want to try:
- saline nasal drops and sprays to loosen nasal mucus and soothe inflamed nasal tissue
- breathing warm, humid air to help ease congestion; a facial steamer, hot-mist vaporizer, or even a hot shower can work
- chicken soup to help relieve inflammation and soothe congestion
- adding honey or lemon to a warm cup of decaffeinated tea to relieve a sore throat
- using hot and cold packs to alleviate sinus pain
Is it a cold or the flu?
The common cold and the flu share many symptoms, such as a cough and runny nose. However, a few differences can help you tell them apart. If your symptoms are generally mild, then you likely have a cold. Also, chills and fatigue are more likely with the flu.
Things you can do to reduce your risk
When you’re pregnant, your body’s immune system becomes weaker to prevent your body from rejecting the fetus.
But, it also leaves you more vulnerable to viral and bacterial infections. Pregnant people are also
than nonpregnant folks their age to have flu complications. These complications may include pneumonia, bronchitis, or sinus infections. Getting a flu vaccination can reduce your risk of infection and complications. Other things you can do to reduce your risk of getting sick include:
- washing your hands often
- getting enough sleep
- eating a healthy diet
- avoiding close contact with sick family or friends
- exercising regularly
- reducing stress
When should I call my doctor?
Although most colds don’t cause problems for a fetus, you should take the flu more seriously. Flu complications increase the risk of premature delivery and birth defects. Get immediate medical help if you experience the following symptoms:
- dizziness
- difficulty breathing
- chest pain or pressure
- vaginal bleeding
- confusion
- severe vomiting
- high fever that isn’t reduced by acetaminophen
- decreased fetal movement
The
CDC recommends treating pregnant people with flu-like symptoms immediately with antiviral medications.
Call your doctor’s office if you have any questions or you’re not sure your symptoms are worrisome.
Takeaway
Getting sick while pregnant can be particularly unpleasant, and you might wonder whether it’s safe to take OTC medications to ease your symptoms. Generally, doctors recommend avoiding medications in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. If you’re currently taking medication for a condition or it’s after 12 weeks, and you want to take something to reduce cold or flu symptoms, it’s a good idea to talk with a doctor about what’s safe and what you should avoid.
How not to get sick for a future mother? Obstetrician-gynecologist of the New Hospital Tatyana Noritsina gave advice to readers of the magazine Cheat Sheet for Parents
Here comes another cold season. For the expectant mother, this is the time when you need to be especially careful, because now she is responsible not only for her own health, but also for the health of the unborn baby.
In addition, pregnancy imposes a taboo on a number of drugs. How not to get sick and what to do if you still get sick?
Many future mothers believe that they have excellent immunity and do not even suspect that even with excellent health, the body's defenses become much weaker during pregnancy. The fetus is a semi-alien organism, because inherits part of the father's genetic material and, in theory, it should cause a reaction of the mother's immune system, but in life during the normal course of pregnancy this does not happen due to the natural restructuring of the body, in particular, a decrease in immunity. The mother's body works for two, since the future baby does not yet have its own immunity.
Conventionally, it is considered that there are two critical periods during pregnancy, when the mother's immune system experiences the maximum load.
Period 1 falls on 6-10 weeks of pregnancy, when the mother's body gets used to coexistence, and her immune system has to undergo double stress both for herself and for the baby.
It is during this period that the expectant mother is susceptible to viral infections.
2 period falls on the period of 20-27 weeks of pregnancy, when the placenta is formed, part of the baby's organs begin to function, its needs for nutrients and vitamins increase. And the mother's body again has to adapt to the new conditions of interaction, which again cannot but affect her immunity.
But this does not mean at all that at other stages of pregnancy you can treat your health with less attention. You can get sick with viral, "cold" diseases at any stage of pregnancy. How to protect yourself?
Prevention and again prevention
1. During outbreaks of SAID, try to visit crowded places less often, especially closed ones (cafes, cinemas, supermarkets). If visiting them is unavoidable, do not hesitate to use personal protective equipment - masks and change them every 4 hours, and during epidemics every 2 hours. After returning home, wash your hands and face with soap, rinse the nasal mucosa with solutions based on sea water (aqualor, aquamaris and others).
2. Watch your diet, it should be enriched with vitamins. Fruits, pomegranate and apple juice will deliver vitamin C and iron to the body. Vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, pumpkin (especially raw) are just a storehouse of vitamins and minerals. From meat it is better to give preference to beef tongue, liver and veal, the level of iron and vitamins in them is higher.
