Sore throat remedies?

[karen1968]

I seem to have "picked up" something over the weekend. : : Both DH and I woke up with sore throats this morning. While his has gotten better through the day, mine has gotten worse, despite trying to drink plenty of liquids, including orange juice and herbal tea. The Tylenol I took for the pain has done NOTHING Luckily, it seems to be ONLY in my throat at the moment - no fever or other symptoms.

Anyone know what I can try that is safe for pregnancy?

Also, do you think this would explain the baby being "quieter" yesterday and today? I can still feel him from time to time, but not with the vigor or frequency he'd started showing in the past week. I know he still has plenty of room in there, and could be kicking at my back, but it's still a little worrying.

[Yo Becca]

Hey - I'm fighting it off too! Here's my pregnant/nursing cold regimen:

Every day, drink:
Tons of water with lemon
1-2 glasses of Emergen-C
1 glass of Airborne
(you can probably get airborne and Emergen-C at your local drug store)
OJ or other citrusy juice
Ginger tea (make hot tea with honey and literally thinly slice fresh peeled ginger into the tea and steep. You can buy jars of ginger tea if your grocery has a good Asian section - they look like jars of orange jelly with slices of ginger in it, you mix a few spoonfuls withhot water) - the ginger helps clear you out
Other hot tea

Gargle with warm salt water (salty kinda like the sea) - it will help your sore throat. DO this every few hours.
Use nasal saline spray (JUST saline, no meds) - will help keep your nose/sinuses moisturized so the snot will leave instead of staying and getting infected

Eat:
GARLIC!! Make a garlicy dish, like pasta or a stir fry, then add more raw garlic at the end. I make garlic toast - just bread, butter or olive oil and fresh chopped garlic, and eat it several times a day (it's 10:30 am and I'm on my second serving). The garlic is best for you raw. The garlic pills will make you super gassy - I prefer to just eat it.
Spicy food - will help clear you up and out.
Don't eat dairy or drink milk - it increases mucous production

Sleep with 2 pillows, or otherwise propped up, so your mucous won't pool in your throat and further agrivate it. (Night before last I took 2 CalmsForte tablets to help me get solid sleep - I think it helped me improve more quickly, and sleep through the discomfort of the 2 pillows)

When I lived in Atlanta, we had awesome juice bars (like Arden's Garden) and they would do juice shots. They had an awesome immunity regimen - 1 shot each of ginger, wheat grass, I think cranberry and one other juice. It wasn't really pretty going down, but it worked.

There are definitely times when I miss DayQuil - but with over 2 years of being nursing and pregnant, I think this system actually works faster than treating the symptoms did pre-baby. I've gotten more aggressive over time - at first I just drank juice and tea. But being sick and pregnant/nursing gets old fast.

And don't worry about day-to-day changes in the baby's activity - that's normal.

Hope you get better soon!!

ETA: if you don't have a humidifier, buy one and put it next to you while you sleep. Be sure you can buy replacement filters for it. You'll get LOTS of use out of it after the baby's born too.

[Island_Mama]

We are on the same boat here! I caught it from my bf.
I say the same as YO becca.
Lots of fluids.
I squeeze fresh lemon juice and then add raw honey and just drink it straight. my bf has to take spoonfuls at a time because he is not used to the lemon and honey so strong. I don't drink that as much as I do when I am notpregnant because it is a lot of lemon at one time and I don't know if it is good. usually have 3 lemons a day, 5 at the most.
I usually put carrots, grapefruit, lemon, lime, sea salt, raw honey, orange all in a blender and drink it. The best has been when I can pick it fresh off the tree! If not I just buy organic. This concoction has always worked for me.

They say not to have too much ginger during pregnancy, but some is good. I usually make a lemonade with fresh squeezed ginger juice in it. put a dash of cayenne pepper in it and sometimes a little raw honey. It reallt soothes my throat.
It always helps me to get fresh air and I do brush my teeth and gargle a lot more when I am sick, it seems to help.
Rest too!

Yeah, I miss Theraflu and Nyquil just because I liked getting knocked out, it is so hard to sleep when you feel miserable. :
But it has been about 10 years since I have taken any of that stuff. And it doesn't cure you, it just numbs you from feeling your symptons and honestly I like my body to be clear of "drugs" so it can fight whatever ailments it has properly and efficiently.

Hope we all feel better soon!:

[karen1968]

Well, it's the middle of the night (3:25am) and I can't sleep. Blech!

Thanks for the reminder of the saline wash and gargle. I did that before I went to bed and I felt better. Until about 2am, when I woke up feeling like I couldn't breathe and ended up standing in front of an open window for some fresh air - despite the fact that it is, literally, freezing outside! I'm going to try sleeping semi-reclined in my husband's anti-gravity chair, and tomorrow maybe I can get to the market for some ingredients for these "home remedies"

Thanks, mamas!

[Savmay]

Karen: ME TOO! and we sat next to each other this saturday at the NINO thingee..
All i can say is it is really going around and I have heard of several people coming down with it.
It HURTS! I was up a lot of the night too..
most just be a potent viral thing. REST and fluids are always best.
get better...

[chemE_momE]

You're not alone. I am just miserable...stuffy nose, sore throat, sneezing, congestion. If only moms got to have sick days! : :

[karen1968]

Originally Posted by Savmay

Karen: ME TOO! and we sat next to each other this saturday at the NINO thingee...

