I am coming down with a cold

[PBirdy]

and I wish I wasn't at work - I feel like I could get down under my desk and sleep until the morning.

Other than wanting to moan, I also want to know - what is safe to take for a cold? So far I have a sore throat, bit of a temp, stuffy nose.

Take elder berry extract, it is safe for pregnancy and it reduces the length of a cold

otherwise I don't think you can take much except hot lemon and honey, and maybe some paracetamol if you have to

thanks for your tips - I will look into the elderberry extract on the way home

You can get it from places that sell supplements, like health food shops etc

Hope you feel better soon

My MW suggested lemon and honey in water with a paracetamol dissolved into it. Worth a try (although TBH I find homemade lemon and honey makes me feel better on its one). Other then that try up vit C intake to build up your defences, and maybe do a steam inhaler thing with olbus oil to clear the stuffy nose.

Hope you feel better soon. x

I'd steer clear of Olbas Oil. All menthol/pine oil/eucalyptus nose clearing vapours are contra-indicated in pregnancy now. I cried when I found that out this time. Literally cried.

I'm just starting one now which is a complete bugger because I'm 40 weeks and it's unlikely I'll go into labour until I've shifted it. H&B tomorrow for the elderberry I think!!!!

eek

what's up with menthol?

Btw please CHECK with your own doctors etc about the elder thing, but my health shop woman said it was fine

You are right - I don't know how you do it with other children to care for as well. My poor DH, I have just come over the worst of the morning sickness and now I have something new to complain about. When does the glowing stage start!?!?

I was told by a Registrar that I should avoid Olbas Oil because the pharmacological (sp?) effects of the combined ingredients were unknown. And then I saw this which freaked me further. I don't know on what basis the advice is given - I suspect just the 'we haven't studied this yet and you're pregnant so you'd best not do it' basis. But since I'm seriously risk averse during pregnancy (recurrent miscarriage history), I've put it on my off limits list.

Oooh, a message I can actually help with! I have had two horrific colds/hacking cough jobs since I got pg and it has been SO awful that both times I went into the chemist and almost cried and begged them to give me something - they both smugly said no way, paracetamol only.

Anyway, the result of this story is that I asked my obstetrician friend and he said that a big dose of Vitamin C really helps (you know, the ones you get in Boots which are like 10,000 times the normal daily dose) and I swear it has been fab. Every time I sneeze now I have one and it totally doesn't come on. it also helped my last cold clear up in about a tenth of the time of the first one.

x