Cold remedies while breastfeeding

[vvviola]

I'm absolutely choked with a cold - bunged up nose, thickly throat, nasty cough & headache. Every cough remedy I have in the house says 'consult with doc/pharmacist if breastfeeding'. Over here it seems if you do that, they insist that the only thing you can do is take homeopathic remedies. Which my scientific mind won't accept.

So - anyone know what I can take. I'm taking lemsip with honey and while it's helping a bit with the general awfulness it does nothing for the stuffy nose & cough. And I'm guessing my usual tactic of covering myself in Vicks wouldn't be appreciated by my 11 week old!

Any ideas? Thanks!

Lemsip contains a decongestant which is not recommended in breast feeding as can cause sleep and breathing problems potentially in the baby.

Plain paracetamol is good, you can make your own drink with lemons, honey etc which should soothe your throat at least a bit. Plenty of fluids. For nasal congestion try boiling water and putting some vicks in it and inhaling the steam for a few minutes. Also a saline nasal spray can help a bit.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

Thanks Minus. The lemsip I'm using is the one with just paracetamol. I knew you couldn't use decongestants, but it's good to know why.

Sounds like the things to do are the things I'm already doing without too much success Will try to increase the hot fluids a bit more & try some more Vicks steaming.

DH has fled to the spare room in an attempt for one of us to get a decent night's sleep & be conscious enough to take elder DD to school & generally run the house tomorrow!

:( I had the cold a few weeks ago and just about to give birth was pretty miserable. Hopefully you'll be better soon.

You can always go to the BfN (breastfeeding network) website to look at the online drugs in breast milk leaflets. They have some good info.

Ooh nomiddlename - thanks for that. A really useful website! Looks like one of the cough medicines I have here might be a possibility if needed.

Have liberally inhaled lots of Vicks-y steam, and am now off to bed.

Thanks again!

Don't forget chicken soup!