Damn snotty woman!!

[SuperheroYuki]

I'm not sure if IBU so thought I'd check with you other lovely pregnant ladies... our flatmates girlfriend has an evil evil cold, hacking great chesty cough and snotty nose etc I'm 27+4 and having had previous mc am a bit paranoid. She doesn't technically live with us, she has her own place but is just here all the time, and has said she's going to stay here while she's poorly so our flatmate can look after her..can I tell her to piss off??? Would getting a virus endanger my sprog, I'm not even sure at this stage?

no it wont harm your 'sprog' please dont call it that.

Shouldn't affect the baby but you are limited on what you can take to make yourself comfortable if you get it.

Oh and it also depend how good your pelvic floor is as sneezing and coughing may pose a threat!

Can't you just have a quiet word with your flatmate? Say you feel bad about his gf having a horrible cold, but you're worried as if (when!) you catch it you won't be able to take any medication for it (other than a couple of paracetomal) and it is likely to linger as your pregnant immune system is 'compromised'.

It won't harm the baby, but it will be rather unpleasant to have the horrible cold so best to avoid it if possible. Can't he go and stay at her place?

I'd have a word with the flatmate & say you can't take anything if you catch it. Ask if they could go to her flat whilst she feels poorly & if not get busy with the anti bacterial sprays.

Have a word with your flatmate and suggest that they go and stay at her place.

It won't hurt your baby but like the other posters have said, you will only be able to take paracetamol.

No you certainly cannot tell her to 'piss off'. It will not harm your baby.

It's tough - if I was ill I'd want my OH to look after me. If I were you I would make sure you're taking your vitamins, start drinking lots and lots of orange juice and be super paranoid about washing your hands before eating and avoid touching your face etc.

I would definitely have a word if they're leaving dirty tissues lying around the flat but apart from that I think there's very little you can do unfortunately

I understand that the poorly girl might want to be looked after by her OH, but to bring your snotty-self to someone elses home where a pregnant person lives, is a little thoughtless, no?

I stand by my original post, say something. But I would go via the flatmate rather than direct to the patient.

Why is it any worse that she's pregnant Ms Chandler? Genuinely curious, there is no cure for common cold for anyone, so what difference does it make?

Obviously I'd steer clear if I had flu, or something worse, but a cold can't do harm can it?

Pootles Sorry - should have said that I would personally be pretty annoyed by it even if not pregnant. I know it is 'only' a cold, but they are still really unpleasant, and when pregnant you can't take all your usual lemsips etc to alleviate the symptoms. So even though it won't harm the baby, it is still pretty unsociable behaviour (when the poorly girl does have somewhere else to go... ie her home!)

What's wrong with the word "sprog"? Surely superhero can call it whatever she likes?

PS I am also the kind of person that hates people who battles in to work when they are ill, thus spreading their germs around the office. Keep your germs to yourself I say!!

Really? Can't you take lemsip... er.. oops.

Fair point regarding going to her own home. Just disagree with pregnant women being treated as if they're ever so delicate - think this is as much a problem with society as a whole than individual women, and probably a totally different topic.

I'll shut up now.

I'd make a bit of a joke next time she coughs in front of you, like "oh keep those germs away from my baby!". You don't want her germs pregnant or not!

Having said that, before I was pregnant, I was smoking around my pregnant friend, and didn't even think! She used to smoke so I assumed she wouldn't mind! Pregnancy takes up most of our thinking time but for everyone else, they just don't realise how careful you have to be!

I'm not sure it's reasonable to ask everyone else to fit around you, just because you're pregnant. I know you can only take paracetamol if you get a cold, but would you usually be taking much else? I've also found that (so far) my immune system has been amazing while pregnant, I haven't had a single cold and when two particularly nasty viruses went round work I didn't catch either!

I like the word 'sprog'. God people are so damn precious she can call it what she likes!

Mainly, usually when I get colds I take as much lemsip/beechams or other combination of painkillers, decongestants and drying-out elixirs as I can get away with. The decongestants are the things that really make you feel better because it drains all the crap out of your sinuses and dries up the drips. That's what you can't take in pregnancy.

I'm jealous of your super immune system, I've had so many colds since I got pregnant - after the third particularly virulent one my GP told me your immune system is lowered while you're pregnant to avoid any rejection of the baby, so you get colds more easily. And once you get one it's 10 times worse than usual because the only things you can do are take paracetamol and sniffing olbas oil on a tissue.

Tyelperion, ah I guess if you're used to that it's a bit different. I would usually just take paracetamol and cover myself in Vicks!

All the books say that your immune system is more vulnerable while pregnant, so I have been a bit surprised at how resilient I seem to be to everything! I would usually have at least a couple of colds over a winter and nothing. I guess everyone responds differently. I am probably cursing myself saying that and will come down with some awful virus in the 10 days left to my due date...

pootles, I'm with you on the treating pregnant women like delicate Victorian ladies! It is not an illness and although the immune system may not be up to full speed it is certainly not compromised and coughs & colds are just a fact of life.