Cold while pregnant...

[tinkb]

Hey guys...so I'm 24 weeks along and I got this cold (is the only way for me to describe it) that is hitting me like a ton of bricks. I can't sleep at night, my nose turns into a faucet and my throat gets very raw. My voice is almost gone and it keeps me awake at night. Is there anything that anyone would recommend that I do/take? I have a wedding this weekend AND next weekend and still have three full-time work days to get through before I'm off.

Thanks!

[VeeVee]

Could it be allergies?

[Natalka]

Suck on hard candies for your throat - not necessarily lozonges, but peppermints, lemon drops...

Steam youself - sit at a table with a big bowl of very hot water, put a towel over your head, bend over the bowl and breathe in deeply. Works wonders!

Cool mist humidifier in the bedroom.

Chicken soup! Even if you can't make or get homemade, canned will do fine!

And maybe call in sick so you can rest?

[GoJays]

have you tried a neti pot for the stuffy nose? there's not too much out there that you can take right now, sorry.. hope you're feeling better soon

[tvialls]

Lots of fluids. Honey and lemon, ginger tea or jello (warm) in a cup. and some popsicles. I had a severe cold from weeks 14-17 and all I could do was rest, drink fluids, neti pot and use the humidifier. Don't forget to take your prenatal vitamins!!

[TheSaltyDog]

Not much to say other than I feel for you.

Unfortunately, when we're pregnant our mucous membranes tend to swell due to the excess estrogen in our system, which never helps a nose situation. May I suggest a saline spray when during the day?

As for helping to beat a cold, I usually found that lots of orange juice (vitamin C), chicken soup (warm, and if you use homemade broth, it has lots of good cold-fighting fats in it if you don't skim off the droplets!), and tonnes of liquids helped. It really sucks not being able to take a tonne of meds when you just want to feel better. I also had a pretty nasty cold later on in my pregnancy and I would occasionally take some tylenol for sleeping and lots of honey/lemon/clove in hot water to help my sore throat.

Best of luck!

[bargain_hunter_lola]

I feel your pain! I had a horrible cold & cough for the last 3-4 weeks of my pregnancy, I honestly though it would never end! Not much you can take unfortunately, just try drinking lots of fluids and see if a humidifier works.

[anisa]

gargling with lukewarm salt water tastes nasty, but does wonders at killing the bacteria in your throat.

do it every 3-4 hours.

ginger will kick the poop out of a cold. if you have a juicer add a half inch, or inch long, piece to your juice. i make a carrot apple juice and throw the ginger in along with it. it is spicy for about 5 seconds. ( i drink it down super fast) sort of like cinamon hearts. do 1-2 juices a day and it will help.

these sound like nasty things to do, but they are drug free and will really help you out.

if you are totally not into the juice thing, just take some ginger tea. i have some of the tetley ginger tea (in the small round canisters) and it is good. PC makes a ginger/peach tea that is nice too. stay away from green tea (caffeine) and herbal mix teas. most of them aren't good for when you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

i hope you get better

[seventhwave]

been there, i got REALLY sick right at about 20 weeks and was so desperate I was crying at the pharmacy.

What worked for me was a Neti pot, steamy bath/showers, vicks vaporub (liberally), tylenol regular strength (totally safe, for the aches) and cough drops.

I also stacked all that with something called cold away or yin chao, they are herbal remedies that are safe during pregnancy (recommended by my accupunturist) and they knocked the cold out in a few days, it was a ROUGH few days mind you, but it went away pretty quick.

[betholio]

I had a hideous sinus infection combined with morning sickness while pregnant with ds2. Diclectin (a morning sickness med) actually contains an antihistamine and vits and of course is safe to take (if you're desperate). It will make you drowsy though.

[betholio]

Need a script from your Dr. or midwife though and it can be kinda spendy. Totally worth it though when I was suffering.

[tinkb]

Thankfully I have my 2 week doctor's appointment today so she can tell me if there's a trick to getting better.

Still have a nagging cough...but everything else has gone away.