Natural headache / cold remedies?

[Laska]

Does anyone have any brilliant tips for natural remedies to help with headaches and cold / cough symptoms? I'm 11w with DC1 and last night had a temp and felt awful - eventually taking 1 paracetamol. I'd rather avoid this and I still feel rough today, so wondering what else I can try as well as rest and fluids?

I read peppermint oil is good on a number of sites, but then read one study which says it encourages menstruation and is thus to be avoided in pregnancy

About to send OH off to chemist and health food shop with a list so what should I put on it?!

I've been using lavender oil in my second trimester, which is also an essential oil but one of the most harmless. I've never seen anything that suggests it can adversely affect the pregnancy, but if you want to spend ages mulling over it, just google lavender oil and pregnancy and you'll soon get the picture. i.e. some aromatherapists are paranoid about using almost anything except citrus-based oils (not sure what the evidence is) and others think the flower-based oils are fine as well. But lavender oil seems to be generally regarded as a very gentle oil, is not a known emmenagogue etc. so you should be OK so long as you don't use it constantly, I guess.

Steer clear of anything that smells as though you could use it for sore muscles.

If you have a temperature, it's safest to take paracetamol. This will normalise your temperature and a fever is known to be harmful to an unborn baby, so it's important.

I find heat (on neck/shoulders) and ice (on forehead) good for headaches, but really, for a temperature, you should take paracetamol and not mess around.

For stuffy nose, Vicks Inhaler- looks like a lipsalve which you insert into a nostril and inhale. It's just a menthol inhalation but in a portable stick. Only about £2 and lasts ages.

Also, you cant cough and suck at the same time, so any lemony sweets will help you stop a coughing fit if you concentrate on sucking. You can still have things like Lockets and Halls lozenges as they dont really have anything in them.

Thanks for the advice all - that's really great. I've got some lavender oil so can try that asap. I've been taking one paracetamol capsule twice a day thus far, and temp has come down, but feeling grotty as hell . I thought we were meant to avoid menthol/eucalyptus/camphor things like Vicks - I'll be thrilled to be corrected if I'm wrong though.

Have bought a saline spray for using when my neti pot isn't so convenient (like 4am!)

Feel like I'm being a bit of a wimp really and need to just get on with things but naff all energy to do so.

Oh, I've been using Olbas Oil to clear my stuffy nose. It didn't say not too on the packaging if you were pregnant. And I've been using Vicks. Not that I've been able to smell them tho, I'm so bunged up. Oh well, too late now!