Welcome to Gaia! ::

I am almost 20 wks pregnant, and I currently have the mother of all colds. I can't breath, my nose is runny, coughing, pain all over, soar throat, the works. I feel like I'm going to die! But what can I do? I never got a cold in my first pregnancy. The doc. at the army hospital are no help at all. Does anybody have an home remidees or know whats safe to take?
My husband called and insists that I should take nyquil so I can sleep. This seems like a bad idea even to take it once... but the worse I feel the more tempting it sounds. Is it totally unsafe during pregnancy? It's hard to use good judement when it feels like you've been run down by a semi and you are seriouly lacking sleep. But like I said it seems like it's not the best idea.

Oranges? They naturally fight off colds, extra sleep, to clear nasal congestion steam, go into the bathroom close the door and turn on the hot water get the bathroom all steamed up,

to sooth your throat hot water with a mix of lemon juice and honey add more of eithor to get it to taste to your liking. Works like neocitrin with out the meds.

No Nyquil....

BUT Anything with the TYLENOL logo on it you can take. Tylenol cold, Tylenol sinus, Tylenol cough...if it has TYLENOL written on it in white letters with a tm beside it you can take it while pregnant.

I know the bottle says to "consult a doctor" blah blee blah...but when I consulted my doctor he said. Oh all medicine says that, it has to, and then proceeded to tell me the same about tylenol medication.

I can't believe they didn't give you a list of the medications you can and can not use for all the things you may come up against while pregnant...

Here is a good one.
http://www.babycenter.com/general/pregnancytravel/pregnancy/9327.html

It lists what you can take for what problems.

I know that while you are pregnant, especially during your first trimester, most medications are kind of out for you. So, I'm going to just stick with the stuff that I KNOW is fine.

1) Spray saline up your nose to wash out the nasal cavity. Don't bother with the little bottles of saline that you get in the pharmacy section. Get an 8 oz. squeeze bottle and fill it up with water and about 1/4 tsp salt. I do this almost every day in the shower (mainly because the draining it out can be messy). It has helped me with my allergies and with decreasing and shortening the "colds" I get. I do this like 2 or 3 times daily when I have a problem. I can breath quite well afterwards.

2) Once or twice a day, when I am really congested (mostly for head and throat congestion instead of chest congestion), I breath in steam. I actually put in a drop or two of mint extract into a pot of water and let it boil. Actually put something in the bottom of the pot that won't disolve. This will help the boiling process and help to keep you from burning yourself. I put a towel over my head and put my face in the steam (about a couple of feet above the pot). It helps open me up in a few minutes (2-5 mins to start with, but I usually have to stay there for about 15-20 for full effect). With the mint, it helps make the whole house smell good too.

3) Take your vitamin. But do check with your doctor or midwife about which one you take. I know that there are some things you should not take and some that are good for you. If you can't just phone them up and ask them for free, your pharmacist should be able to help you. But be sure that you actually talk to the pharmacist and not the techs. Unfortunately, pharmacies have become mad houses to work in, and the techs try to field any questions for the pharmacist to help and give him/her time to actually do their job.

4) I know that you can take guafinisin. That helps to thin your mucus so that you are able to get rid of it more effectively (like coughing or sneesing). It is a component in most cough surups, but check the active ingredient list to see if there is anything else. If there is, call a pharmacist you trust (take the advice I gave you in step 3). There are syrups and pills out there that are just guafinisin, those are good to take.

5) Drink plenty of fluids. I cannot stress this enough. Your body is going to need help flushing the toxins. However, and this is important, do not overdo it. If you drink too much water, it disolves the electrolytes in your body and makes your cells swell (and actually burst in the digestive track). This is called being water-logged. But if you drink the suggested 3-4 L (3/4 to 1 gallon) daily that is suggested, you will be fine. I'm sure that lunashock could give you more on being water-logged.

Other than that, I'm not confident enough to actually give any more advice.

I've got a bad cold right now too, though I am not pregnant. I still hate taking medications if I don't need to (meds always have some kind of side-effect on me that while not dangerous, is usually quite uncomfortable... or it simply doesn't work).

Today, I am using herbal tea (orange spice) with lemonjuice in it, just a little bit, to help me so I can breathe.

ok this what i did when i was Pregnate....
I took vitimin c 2 a day and then put a vaporizor with the vicks liquid in the room and then i use vicks like it was goin out of style......

BTW dont use nitequils its not good for the baby....


and then i drank like a gallon of OJ and sleept

Green tea. Lots and lots of green tea. It saved me from colds so often when I was pregnant. I usually only take meds if it's an absolute last resort, I personally prefer the herbal remedies. Eucalyptus (sp?) bath salts, or something of that kind are wonderful for sinus relief. Though the bath oils seem to work better and are bliss for your skin as well. And lots of vitamin C. Oranges, O.J., even suppliments will work. Just don't over do it.

i couldnt agree more..