any one else had a cough for a long time in this pregnancy???

[mummyzanne]

Hi already posted bout cough n if its bad for bump!! I am on antibotics for this cough they say my chest is clear n its just incase there is an infection!! Surely a cough for a mth carnt be normal its tickly sometimes n chesty others n varies on how bad it is daily!! The antibotics havnt made any noticable difference! Any one else with similar experiences?? thanks =)

Oh forget to say ive had no cold/fever symptoms!!! xxx

hi! ive had a cough/ cold for what seems like the whole of my pregnancy ( now 27 weeks). i have had antibiotics, steriods (im asthmatic) and have now been told that its viral...im with you on the whole not noraml. my doctor said as it was keeping me awake he would give me a simle linctus, but i read the ingradients and wouldnt tke it, esp as it said dont take in preg...just sipped water when it gets bad. i however have had temperatures, dizziness, nausea and lots of green mucus and snot ( sorry probably TMI) but apparently ther isnt much they can do!
did he check your traot? if its not on your chest?
hopefully it will all disappear shortly.

I had a dry night time cough for 3 months when i had dd. I've got one now and I'm 17 weeks pg. I found that sipping cold water makes it worse. Hot water is much better or hot ribena or rocks squash. And Ricola cough drops from the health food shop.

the doc checked my throat first time!!! Very briefly!! The worse part is the tickling feeling then it sometimes catches my chest n sounds chesty ive also had pale yellow phlem!! Ive tried hot honey n lemon, simple linctus antibotics n at the mo hot ribena nowt really makin a diffrence!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! xxxx

Hi this is going to sound really bizarre but i had cough with both of my pregnancies and switching to soya milk stopped it! And after both births was fine to switch back to dairy and neither child allergic. Weird

thats strange!!! mite look into that anything to help!!! xxx

yes, 3-6 weeks of lots of coughing at end of pregnancies with Dc1 and DC2. I never thought about seeing a doctor about it, but maybe wasn't that incapacitating.

I've had a cough pretty much non stop since before Xmas. GP said that some people are just finding it hard to shift. Sometimes it's so hacking that it makes me feel sick (presumably because stomach has been squished up by my lungs and doesn't like being palpitated by coughing). I gather that pregnancy increases the amount of mucus you make and presumably it makes it a bit harder to clear it. Simple linctus really is rather inert and probably makes you feel better because you're taking something more than the actual "medicine". It's only glycerol to soothe, some citric acid (like you'd get in a lemon) as a preservative and stacks of sugar and a tiny, tiny amount of alcohol to hold it all together. I'm thinking that we're encouraged to avoid it because of the potential impact of the alcohol it contains on the liver - but it really is a teeny weeny amount so if you're being sensible anyway and your GP says it's OK, then why not try it.

What seems to be helping me includes

• reducing dairy as that makes mucus stickier according to all my singing chums (obvs have to keep up calcium intake by other means).
• a brisk walk to make one puffed out to get all the gunk moving and to make any coughing more productive
• eating a chilli with plenty of warming spices. The chilli doesn't have to be eye wateringly hot - just not bland. Tumeric, garlic, cinnamon, cumin, paprika and chilli are all good in a chilli con carne. I've heard a couple of friends with an Indian background swear by a teaspoon of something like cumin or tumeric to help a cough. I understand the spices help to thin the mucus. In our house, whenever one of us feels under the weather and thinking a cold is coming on, we always have chilli. It's our version of chicken soup!
• laying/kneeling face down so my bottom is higher than my head and getting hubby to do a percussive massage on my back.

And why not try some homemade Chicken Soup (not the "cream of" sort for the dairy reason and avoid the tins as they've got about half your daily intake of salt). There is some good evidence that it contains antibiotic properties - so if you're coughing up the green/yellow gunk, then this might help. If it doesn't - well, at least it tastes nice.

Now if only I could get rid of the sore throat caused by the coughing.....

thanku for that u feel any advice might work u neva know!! Someone else on here mentioned milk n ive been havin more thinkin it might settle it oops!!! back at docs 2day antibotics finished n more or less the same!! just wanna keep an eye on my chest cause even though they say its clear it sounds rattly wen coughin n sometimes phleymy. Dont really want more tablets just want reasurrance esp wen pregnant xxxx

MummyZane - don't worry. It probably is just extra gunk being produced as a result of being pregnant. I had 3 weeks with a huge rattle on my left lung and it's eased off. Yours will too. Steaming also helps loosen it all up a bit. OK so with a walk, a percussive massage and steaming, you're probably going to cough a bit to begin with, but getting it all moving will help it to clear in the long run. Get well soon!!!

And anyway - you're coughing now - LO will have hiccups later and will get his/her own back on you!!!

thanku for yr advice!!! i went back to docs afta my wk long course of antibotics he checked chest etc n said its clear!!! He sdaid he wasnt happy to give me more tablets n dont worry it will go!! Easy for him to say!! He reasured me no harm to baby which is my main concern!! my cough isnt as constant just wen i do cough its still sounds chesty n bit phlemmy!!! Oh well ive got just ova 6 wks to go hopefully it will give me a rest for final wks!! Fingers crossed! hope yrs is on the mend too!! A reminder to have next pregnancy in summer if i have any more lol!!! thanks =)

I had a cough for last 4 months of my pregnancy (DS 4 weeks old now & cough more or less gone ) Saw doctor, he said chest was clear etc & he put it down to acid reflux which he said is quite a common cause of coughs in pregnancy, as well as causing heartburn obv. He prescribed me Peptac - similar to Gaviscon - which he wanted me to take 4 times a day...did seem to help when I remembered to take it, altho got a bit annoying after 4 months as didn't actually get rid of cough, just relieved symptoms temporarily iyswim.
Anyway, waffle over, lol, as I said it has almost gone since having DS so end is in sight! But maybe Gaviscon worth a try...

i was havin heatburn quite alot b4 got the cough wonderin if acid still coming up n causing cough rather than full blown hertburn??? This long winded cough seems to be more common than i thought i def think pregnancy makes it worse one of it bein we carnt have any thing strong!! that may of helped quicker!! I know a few non pregnant friends that carnt shift it either!!! xxx

I've found one advantage of having had a cough this long... it's made the need to go Kegels/Pelvic floor exercises all far far far too obvious!

i need to do mine always forget think have gd control cause cough not made me have any accidents yet!! lol =)