Cold Medicine While Pregnant

Hylands Cold and Cough syrup. Herbal remedy and I cant stay off this stuff it really works justa s well as the cold meds. It even beat most of the cold meds as well, you can pick it up at walmart. Even if they only carry the childrens one it has the adult doasge info on it too.

Try rinsing your nose out with a saline solution using a netti pot. You can use it as often as you like. Use a humidifier. If I get a very bad sinus headache, I'll put a warm damp wash cloth on my face and put a heating pad over it. For me, chicken soup is comfort food when I'm feeling sick.

For sinus pressure you can use a sinus rinse. It is totally safe for the baby and you. It comes in a kit with a bottle and packets of salt. This rinses out your sinuses and releaves the pressure. Since starting this my husbands alergies are much better and he has not had a cold all year.

I have had many colds throughout both of my pregnancies and have always used Tylenol cold/sinus. My OB recommended this and I trust him. He also said I could have regular Sudafed or regular Robitussin (not DM). But again I will only take the medicine if I am completely miserable. I try a humidifier and saline spray first. With all the cold medicine I took with my first pregnancy (and yes I was horribly sick), my son turned out perfectly fine. That's why I won't hesitate to use it again. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.

I was also going to suggest the Neti Pot or some kind of nasal rinse. They are supposed to be great.

Also, you can ask your pharmacist what you can take too. I have found that they are usually more knowledgeable and can explain better what to take while pregnant and breastfeeding. I don't NOT trust my doctor, but I still double check her recommendations with a pharmacist every time. I have been told different things by them. My thinking is that medication, especially OTC stuff, is just one small part of a doctors job, and it is the only part of a pharmacist's job. I have ended up taking my pharmacist's advice over my doctor's many times.

My daughter is 22 wks pregnant and having twins, she has had a sinus infection recently and had a hard time breathing, so her OB GYN doctor prescribed her the Z-Pack. You might check that out....Best Wishes to you and your new baby.....God Bless

Trust your OB.........he/she would not tell you to do something that would harm the baby. I took Tylenol cold, seudafed, benadryl, etc while pregnant and my kids are fine. Trust the dr. They are the professionals when dealing with pregnant women.

I'd go with the advice of your OB/GYN - they're the experts. However, I also researched the active ingredients, and you are correct, with the exception of the actual acetominophen, they all appear to be Pregnancy Category C meaning they either haven't been studied or the information hasn't been submitted to the FDA for approval for that population. It's up to the discretion of your OB to determine (in concert with you) if the benefits outweigh the risks).

If you're not comfortable, call your OB back and ask for other solutions. The saline suggestion is a good one - particularly neti pots. If it doesn't work, you know you need something else.

Are you sure it's a cold vs. a sinus infection? You may want to have your Primary Care Provider assess if you have an infection because it will not improve without an antibiotic. I have a sinus infection right now, and it took drainage from my eyes before I went to the doctor and got an Augmentin Rx (which is safe during pregnancy).

I can't bring myself to do the neti pot (fear of drowning!), but I find even the saline sprays help me at least as well as any decongestant. I would avoid the cold meds too if possible. I think the OBs sometimes go on the assumption that if it hasn't been proven to be a problem yet, we won't worry, and I'm not exactly comfortable with that (thinking about antibiotic safety/asthma for example). That said--many moms have done it, so I think we'd know if there were catastrophic consequences. ;-)

Hope you feel better soon.

I agee with the previous post about consulting with a pharmacist. They are trained about drug interactions, safety, etc. Docs frequently have only a limited knowledge of drug drawbacks, as it is not their area of training. I had one doc say that a certain nasal spray was safe but the pharmacist recommended that I not use it. So far saline flushes and long hot showers are keeping my allergies at bay.
Best of luck, sinus pressure is miserable.

Ug, I don't like to take class-C drugs, either. If you're uncomfortable with it, don't do it (but then you may just have to suffer through the cold). When I'm sick and pregnant, I LIVE by the vapors! Walmart sells a children's plug-in vaporizor that is non-medicated and approved for small infants. Those really help. I take lots of hot showers and baths (not too hot, of course - up to 100 degrees is considered safe when pregnant) with the doors closed to clear everything out, drink hot tea, and I run the cool-mist humidifier 24/7. Colds only last about a week or so, so if you're still having major problems after that, you may have to get checked for a sinus infection.

Afrin nasal spray works wonders for congestion. I absolutely love the stuff and take it whenever I have a cold and am pregnant or breastfeeding (decongestants can dry up your milk). Plus it lasts for 12 hours so you don't have to do it very often.