Anyone medical around?

[Motherduckers]

My little girl and I have both got a really horrible bug. Very high temps, headache, chesty cough, off food etc.
Paracetamol isn’t helping either of us, but she perks up when she’s had ibuprofen. I’m 9 weeks pregnant so i’ve been reluctant to take it so far.

Just wondering whether anyone can give me a realistic view of the risks associated with taking it?

Thanks

I would just ride this out op. It's the third trimester that it's the most dangerous to take it but really, best not to at all. I have taken it in very early pregnancy without knowing I was pregnant though. Take regular paracetamol and plenty of fluids and rest.

Paracetamol is safe during pregnancy and my pharmacist recommended Simple Linctus when I was poorly, this will help ease your cough. Other than that, plenty of rest, fluids and some hot lemon and honey. Hope you both feel better soon!

Yes, all the advice sort of says “best not to take it” but I feel so dreadful that I’m wondering how bad it can be?

Depends, if you took it and then something turned out to be wrong with your baby would you blame yourself for taking it?

Chances are one dose won’t hurt but it’s not something I was willing to risk in pregnancy.

Personally I wouldn't risk taking any ibuprofen, I'd just stick with what's safe and just ride it out.

Definitely can't take ibuprofen. Only paracetamol is safe in pregnancy unless prescribed by a doctor.

Ibuprofen is extremely dangerous during pregnancy, it affects the baby's liver development.
Stick with paracetamol, perhaps see a doctor to be prescribed some other meds that are safe.

• Depends, if you took it and then something turned out to be wrong with your baby would you blame yourself for taking it?

Chances are one dose won’t hurt but it’s not something I was willing to risk in pregnancy.*

Dido

If you’re having a high temperature despite regular paracetamol in the first trimester please get proper medical attention - this evening if necessary. There are risks associated with ibuprofen but also with high body temperature in early pregnancy and you may need checking out in case you’re developing a chest infection if persistent temperature.

Depends what you mean by ‘very high temps’ but NHS advice is to seek medical attention if temp over 39 degrees when pregnant. Doctor may recommend ibuprofen in early pregnancy if risks outweigh the risks of high fever in first trimester and paracetamol not doing the job.

Thanks everyone. Temperature is currently 104f. I feel absolutely awful. I’m sweating, coughing and can’t sleep. I think i’ll call 111.

Yes call 111, do not take ibuprofen. I had a lot of pain issues during pregnancy and was strongly advised not to touch ibuprofen. codeine and paracetamol were the only things allowed 😔 sorry you feel so crappy OP

It is not “extremely dangerous” and thereis no evidence thaf it affects liver development in the baby, It is not advised in pregnancy though.

www.medicinesinpregnancy.org/Medicine--pregnancy/Ibuprofen/

How are you now OP?

@darkstar yes, thanks for that.

I’ve just been to see a brilliant out of hours gp. He was very reassuring. He’s got six children of his own and has been a gp for 40 years. He said there’s absolutely no proof to show that taking ibuprofen damages a foetus in any way. He says it’s routinely given to mothers during the first trimester who have had recurrent miscarriages with the aim of helping them to keep a pregnancy, so to say it causes miscarriage is rubbish.
It is dangerous during the third trimester because It thins the blood, so is obviously dangerous during labour. He also mentioned that at 9 weeks, my baby’s placenta isn’t even fully working...

Yes, it isn’t recommended in excess but to treat a short term illness, in his view, there’s no issue.

I’ve got the flu. He recommended I take some. I’ll come back in September if my baby’s born with two heads...

@mynameisjune probably not, no.
I don’t think it’s very fair to say that.
Just like one glass of wine isn’t going to harm a developing baby. A bottle, yes. A glass, no.

I wish women weren’t made to feel so guilty for such unnecessary reasons.

@motherduckers my comment wasn’t to make you feel guilty, if you inferred that then I guess you feel guilty for taking it. Lots of people do dangerous things in pregnancy it’s up to them.

My comment was a genuine question, because when I had my whooping cough jab this time the nurse wouldn’t do it before my 20 week scan because she didn’t want a mum to be thinking ‘what if’ if there was anything found at the scan after having the whooping cough. I was just questioning whether or not you’d blame yourself if you got to the 12 week scan and goodness forbid found that you’d had an MMC or something.

When I was about 20w I had severe toothache was literally screaming through the night in pain. Had to wait for dentist to open in the morning. I took ibuprofen as it was the only one that eased it a little and my little boy is now over 1 with no problems. It's better you feel abit better and a once of using ibuprofen isn't going to do any harm!! Xx

I try to avoid commenting on these sorts of threads, but what the GP told you doesn’t sound right to me, unless he was talking about asprin and not ibuprofen. Is that possible?

Aspirin is sometimes given at a low dose to women who have previously had miscarriages, as it’s though this could reduce the chance of it reoccurring, ibuprofen, to the best of my knowledge, is not.

As for the risks of taking ibuprofen, there’s no strong evidence (and we are unlikely to get it because conducting that study would be ethically questionable) but it’s thought that ibuprofen increases the risk of miscarriage and certain birth defects. The main reason ibuprofen is contraindicated in the later stages of pregnancy is because it is associated with a certain heart problem in the baby that can lead to serious complications.

Ibuprofen is sometimes given to women who are early on in their pregnancy if the benefits are thought to outweigh the negatives, and it’s given at the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible period of time. However it should only be taken on the advice of a doctor, and unless you’ve been advised to take it you should avoid it.