What medicines for colds can be used during pregnancy

Medications for colds during pregnancy should be chosen very carefully and only under the supervision of a doctor. This will reduce the negative effects on the baby and the expectant mother. At the first symptoms of illness, you should start active treatment. Preventive measures also play a significant role.

It is very important for the expectant mother during pregnancy to monitor her body condition. As soon as the first symptoms become noticeable, you should immediately begin treatment. For this purpose, it is recommended to contact the attending physician, who, after preliminary consultation, will prescribe medicine for colds during pregnancy.

How does a cold affect pregnancy?

A cold can have a negative impact and cause a delay in the development of the child’s organs. Especially if it is an acute respiratory infection. If the common cold is not treated, the disease can develop into maxillary sinusitis, cause pneumonia or acute bronchitis. Influenza poses a certain threat to pregnant women. If it occurs, it is necessary to be observed by a specialist, since ARVI can provoke a spontaneous miscarriage.

Viral diseases are less dangerous in the second trimester. But there are still risks of unpleasant complications. These include inflammatory diseases of the internal genital organs and chronic infection. At the first signs of the disease, it is necessary to begin treatment immediately. The way the disease affects the woman in labor and her child depends on the individual characteristics of the body, genetic predisposition and state of health.

How to treat acute respiratory infections

It is the attending physician who should prescribe medications for colds in pregnancy. Normal methods of treatment in this case are not suitable. Taking even the usual medications can be dangerous and cause complications. As soon as the first signs of acute respiratory infections are felt, it is most effective to resort to bed rest. It is not necessary to wear yourself out with housework.

Also, it is not recommended to burden the body with heavy foods. It is worth giving preference to light, easily digestible meals. You should also remember to drink plenty of fluids. Water helps to remove toxins from the body. During pregnancy, medicines for colds on an alcoholic base are strictly forbidden. Without a doctor’s permission, you should not take antipyretics or antibiotics.

A little about the cold and its symptoms

The causes of diseases can be different, but the symptoms are usually always the same. They differ only in the severity of the course of the disease and the localization of the lesion of the respiratory center. One of the “first swallows” of the disease is a runny nose – nasal breathing is disturbed, there are changes in the timbre of the voice. This leads to mucous membrane edema: air enters the olfactory zone with difficulty. Inflammation of the endings of the olfactory analyzer also occurs.

Then the temperature rises, chills, pain in the eyes and in the whole body. After this begins to form an acute inflammation of all parts of the pharynx: you feel the farting, dryness, pain in the throat, there is hoarseness of the voice. A cough appears: it can be non-productive (dry) or productive (with sputum), which are supplemented by signs of allergy – lacrimation, itching in the eyes and nose.

To reduce the symptoms – weakness, lethargy, loss of appetite, it is worth resorting to various medications for colds in pregnancy. If the sore throat went away, but the cough remained, with a high probability, the infection has progressed to tracheitis or bronchitis. This causes a cough with sputum to appear or get worse. After the illness is cured, the cough may persist for several more weeks.

What are the dangers of acute respiratory infections in pregnancy

The greatest threat to pregnant women and their future child are viral infections. The degree of danger is influenced by the duration of pregnancy. The most dangerous period is considered the first trimester. During this term, the fetus does not yet have any protection, so the virus can provoke malformations, including those incompatible with life.

During normal pregnancy in the second and third trimesters, the baby has reliable protection in the form of placenta. It is a kind of insuperable barrier to most infections. If carrying a child is accompanied by certain complications, such as gestosis, threatened miscarriage, exacerbation of various chronic diseases, both in the second and third trimesters, serious consequences can occur. At this stage of pregnancy, you should refrain from medications for colds.

Up to the middle of the second trimester, a viral infection may disturb the formation of the organs of the central nervous system, namely the brain and spinal cord. From the second trimester, there is a risk of intrauterine infection of the fetus with the development of an infectious inflammatory process in various organs. We are talking about meningitis, encephalitis, pneumonia.

If the wrong medication is taken for a cold during pregnancy, it will also have a negative effect on the fetus’s nutrition. As a result, there may be a delay in physical development. If a cold occurred a few weeks before birth, at birth the baby may have signs of hypoxia: the child will be lethargic, pale, respiratory disorders are possible.

