17 weeks pregnant, absolutely full of cold. Is one decongest Gona be ok to take do you think?

[Horehound]

NHS says not clear if safe or not. Another Google result said sudafed is ok.
I need to sleep to get better. I've tried doing nasal rinses which worked so well with my last cold ( 3 weeks ago zzzzz) but my nose is so stuffed up that the water won't even go up and to the other side. I had a crap sleep last night and my lips are chapped from breathing through my mouth.

Do you think I had have a decongestant as a one off?.

I really can't tell you what's best, but in a similar dilemma I took Lemsip one that I promptly puked up so that was that.

what's the main effective ingredient? have you searched just that?

tomorrow try to get hold of some Olbas oil and Olbas bath, they were my saviours through a few colds while pg

It's xylometazoline so I'm off to Google. It looks like some others are ok but I don't have them.
I have a tissue with olbas but I can't breathe it lol

@Hotehound

I looked for you as well, based on these I think I'd take it tonight.

Check the BUMPS website, think it is "best use of medicines in pregnancy" or similar and it will advise you
Nothing will say safe, as not tested in pregnancy, but it may say no evidence of harm which is as good as you will get

A nose spray one is a lot better than a pill. They are vasoconstrictors so not good in pregnancy (could reduce blood flow to baby).

"Pregnancy category C" means it has been proved to cause harmful effects in experiments in pregnant animals, and no experiments have been done in pregnant women.

I wouldn't take it.

Thanks everyone. I had to take something I just couldn't breathe at all. I did do the spray @MotherOfCrocodiles based on same logic.
Just got to hope it's ok. My rational mind thinks one spray isn't going to do much at all, maybe continuous use would 🤔

Woke up today feeling like death...yayyy

I'd give your GP a ring. I suffer from chronic sinusitis and my GP said it was fine to take sudafed style medication during pregnancy.
Try hanging your head over a pan of hot water too, which often works to unblock (I've got my head over the saucepan this morning)

Phoned GP who said to call a pharmacist.
Called boots and they said no can't take anything except a saline nasal spray which o know will do bugger all. So I won't do that sudafed spray again but I was so glad of it last night.
Uft this is hell!!

I found aiming a humidifier at my head helped.

Also menthol crystals give short term relief. Put your head over a bowl of boiling water with enough in to nearly blow your head off. Put a towel over your head and bowl.

I wouldn't, but agree that its shit. I found airing over steaming water helpful, so long showers, and warm drinks helped me too. Hope you feel better soon!

Ok will give the bowl of steaming water a go but since I can't inhale any air at all on my nose I'm not sure it will work?!
Will have shower too and try a nose rinse again

I get a lot of nasal congestion and used Otrivine during pregnancy and when breastfeeding. I remember a doctor saying that was ok as it acts locally. My children all seem to be ok!

I have year round sinus problems and i admit i used a nasal spray every night before bed whilst pregnant, dd turned out ok! Its such a small dose and it acts locally. I understand that you are worried because i used to fret as well but i literally couldn't cope without it at night.

I just did a saline one and made bugger all difference. :(
My jaw is actually very sore now with it being open so much to breathe. I think I am going to have to use the sudafed spray again.
The steam and the shower didn't touch it.

@Isababybel that's reassuring :) it is a tiny tiny dose so yeh the risk musk be minimal. But oh the mum guilt creeps in...

Try nasal stripee for snorers, I always use them when I have a cold and it helps

My GP & midwife said no to all decongestants and cold medicine including Vicks! It's horrible as your body produces more mucus apparently when pregnant so I found colds were even more challenging.

Lots of steam & calpol plug ins would be my suggestion.

I thought it was because decongestants thin your mucus and obviously you have a mucus plug sealing your cervix so you don’t really want to thin that. I didn’t take any when pregnant for that reason.

One decongestant isn't going to do very much tbh so you might as well stick with the spray.

I used nasal strips when I had a cold when pregnant. It wasn’t perfect but they do help to open up your airways a bit.

I had to use the spray again last night. Will order those strips, thank you.

I have actually lost my sense of taste and smell. I've ordered a covid test although I'm sure it still is a cold. My heart rate is very fast though...108beats/minute eek

I was wondering about covid when I read your posts.

I see now runny nose and headache are signs of the delta variant. Although my nose isn't runny it's blocked with thick mucus :(
Fingers crossed it's not

Hi op, I asked the GP about decongestants etc when I was pregnant years ago and she said the official line is that they can’t advise them but she herself used them. Anyway, I did use nasal spray and vicks and all was fine. Hopefully your covid test comes back negative...

Thanks @Retrievemysanity