Does Anyone Have Any Experience with Breastfeeding and Cold Medicine?

C.:

some woman do find that sudfed reduces their milk supply/ your thought to take fenugreek simultaneously is interesting adn I have not heard of anyone doing so... if you do this please let me know how it works.

salt water nose drops are excellent though "icky"...

I don't see anything helpful in Hale but if there is something you are considering you are welcome to e-mail me and I will look it up.

P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com

I never took any cold medicines, but I did use other methods to help cope. Ibuprofen to relieve the aching, a humidifier to help with the breathing. Also, you can take the nasal sprays....they are kind of a pain cause you have to do it like every 2 hours, but they do help. The decongestant in that is such a small amount and is applied locally so it doesn't go through your system. Also Breathe Right strips at night or eucalyptus in my bedroom to help breathe and an extra pillow to prop my head up. Good luck!! I hope you feel better!!

I second the kellymom and saline. You could take tylenol for pain, saline for congestion, etc. If that is not enough relief I think guaifenesin (I think that is the correct spelling) is the recommended one (not sure what is in sudafed). You can usually buy guaf generic buy itself. The good news is your breastmilk will help prevent your daughter from getting your cold. Hope you feel better soon.

I took Sudafed a lot of the time I was BF my daughter (1 year) and never had a problem with supply. I have terrible allergies and tried to cope as best I could, but needed decongestant to clear up some of hte congestion about 6 months of the year. I did and do generally drink a ton of water, so that may be why I never experienced a problem.

Kellymom has a lot of great info on what you can and cannot take while breastfeeding.

Here is a link
http://kellymom.com/health/meds/cold-remedy.html

I had the flu a few weeks ago and decided not to take anything since I too am breastfeeding. I had heard too many horror stories about milk drying up after taking that stuff. I try to do more natural things to get rid of colds, but I was a little miserable.

Good luck getting rid of your cold. A good natural remedy is catnip tea with a little cayanne pepper (you can get it from a health food store) - it helps draw out all the "yucks" in your nose and sinuses. Lots of water and vitamin C.
B.

I took sudafed with my daughter (bf 3years) and again with my son (now 8 mos). As long as you drink A LOT of water you're fine. I preferred the water to the ick. I've taken a couple other things for colds since they changed the decongestent formulas and I've found that almost doubling my water intake pretty much takes care of it.