Pregnant and getting a cold - what can I do?

[Sammy74]

I have woken up this morning with a slight temp and sore throat which I know means a cold is coming. I am gutted as I am going on holiday later this week.

If I wasn't pregnant I would be taking lots of echinacea and vitamin C tablets and sucking loads of antibacteral lozenges! This would usually do the trick if I wasn't pregnant.

Does anyone have any pregnancy safe ideas that I could try to stop this developing into a full on cold?

If you've caught an actual cold virus, you can't really stop it developing even if you're not pregnant. But vitamin C is safe enough so long as you're not mega-dosing. Otherwise I treat a cold in pregnancy as I normally would - paracetamol if I have a fever, and lots of fluids.

Thanks Emma.

At the moment I am just feeling really run down as have had a stressful week and I think I am at the stage where it could go either way.

I really don't want to develop a cold - the last one turned into sinusitis and that was bloody horrendous.

Nothing you can do, Emma's right. Sympathy though OP, I've got a cold right now (26 weeks pg) and it's making me feel very sorry for myself. Sleeping propped up on a rolled-up duvet in an attempt to keep my sinuses/nose clear enough to breathe, sipping water, lots of lovely unexpected coughing and sneezing to really challenge my pelvic floor....bleargh. Have a busy toddler and a thousand things to do too, so no chance of taking to my bed... sniff.

Same as you would when not pregnant! Nothing!

You could make yourself some hot honey and lemon if that might make you feel better, but other than that just plenty of fluid and rest is the best thing.

You could also inhale the steam with a drop of Olbas oil in it, that might unblock your nasal tubes a bit.

Lots of sympathy from me though! It is grim feeling like that

Yep, i did the honey, lemon and ginger thing (all with fresh ingredients), paracetamol and Olbas oil - if it's any consolation, my cold didn't last as long as normal, and didn't affect my sinuses as much as normal.

You can try the Nose strips from Boots if you have a blocked nose. I had a terrible cold when I was 10 weeks and they really helped me get a good nights sleep. I hope you are feeling better soon!