So decongested it hurts

[2020firsttimemum]

God please someone tell me they have something I can take or do to get rid of this

I'm not sure if it's flu or sinusitis or what but I cannot breathe through my nose at all

If I sniff, I get an awful pain in my head and I physically cannot blow my nose - it's like it's all stuck or my brains will fall out 🙃

I'm 30 weeks pregnant so very limited on what I can take and I swear it's pushing me over the edge 🤒

I'd recommend steam - have a (not super hot!) bath if possible?

@123woop yes I think I'm going to have a bath after DS goes to bed

A blocked nose for me is the worst thing - I can deal with the sore throat and coughing or sickness bugs etc but this tops it for me

Using a vibrator (or even an electric toothbrush) on your sinuses can help break up mucus and get things moving, especially in combination with steaming.

I usually use it under each cheekbone, on my temples and along my jaw bone, and also on the base of my skull if I've got an all over headache

Probably the only outing my vibrator got in third trimester, I don't think I could have reached anywhere more interesting!

Congested? Menthol crystals in a bowl of hot water

I don't think you mean decongested

Sterimar congestion relief spray. No active ingredients so safe in pregnancy. Really flushes it all out and can use it as many times a day as you need. Once you get past the icky idea of it, you will be a convert

Steam!

Sterimar spray was so good, and steaming helped.

Nasal rinsing/ neti pot

Sterimar and sleeping elevated

Inhale the steam from a spoonful of Vicki's Vaporub stirred into a bowl of very hot water (but keep your eyes closed, it makes mine sting)

Vick's, not Vicki's, knew I should have previewed it!

Sorry yes I meant congested - combination of 'baby brain' and feeling so bloody unwell

Thanks for the suggestions

Humidifier can help too.

Breathe in (through your mouth) then hold your nose, keep your mouth closed and sort of push the air around inside. Can unblock almost anthing. The trick is not to overbreathe after - otherwise it just gets blocked again.

Ive got the exact same problem

I will get some Sterimar tomorrow, thank you all!

I did have a bath (well currently still in it ) as it does help the congestion. Although I'm sure this is temporary which is why I don't want to get out

However I forgot how much having a bath in the third trimester sucks. Basically cold, the water overflow thingy is too low and drains half the water out, no handles on my bath to help (lol whale over here) and I have to keep topping it up. Yep I'm on a moan, I'm feeling very sorry for myself

Saline nasal spray
sinus massage
Olverum bath with lots of steam

but tbh I made my own judgement to make sparing use of a low-dose nasal spray despite it not being strictly recommended in pregnancy. It made a huge difference and meant I could sleep again and I was comfortable with this decision.

In both my pregnancies I got so fed up and caved into a lemsip. The first one I had the worst hay fever I've ever had and couldn't tasted or smell or sleep for weeks. Eventually, I just needed to sleep.

My second pregnancy I had really bad sinusitis. Again, I did my best but gave in. My doctor said it was very unlikely to cause harm. I tried steam, salt water rises, hot drinks, sleeping upright. Nothing worked.

I just took it once a day at night to sleep. Y

I'm 20 weeks with this, blocked nose, cheek pain and headaches. I found out we can use Olbas bath, it's on amazing for a few quid. Just a cap full and I'm doing it once a week, I also put vicks on my feet with socks on and it does work at night but as soon as I wake up I'm blocked again 😭

I got a nasal rinser when j was pregnant and it is life changing. It gets soooooo much gunk out and it's the only thing to actual allow you to fall asleep at night.

Highly recommend you get one and even now I use it for all my colds rather than a bunch of sprays and stuff that takes ages to work. You must use it with salt bit you get little sachets when you buy the rinser.

Oh and when I was really ill I definitely did use sudafed and strepsils.
The medicine that says not to take when pregnant is just because it's not been tested on pregnant women but if you use common sense I think you can find some stuff to take.

Good luck

The general rule of thumb when considering a medication in pregnancy is always to treat an issue topically rather than generally if any all possible, which is why a nasal spray is better than a tablet.

Pseudoephedrine, the decongestant in Sudafed and Lemsip, works by constricting the blood vessels. This can have an effect on the blood flow to the placenta and should be particularly avoided if you have any issues at all with blood pressure. It is also a pretty powerful stimulant so if your aim in taking the medicine is to be able to sleep then it is likely to be counter-productive. Phenylephrine is sold as an alternative but it has been shown to be basically useless in treating congestion.