My Sister Is Pregnant and Got a Cold

What kind of sickness is it? There are several medications that she can take for various symptoms - I have a list from my OBGYN. For congestion, she can take plain Sudafed, Tylenol Sinus, Afrin Nasal Spray, or Benadryl. For Sore Throat/Cough she can take Chloroseptic Throat Lozenges or Robitussin DM. Let me know if she has any questions...

good for her for avoiding medications. boo to the doc for taking DAYS to respond to a sick patient. tell her to try some sage tea sweetened with honey. excellent for a sore throat. if she has a cough, chop an onion and simmer it gently until it become syrupy. remove from heat and cover with honey. let sit overnight, then strain out the onion pieces and use the resulting syrup as a gentle effective cough syrup. have her boost her vitamin C intake. lots and lots of water, and rest.
khairete
S.

Always double check with a doctor or a pharmacist for medications, they sometimes change so what I took during my pregnancy 2 yrs ago may no longer be considered safe. She can call her pharmacy and they will be more than happy to help. But I agree, it should NOT take several days to call back about something like this. I would keep calling, and if she can't get through, I would personally get a new OB.

I remember asking my doctor the same question and he said something like this to me "I recommend that you do not take any medications during your pregnancy, however, keep in mind that they are thousands of women who take illegal drugs throughout their entire pregnancy and have perfectly healthy babies". My choice was to take a medication that was recommended for young children and took the child's dose. It helped relieve the symptoms enough for me to get some sleep.

Neti pot is a wonderful thing to use. Also if she has a fever she should take tylenol fever in early pregnancy is not a good thing and tylenol is pretty safe to take.

Garlic is a safe natural antibiotic. To soothe her throat she should try heating up some water (like for tea) and adding the juice of a fresh lemon and a few teaspoons of honey.

Tylenol will not hurt her or the baby, and usually you can take benedryl. I got a ton of colds when I was pregnant!

HI Diana:

She can try drinking ginger and/or peppermint teas daily. She can consult with my office for further support - www.wholecreations.com/wombfull.html.

Best,
N.
Maternity Care Practitioner

If she has a fever, it is NOT a cold.

Here's a list of the symptoms of cold vs. flu:
http://www.tamiflu.com/about/coldflu.aspx

I'd have her keep calling the office and wait on the phone until she speaks either directly with the physician or the nurse.

Tylenol is usually safe during pregnancy to help reduce the fever and help alleviate the symptoms. Benadryl is an antihistimine for allergies - it will do nothing to help a cold.

If the doctor's office doesn't call back quickly, she should ask a pharmacist - they have detailed information on what the FDA has on file regarding products safe to use during pregnancy and which are not. The first trimester is most critical in fetal development, my recommendation would also be to call her Family Physician to see if they will see her to assess her health and make any recommendations.

Have her gargle with salt water... warm water and salt. Do this a few times a day...
but she has a fever... so, trying tepid baths... and drinking cool liquids.
Ultimately, she should go and see her Doctor... so they can diagnose what she has....

It should not take a "few days" for the Doctor's office to call back... that is not acceptable.
Tell her to call the office again... and again, and leave a message.

All the best,
Susan

I understand her concern , you really need to watch what you take when you are pregant. When I was 7 weeks pregnant I got a stomach bug and had vomiting/diarrhea for 24 hrs , it was horrible and my vomiting was so violent I was sure that I was going to do some damage to the baby , but all was ok and she is now 20 months old.

If she has a slight fever than it may be something other than a cold , so worth keep an eye on it and seeing her doctor if she get's any worse. Sorry I don't have any reccomendations for remedies.

Hope she feels better soon

A regular cold will not harm her baby. I had a few nasty ones when I was pregnant and my daughter was born perfectly healthy. Medications, however, can harm baby. I had to ride the colds out, no meds... Crummy, I know, but it's the best way. She can drink warm tea, get lots of sleep and stay hydrated. She can also have cough drops for her throat - my doctor said a few a day is fine.

I can't help her with her cold/flu symptoms, but I can tell you that I caught a few colds early into my second pregnancy. It was the middle of winter, and there was no avoiding germs and viruses. I recovered easily from each cold, and my son was born perfectly healthy.

Influenza is a little more of a concern, but from what I understand, it is more harmful to mommy and baby if it happens during the last trimester. I hope your sister gets well soon and has an otherwise uneventful pregnancy!

My Dr. told me Tylenol cold, Benedryl or Pseudophed was ok.

She can try a netti pot for her congestion (which is giving her the sore throat) with a mild saline solution, and she can use it as often as she wants.

For a cold, just don't take any medicine. If there's pain or a fever, take only Tylenol. BUT if she's got a fever, like you say, she should be calling an advice nurse and not waiting for the doctor to call back in a few days. I'm preg right now and have instructions to call if I get a fever of 100 degrees or higher.

As for the cold- I'm not a home remedy expert but chicken soup, hot drinks, lots of water to sip on (it washes the nose drainage down her throat so it doesn't irritate it). I know there's a Ricola she can suck on but I forgot... I had a terrible sore throat around 6 weeks myself and drank water, water, water.

Hope somebody hops on here with specific home remedies and certain non-medicinal things to avoid consuming.

usually anything tylenol like tylenol cold. i believ suidifed was ok. i'd not take anything though just because it doesnt help me. so unless he cant brethbecause shes stopped up id suggest she just wait it out.

Well can take Tylenol for the feaver and you can also take Delsum or Mucinex those or the things that my doctor said was okay while I was pregnant. But have her double check with her obgyn to be on the safe side.
M. B

I took Tylenol in early pregnancy, I had a cold, too.But I would ask and I also would switch doctors.
It should never take a few days, before a doctor's office calls back.
Espechially, if yoy pregnant.

I agree with all of the posters who said it shouldn't take more than a few hours for a response from your Dr, pregnant or not. Instead of waiting for a response from them or seeking medical advice from us non-doctors who've not seen her, she should schedule an appointment. I'm 23wks pregnant and went earlier this week to be seen by my Dr for her exact symptoms and was diagnosed with strep. I too thought I just had a cold but was unsure about medications. Not to scare you, but she should get checked out, especially being pregnant. Good luck and I hope she feels well again soon.
Tylenol and Sudafed are on my ok list to take. Someone suggested Tylenol Cold, but do NOT allow her to take a multisymptom product like Tylenol Cold b/c it's not safe. Again, another reason to head to the Dr. :)

she is fine as long as she doesn't get an elevated high fever early in the pregnancy. If she does, she can take tylenol.

First I would get a new doctor. A few days is ridiculous for anything. A few hours I can understand. Then she can take tylonol for fever and pain, but that's it. Pregnancy really restricts which medication you can take. For her stuffy/ runny nose she can take benedryl and use a saline solution. She can also use vaporub and a vaporizer. There are some options. Her OB office should be able to give her some paper work on which meds are allowed in pregnancy.