3. Consider temperature when choosing clothing. You should not dress too warmly, as sweating increases during pregnancy, and sweating, you will catch a cold much faster. Do not forget about the headgear, because it is the ENT organs that are so susceptible to hypothermia.
4. Avoid stress and overwork, walk more in the fresh air, do yoga, gymnastics, water aerobics (if there are no individual contraindications). All this will boost your immunity and help protect you and your baby from viruses and "colds".
Contact? There is a contact…
If you do come into contact with a sick person, wash the nasal mucosa with preparations based on sea water.
Try not to overwork for the next 3-4 days, follow a vitamin diet, do not overload the body with fatty spicy food. Do not forget about the abundant warm drink and the healing properties of phytoncides (spread finely chopped onion or garlic at home).
If you feel the first symptoms (weakness, malaise, headache, nasal congestion, sore throat) - immediately go to bed! Call a doctor from the clinic in your area. The scheme is the same: a plentiful warm drink, washing the nasal mucosa up to 5-7 times a day. Ventilate the room, but avoid drafts.
Do not wrap up, so as not to cause a rise in temperature, do not bring down the temperature below 38.0 degrees. At high temperatures, wipe the body and forehead with a cool napkin, untie. In extreme cases, half the dose of paracetamol is allowed.
Gargle a sore throat with herbal infusions of chamomile, coltsfoot, calendula (if there are no allergic reactions), mineral water without gas, you can use lollipops with natural ingredients (mint, eucalyptus, sage, etc.
).
In no case do not self-medicate and do not take drugs without a doctor's prescription!
If a friend suddenly turns up
If someone close to you falls ill, consider isolating the sick person, at least to another room. Ask other relatives to help care for the sick person. If this option is not possible, and you have to care for the patient yourself, take preventive measures:
- Ventilate the room more often, spread chopped onions and garlic around the apartment.
- Keep your hands clean, use skin antiseptics that are allowed during pregnancy.
- Use masks or gauze bandages, change them every 2-3 hours.
- Rinse the nasal mucosa at least 3 times a day with Aqualor or Aquamaris. For the purpose of active prevention, depending on the duration of pregnancy, the doctor may recommend you homeopathic preparations to raise local immunity.
If I get sick, will I not go to the doctors?
How often do we hear from our employer: “Sick? Take a few days off and go back to work.
" In no case, because a little man lives in your tummy, you are responsible for him and no work can be more important than his health. And for him, even more than the virus itself, the process of intoxication, which is accompanied by almost any SARS, is dangerous.
Do not self-medicate, call a doctor at the place of residence. If you have a severe headache, vomiting, stool disorders, a temperature above 38.5, call an ambulance and do not refuse hospitalization if there are such indications. Unfortunately, some viral infections are accompanied by severe intoxication and infusion therapy may be required.
It is not always possible to cure ARVI with folk remedies. The treatment is prescribed by the therapist, and you must immediately inform him of your pregnancy. There are drugs that are strictly prohibited during pregnancy (some types of antibiotics that are highly toxic to the tissues of the kidneys, liver, brain, etc., aspirin-containing drugs, some types of immunomodulators, cold powders for drinking, most of which contain drugs, affecting the central nervous system of the mother and fetus).
There are groups of drugs that are allowed only at certain stages of pregnancy. Of the diagnostic methods at any stage of pregnancy, the use of FLG of the lungs is prohibited, and x-rays are used only in very extreme cases.
How to protect your baby
For mothers of babies, the issue of protection against viruses is also extremely acute. Use a mask when feeding and caring for a baby (after all, even without the first symptoms, but having been in contact with a sick person, you can become a source of SARS for your child), strictly follow the rules of personal hygiene.
If you still get sick, do not give up breastfeeding, your milk is an additional source of protection for the baby's not yet strengthened immunity. You can breastfeed, ARVI is mainly transmitted by airborne droplets, therefore, if the mask regimen and personal hygiene rules are observed, the possibility of infection of the baby is minimized.
As for special prophylaxis for the baby, during periods of epidemics, pediatricians often prescribe irrigation of the nasal cavity with aquamaris, the use of homeopathic preparations that increase local immunity (grippferon, derinat, viferon, etc.
). But you should not prescribe any drugs to the baby on your own. If necessary, consult your pediatrician.
For a nursing mother, antiviral drugs and even antibiotics can be prescribed, but once again I repeat, you should not self-medicate, because most drugs penetrate the mother's milk and can cause irreparable harm to the baby's health. All appointments are made by a doctor.
I wish health to mothers and babies!
Source: http://semyarf.com
Dear patients! For information on treatment, rehabilitation, vaccination against COVID-19, see this page
Publication date: October 5, 2017
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