Sick! And Breastfeeding. Help :(

[Dixielane]

I have a bad, bad headcold/something. It started with a heavy chest, progressed to a sore throat. Now I have sinus drainage, and a scratchy horrible feeling in the back of my throat. I don't want it to progress into serioous congestion....

I breastfeed so I don't feel comfortable taking a whole lot of medicines. I was wondering what IS safe to take. Or if I can just do it naturally? So far I used a neti-pot, some nasal saline, and cepacol drops...

Would yall recommend taking Vit. C ? And if so, how much is safe and would it help my DD not catch whatever I have? Im so worried she will get something.

[akind1]

Check kellymom's site, it is awesome! I think most homeopathic things are fine while BF'ing according to what she says.

I love hot lemon tea with honey for a sore throat! very soothing. and Lemon gives it vitamin C to boot.

[rhiOrion]

Honestly, when the congestion gets really bad, I take a sudafed. The MW said not to make a habit of it and take it often, because it can hurt supply. But that if my supply is normally fine that I could take one, and if I see any dip to stop. But, I'm prone to ear infections after sinus congestion.

[aramat]

Raw garlic! I swear by it for all infections. It's a natural antibiotic, and babies reportedly like breastmilk even more when it has a garlicky flavor. Mince and hide the garlic in olive oil on bread or a sandwich, or you can swallow a small piece whole.
And drink lots of water, tea, etc; avoid dairy and sugar.

[sunnygir1]

I have never taken cold medicine.

Ginger tea, as strong and hot as you can drink it, with honey really helps a sore throat and cough.

A thyme inhalation really helps congestion too. Boil water, maybe 1-2 qt, sprinkle in a couple T thyme, hang your head over the pan and cover your head and the pan with a big towel. Breathe the steam -- CAREFUL at first; it's hot. I will also take a hot bath with a pan of this sitting next to the tub.

Lots of water.

Echinacea tea or tincture, elderberry tea or tincture, I take 2 Emergen-C a day (2000mg vit. C).

Hope you feel better soon.

[bella99]

I used Afrin, but just before bed, and you can only use it for a couple of days at a time. But it clears nasal congestion immediately, and allowed me to sleep. Such a small amount from nasal sprays ends up in the blood stream, that I felt comfortable using it.

Otherwise, just lots of fluids.

[EdnaMarie]

My kids have never gotten sick from me. You have a lot of good advice here, but unless you have to work a full shift, I think you really should not need more than good nutrition and a ton of fluids and rest.

Emergen-C, chamomile tea, and yes, eat a clove of garlic (your tongue will recover eventually, and it really does help). At night, for coughing, take a tablespoonful of honey, the more raw and natural the better. (Darker is better.)

[toughcookie]

when i have a cold, my baby has never NOT caught it from me, careful as i might have been. (i tend to get chest congestion and then cough lots, which might make it more likely to spread the love.) i just chalk it up to the intimacy of the relationship, especially if you co-sleep close together. if it does happen, try not to beat yourself up. your baby will be fine quickly, faster than you'd expect. and you'll have years and years of pay-back, catching colds and all other gunky stuff from the kiddo!

my ped told me that tylenol cold was fine to take while exclusively BFing, as long as it was for a short period only.

[Dixielane]

Can you eat too much garlic? I will go buy some raw garlic later, Im sure I can swallow a piece whole, I've never had trouble swallowing big pills, so..

And, is honey (raw) safe when breastfeeding? (won't cause an allergy in DD?)

Guess Im off to the store for honey, tea, lemon and garlic. Off to see what kellymom says is a safe amount of Vit C

[toughcookie]

the issue with no-honey and babies isn't about allergy, it's about botulism. little baby bodies can't tolerate the tiniest amount of botulinum toxin. i don't think there's any issue at all with a BFing mom eating honey. if there is, i guess i got lucky!

good luck, feel better.

[henny penny]

Oh, mama, this exact thing happened to me when dd was 1 week old. As said, lots of hot tea (I used organic throat coat, lemon, and honey), hot chicken broth with lots of garlic and turmeric. I took tylenol for throat pain. Dd did end up with my cold but recovered quickly (two or three days) since she benefited from my immunity. I worried and took her to the doctor so he could listen to her lungs just to be sure, but it was unnecessary, really. Good Luck mama!

[aramat]

Originally Posted by Dixielane

Can you eat too much garlic? I will go buy some raw garlic later, Im sure I can swallow a piece whole, I've never had trouble swallowing big pills, so..

And, is honey (raw) safe when breastfeeding? (won't cause an allergy in DD?)