I was actually thinking that maybe that's where I picked it up, but it seemed to hit so fast! Less than 48 hours. I had such a hard time breathing while laying down last night. Sitting up in the recliner felt better, but I couldn't sleep : I just feel so "blah!" Luckily, I was able to nap this morning, and probably will this afternoon, too. Saline washes, gargling, and hot water with lemon work, too, if only for a short time. At least it is SOME relief.

[Arwyn]

Only thing to add is honey lemon tea - hot water with fresh lemon juice and honey. Feels soooooooooooooo good.

If you're onmiverous, (organic) chicken broth is actually pretty good for you when sick.

Becca's regimen is amazing.

[Sunshinesmiles22]

I second everyone's recommendations. I do want to add one thing. With wonderful success, I've tried eating NO fat while I had a sore throat. Something about the liver not having to process the fat. Seems to kill it in it's tracks. Give it a try!

[2mama]

Ice water seems to do the trick for me. And lots of it!

[Rafe's Mom]

I had a bad bout of flu in 1st pg and chemist friend recommended a tea of Sage & Thyme and sweetened with a bit of honey - worked like a dream!!! It is very soothing on the throat and loosens any flem in the throat so helps you heal/recover faster. I used dried herbs - filled a 3-4 cup pot with hot water added 1 tsp of each herb, sweetened to taste and drank it both hot and cold as I felt. I also use it for my toddler if he shows any signs of colds or flu we start giving him the tea and he has never been ill for longer than 3-4days.

[karen1968]

Originally Posted by Rafe's Mom

I had a bad bout of flu in 1st pg and chemist friend recommended a tea of Sage & Thyme and sweetened with a bit of honey - worked like a dream!!! It is very soothing on the throat and loosens any flem in the throat so helps you heal/recover faster. I used dried herbs - filled a 3-4 cup pot with hot water added 1 tsp of each herb, sweetened to taste and drank it both hot and cold as I felt. I also use it for my toddler if he shows any signs of colds or flu we start giving him the tea and he has never been ill for longer than 3-4days.

Interesting! Do you just use bottled herbs like you get from the grocery? Or go buy special ones from somewhere?

I've been gargling, doing saline washes, and drinking Stash Lemon-Ginger tea, and the cold is definitely receding. I was actually able to sleep last night, which was awesome! Now, if I could just stop sneezing!

[Savmay]

My lovely cold has taken a dive right into my lungs, which is typical for me. so, now i mostly have a cough...
I am going to acupunturist tomorrow for some treatment and some herbs to get the gunk out. She is well versed in safety in pregnany.
Karen, glad to hear you are better; I really i didn't give it to you on saturday..! I promise I wasn't sick yet then..!

[2crazykids]

We buy cases of Traditional Medicinal Tea: Lemon Echinacea Throat Coat Tea and drink many, many cups when we feel a cold or sore throat coming on and it wipes it right out, usually when we catch it on time. If we don't catch it on time then we just have a cold with shorter duration.

[karen1968]

Originally Posted by Savmay

My lovely cold has taken a dive right into my lungs, which is typical for me. so, now i mostly have a cough...
I am going to acupunturist tomorrow for some treatment and some herbs to get the gunk out. She is well versed in safety in pregnany.
Karen, glad to hear you are better; I really i didn't give it to you on saturday..! I promise I wasn't sick yet then..!

Oh, I hate when it dives to the lungs! I'm actually feeling a bit like it's gone deeper into my sinuses, now - I can feel it in my ears :

I know you didn't give it to me! I do wonder if anyone else got sick after that meeting, though. So many people in a little space...it seems too coincidental that we got sick on the same day! I hope the acupunturist helps you.

[Yo Becca]

Originally Posted by Arwyn

Becca's regimen is amazing.

If it's going around, I get it, and I am so OVER being sick. So I have taken the gloves off and gotten serious about nipping these things in the bud!

I like the traditional medicinals teas too - I alternate b/tw throat coat, gypsy cold care, and ecinachea plus when i have access to them. But teas made with FRESH ingredients seem to be extra effective when you are trying to be really aggressive - fres lemons, herb or tea leaves (if you can get them fresh), thinly sliced peeled ginger, honey, etc. Steep the tea in a pot or mug, then pour it through a sieve if you want a "clean" cuppa.

And don't forget the garlic - big immunity booster... (feed it to your partner too so you won't mind each other's funk ) And a steamy shower before bed might also help loosen things up and relax you to bed...

[Rafe's Mom]

Originally Posted by karen1968

Interesting! Do you just use bottled herbs like you get from the grocery? Or go buy special ones from somewhere?

I used bottled herbs from Supermarket.

[Island_Mama]

I keep reading Thyme isn't good during pregnancy. except for cooking, but I use more than a teaspoon when I cook anyways, so I don't see why if I consume it in tea would be different.
I am going to try it, I think drinking some of that tea is less risky than coughing all night. my lower abdomen is in such pain from coughing.
Thanks for the suggestion!

My usual bag cold care and throat care teas all say not to be used during pregnancy
When i get some funds this weekend I am getting me my organic ingredients for my homemade concoction that always works.
Hope we all feel better soon!:

[Thalia]

Bah. I just woke up with a terrible sore throat. I think it's post-nasal drip, because I can feel it in my EARS! I've gargled and now I think I'm going to go try the honey lemon regimen.

ETA: Found this thread doing a search on 'sore throat', didn't realize it was a due date club thread!