Breastfeeding and Have a Cold - Worried to Take Anything!!!! What Should I Do?

I breast fed for 18 months and had a few really nasty colds along with unbearable allergies. My doctors told me I could occasionally take plain sudefed. The pharmacist concured. You may want to give them a call and ask yours...

Hope you feel better soon!

Hi K.

So sorry you are sick.... having spent the last 4 and a half years either pregnant or nursing, I know how hard it can be to manage being sick when unable to take things. I am also a certified doula and a midwife's assistant. These are some of the things I recommend for my clients.
You are right to increase your fluids. Have you ever used Emergen-C? It's a powdered vitamin that you mix with water. It is great for knocking out colds and completely safe to take. You can find it at Dominick's, Osco, Walgreens, Trader Joe's, etc. You should use it 3-4 times a day.
Other things that are truly helpful are echinacea and zinc. They have been shown to shorten the duration of colds and are safe to use while nursing. You can take capsules or drink teas with echinacea. There are also lozenges that contain them. I think the popular product "airborne" also has them both and is safe while nursing.
As for the discomfort of the cold, tylenol or advil are safe to use. They can help with the sore throat and achiness.
Decongestants do affect milk supply, but if you are congested, try taking a hot bath with eucalyptus oil or add a few drops to your humidifier. The combination of the menthol and steam will help to clear your head. It works great for babies, too, if Alison gets the cold (but she likely won't since you're nursing).
The most important thing you can do for your health, your baby's health and your nursing relationship is to snuggle down in bed and nurse Alison as frequently as you can while drinking lots and lots of fluids. This will let you rest, keep your supply up and get her those immunities.
I hope you get to feeling better soon!

Sincerely,
A.

Hi K.,
The same thing happened to me. My OB gave me a list of meds (very similar to the stuff you can take while pregnant). I drank a TON of water, even though it hurt to swallow, so my milk wasn't as affected, but any illness can temporariy decrease supply. Double check with your OB though, before you start taking anything. Hope you feel better soon!
E.

You can probably take anything homeopathic(different from straight herbal remedies).

Call you doctor or baby's doctor. Some advice I have seen here I would not follow and I nursed 2 girls for a year each. Call and ask or ask a pharmacist.

I don't know where some of the mothers are getting their info but there is some inaccurate info posted. Please please do not follow it - just call your midwife, doctor or lactation specialist because you may end up taking stuff which is detrimental to your baby. Hang in there. We've all been through this one!! feel better real quick!

K.:

There are many possibilities... what are you thinking that you would like to take? you are welcome to call or e-mail me and i will look it up/

Salt water nose drops works well for running nose. robitussin DM is good for a cough...

P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com

I nursed my son for 2.5 years and had many many colds...I have chronic sinus infections.

Anyway, ibuprofen, breathe-right strips at night, a humidifier or vaporizer, and lots of water help alot. Beyond that I would not go any further than a nose spray. These medications are ok because they are applied locally and thus don't run through your blood stream. You have to use them more often and they aren't as effective, but they do help. That is as far as I would go. Don't take meds that are from Tylenol just cause Tylenol is ok while nursing, you have to look at the back of the packages and make sure there are no decongestants in it cause that dries up your milk, along with your excess mucous.

Good luck...I know how miserable that is!

check out www.kellymom.com On the website, they have a listing of medications that you can take and how safe they are (classification). Just make sure you don't take sudafed. It can cause a reduction in your supply and make your kids hyper

Hi K.

I'm sorry to hear that you're sick. It's the pits anytime but I know first-hand how much it stinks when you're breastfeeding. I breastfed my son and got a cold when he was about a month old. I called my lactation consultant (a registered nurse at the hospital I delivered at) and asked if there was anything over-the-counter I could take that wouldn't affect my son or cause any problems with breastfeeding. She said that Benadryl was OK to take and that the small amount that my son would receive would make him drowsy but wouldn't hurt him. I only took it for 2 days which helped me tremendously with the runny nose and sneezing and I only noticed a slight increase in the amount my son slept. My milk never decreased and I kept feeding my son as I normally would.

I hope this helps you out. It might be a good idea to call a nurse just to be on the safe side or contact the local La Leche League. They might have some information you could use too. Hope you feel better soon. Take care.

S. D.

Yup, been sick nursing and it stinks. But it's an excellent way for your baby to gain immunities. Unfortunately, I found my milk supply was a little less - just from being run down. So it's really important to eat well and drink lots! You can consult with your doctor but kellymom.com is an excellent source to find out what you can/cannot take.

Hope you feel better!

i had a bad cold while brestfeeding also i took a nasal spray to help but it was given to me by my Dr. check w/ your Dr. i used rhinocort aqua & it helped wasnt like dayquill but it was what i could take

I had a nasty cold when my Julianne was born and I had the same concern. They told me I could do a nasal spray like afrin becasue it acted locally. The downside of that is the "rebound" effect. But, if you really need it to sleep or be comfotable for a few hours it could help. I read the the sudafed thing was based on moms using sudafed continuously for weeks. I think using it to get through the night or a small time frame would be fine, especially if nursing has gone fine since January.
I am not in the medical field, just mom of 2 girls, both nursed for 14 mo.

sudafed will dry your milk i remember, but the ingredients have now changed for the over the counter stuff. The sudafed behind the pharmacy counter (original formula with pseudefedrine) will for sure dry you up. Not sure about the new formula on the shelves. Real pepermint dries you up too. From what i remember, it can do it pretty quickly.

I usually tough it out for the same reasons that you mention. You can check kellymom to see what drugs are "safe" etc for breastfeeding. http://www.kellymom.com/health/index.html has a whole list of what's safe and what's not (herbs too).
Hang in there! It will get better soon. Also, I personally swear by those zinc lozenges (Cold-Eeze or generic brand) - take them at the first sign of a cold - they work wonders.

When I had a cold, I just toughed it out, because I did not want to risk my precious milk supply. Probably not the answer you were looking for.

Hope you feel better soon!

Check with your ob or midwife. I found saline drops to work okay, but had much better luck with a netti pot. I know it sounds strange, but it is a pot that you fill with a salt water solution and "rinse" out your nasal passages. I do it as soon as I start feeling like a cold is coming on and I made it throught the winter with out a cold( with a now 8 month old)

good luck!