Guess Im off to the store for honey, tea, lemon and garlic. Off to see what kellymom says is a safe amount of Vit C

YES, you can take too much. If you're not used to it, it can make you feel pretty gross intestinally if you take too much. A pill-sized clove or piece of clove 2-3 times a day suffices for me. I usually notice a difference in the way I feel about an hour after the first clove; fresh, raw garlic is pretty strong.

[somegirl99]

Just got over a bad head cold last week.

Neti pot, lots of chamomile tea, sleep with head elevated on extra pillows.

[EdnaMarie]

If you chew the garlic, your mouth will feel it before your stomach. So unless you have no sense of taste or an iron tongue, you probably won't get through more than a couple of cloves and that should not upset your stomach if you have it with bread.

I wouldn't swallow a clove whole, personally, because I'm not sure how well that would get digested. If you cannot chew big pieces, then cut it up and chew smaller pieces throughout the day.

Honey is perfectly safe while breastfeeding. As a PP said, it's a question of botulism from storage that infants cannot digest. There is a very remote risk if the baby ingests it straight to her tummy, but NO risk if you take it, because the botulin toxin will not pass through breastmilk.

[sunnygir1]

My husband ate or swallowed raw garlic to fend off the yuck when we were traveling in Guatemala and regretted it. It gave him horrible indigestion; I wouldn't do that, personally.

I might grind or crush some up in my food, or eat a whole head of roasted garlic, though.

[WaitingForKiddos]

Man it's going around!! I had the same thing last week.

I'm not so crunchy with medicines so I took nyquil and dayquil, both are safe.
And I nursed William, 2.5mos, non stop. We just laid in bed for two days and napped and nursed. When he wanted to play MIL would entertain him and then bring him back when he was ready. He ended up with a bit of it...99.5-100 degree fever and sneezing but that was it. He seemed to feel better much faster than I did.

[is it puppies?]

vit D- lots of it (you could take 5000+ easily) I have been taking that and more for years and only test normal.

and DH and I ate raw garlic for months (a few cloves a day)while traveling malaria infested areas and had no prob other than bad breath! my mom swears by it for colds though (like a whole bulb at a time, raw on bread with butter!/)

[BathrobeGoddess]

Moved to Breastfeeding....

[Dixielane]

Help :( Still sooo sick.

Thanks bathrobegoddess (sorry didnt realize it was misplaced)

Ladies, I am soooo sick today!!! I got kind of better, then over night I guess I got all stopped up, and now today even though I cleared my nose with the neti pot and steam, my mucous is yellowish. And when I cough I'm hacking up crap. And I ache.

I'm worried about taking any medicine, but can you tell me ladies which meds are safe to take while BFing ?

What is a safe dose of vit c to take if I am breastfeeding? How many mgs?

[smeep]

Originally Posted by Dixielane

Thanks bathrobegoddess (sorry didnt realize it was misplaced)

Ladies, I am soooo sick today!!! I got kind of better, then over night I guess I got all stopped up, and now today even though I cleared my nose with the neti pot and steam, my mucous is yellowish. And when I cough I'm hacking up crap. And I ache.

I'm worried about taking any medicine, but can you tell me ladies which meds are safe to take while BFing ?

What is a safe dose of vit c to take if I am breastfeeding? How many mgs?

This is Kellymom's page on cold and allergy remedies. It lists natural remedies in addition to pharmaceutical medications. She lists whether or not they are AAP approved for breastfeeding, though I would put more credit on Hale's Lactation Risk Category and his notes on the individual medications. Hale is the leading expert in medications and mother's milk whereas the AAP just looks at studies and gives a basic yes or no answer, and there are plenty of medications that Hale has thoroughly covered but the AAP has not reviewed (not for lack of safety, but due to lack of demand for breastfeeding approval).

As for the vit C, I would recommend a minimum of 2,000mg a day. You would likely be fine with 3,000-4,000mg/day. The best way to judge if you're getting too much vit C is if you get diarrhea (or if the diarrhea you already have gets significantly worse). You can cut back on the dose by about 500mg a day or two until it resolves itself (usually happens within about 24 hours in my experience). Excess vit C is flushed out, usually in the form of diarrhea. I would beware of forms that have sugar (including Emergen-C even though it is usually 7g or less of sugar). Sugar is one of the worst things for your immune system. Studies have found that a mere 25g of sugar a day can depress an adult's immune system for several hours. I would start looking at the nutrition label on things (you would be shocked at just how much stuff has sugar in it, it's quite ridiculous) and cutting out sugar wherever possible. For the vit C, I recommend just getting some straight vit C powder. I mix it in water and drink it, and space it out throughout the day to total my daily dose. It tastes gross, but it's well worth it.