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Contraindicated in pregnant women.

In the first trimester of pregnancy, it is recommended to refrain from medicines for colds. All medicines and tinctures in alcohol are prohibited. This restriction also applies to lemongrass, ginseng, eleuterococus. You should also abstain from any kind of heating. We are talking about the bath, hot bath, foot baths, mustard pads.

The list of medicines for colds during pregnancy, which should not be taken, also includes aspirin and indomethacin. The ban extends to immunomodulators, antibiotics, drugs that increase heart rate and blood pressure, drugs that affect blood clotting. A word of caution in choosing herbs: there are herbs that have abortifacient effects, as well as those that have a negative impact on the hormonal background of the woman.

What can pregnant women do with a cold

What medicines can be done when pregnant with a cold? To begin with, it is worthwhile to understand what can be done by expectant mothers if they feel the first symptoms of the disease. So, the list of permissible actions includes:

• compliance with the drinking regime;
• regular humidification of the room;
• walks in the fresh air;
• use of natural sources of vitamin C: lemon, rose hips, cranberries in natural form, various frozen berries;
• it is not necessary to bring down the temperature, if it is not higher than 38.5 (this is an indicator that the body is fighting the pathogen).

Under the supervision of a specialist, it is allowed to take certain flu medications during pregnancy. It is also possible to take vitamins and herbal supplements. For the period of the disease, it is worth to observe a light diet, so that the body is not affected by unnecessary strain.

What should not be done by pregnant women

It should be kept in mind that therapy in pregnant women has a number of differences from the usual. And it’s not just the fact that completely different medications are required for colds in pregnancy. It is strictly forbidden to take any medications without consulting a doctor. Many drugs have a negative impact not only on the expectant mother, but also on her baby.

How to treat colds during pregnancy? Medicines of certain groups are prescribed only if the potential benefit exceeds the harm. Symptomatic assistance is required for a cold without fever. During treatment, the use of alcohol-based drugs, as well as antibiotics and sulfonamides is completely excluded. Their prescription should take place under the supervision of a doctor.

At the first signs of a cold, it is worth resorting to lavage and plenty of fluids. All possible complications require certain cold medications in pregnancy. If the following symptoms occur, help is urgently needed:

• persistent vomiting;
• uterine tone or contractions are observed;
• Bloody discharge from the vagina;
• a high temperature (above 39 degrees), which does not get lowered;
• there is a rash.

It is very important to know the composition of medications. This will allow you to understand which medications are allowed during pregnancy for colds, and which are strictly forbidden. Pregnant women should not do the following with a cold:

• Independently perform inhalations. A simple humidification of the room will be enough – with a humidifier or by hanging out wet clothes;
• Do not go to the doctor. Immunity during pregnancy is often lowered, which leads to a more rapid development of complications of acute respiratory diseases. Therefore, from the first days of signs of illness, it is necessary to go to the doctor. He will examine the pregnant woman, and assess the condition of the fetus;
• Observe too strict a bed rest regime. Reduced motor activity can lead to thrombosis and even stasis in the lungs. Observing this contraindication, the course of an acute respiratory infection can cause the development of pneumonia;
• Flushing the nose very often. Because of this, the useful mucosal microflora, which acts as an important part of the defense against viruses and bacteria, is washed out;
• Get very nervous. The body is able to cope on its own within 5-7 days. If you follow all the measures, there is a high probability that you will not need to take any medications for colds in pregnancy.

The main recommendation for all pregnant women who feel the first signs of an acute respiratory infection is to consult a doctor. He will conduct an initial examination, and already on the basis of this, will say what are the contraindications and what needs to be done for the speedy recovery.

Prevention of Disease

As soon as there is a peak of viral diseases and flu, pregnant women should start active prevention. This is due to the fact that the immune system in women expecting a child is significantly reduced. A set of active preventive measures includes:

• at the planning stage of pregnancy, get a flu shot;
• Do not go to places where people congregate;
• Limit contact with sick relatives;
• Wear a gauze bandage;
• Rinse your nose and gargle your throat after visiting public places;
• dress appropriately for the weather.

The more effective prevention is, the better the chances are that any illnesses will be avoided. If this cannot be avoided, it is worth consulting your doctor about approved medications for colds during pregnancy.