Pregnant with a cold « Back to Group Discussions

[scowgirl]

Right around New Year's, I had a cold that's been going around here. I haven't been actively sick for a few weeks now, but I have coughing fits that get worse and then better and then worse again. I'm sure it will run its course, but right now it feels like I'm just stuck with it, and of course I can't take any medicine to get any remaining crud out of my lungs. I have two questions:

1) Last night I held my head over a bowl of hot water to breathe the steam (I'd seen somewhere that you could do this if you were pregnant). However, without really thinking about it, I added a drop of tea tree oil and a drop of peppermint oil to the water per some websites I saw recommending these EOs for cold and cough symptoms. Then I got to thinking--you are taking the volatile compounds from these oils internally if you breathe them--it's really no different from swallowing them. Should I tell my midwife about this? Do I need to be worried that I might have harmed my baby by doing this?

2) Does anyone have any other tips and tricks for getting over a cough/cold without medication? It's so frustrating. Normally I'd take Robitussin and be fine. Also, and I realize it's probably just that this cold is nasty, and that my immune system is not 100% right now. But I haven't had anything more than a 48-hour sniffle for probably at least 3 years, and I find myself wondering why I bothered with the stupid flu shot (which I never get) if I was just going to get sick anyway. 

[Iowa]

I've been hit with a bad cold too!  Runny nose, congested, sore throat.  I've been taking a lot of hot showers and trying to sleep propped up on pillows.  I don't know that it's getting better necessarily, but it's definitely loosening things up and giving me a bit of relief.  If you find anything else that works, let us know! 

[sjdragonfly]

My favorite thing when I have a cold is hot lemon water. If I'm just a little under the weather sometimes I'll make it plain with just lemon juice and water. I try to use fresh lemon juice if I can. If I'm sick, I'll amp it up and make a little cold blaster cocktail. Brew up some ginger tea and add a ton of lemon juice to it just like you were making lemon water. Add a bit of sweetener if you want. I'm vegan, so I use agave nectar, but honey would be great if you eat that. Then add a few dashes of cayenne. Stir it all up and enjoy! 

I actually really love the taste of this stuff. Sometimes I'll make it without the ginger tea bag and just drink it because I like it. The cayenne is wonderful for helping to clear sinuses, even temporarily and is great for amping up your circulation. The lemon juice gives you some vitamin C and I find it thins whatever mucus is already in my throat. My naturopath says that ginger is great because it sort of amplifies the effects of other things sometimes, plus it's very warming and will also get things moving a bit more in circulation and hopefully in your sinuses. If you're using honey, it's chock full of vitamins and other good stuff. 

[Iowa]

Drinking hot lemon water right now and it tastes so good!  Thanks for the recommendation!

[sjdragonfly]

It's going to be your new favorite thing. haha. When I discovered it, I wanted to drink it all of the time. I didn't expect it to be so delicious!

[scowgirl]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! I need to get some lemons. The cough is still hanging around.

I'm taking the approach of just trying not to worry about the tea tree oil/peppermint oil that I put in my steam water. I can't do anything about it now anyway...

[mimmish]

WebMD has a list of essential oils/aromatherapy to avoid while pregnant and here it is:

Avoid these aromatherapy essential oils: calamus, mugwort, pennyroyal, sage, wintergreen, basil, hyssop, myrrh, marjoram, and thyme.

Neither peppermint nor tea-tree oil is on there.

I think you're safe and it sounds like you're going way out of your way to keep your baby safe and healthy inside your body. There's surely no harm in mentioning it to your midwife next time you see her and letting her reassure you, too, but for now just try to take care of yourself in ways that you KNOW are safe for you and your baby. Seems like you've got very good instincts to me.

[scowgirl]

Thanks, mimmish! I appreciate the reassurance! 

That's a good list too. I was having trouble finding a website where there was anything very definitive. It seems like food, medication, etc.... they just tell you everything is dangerous and it gets kind of stressful after a while.

[lbkw]

When I first saw this thread, I was like, oh yeah, I've been pregnant with a cold. But last night I was hit with a terrible sore throat. For those of you who remember the old Chloraseptic commercials, "it will hurt if I swallow!" I could not sleep and finally went and got my Coldcalm tablets just to be able to rest. I had a horrible night. Waiting for DS to wake up as DD & DH are not home tonight. DH would have had a cow if he were here since I definitely would have kept him up.I can't wait for my first mug of hot tea this morning. I feel like I just want to burn the back of my throat to make it feel better. Too bad im not a fan of burning my tongue.