Spring is in full bloom…time to stock up on tissues!
The sneezing, the stuffy, runny nose, the itchy watery eyes – ugh! As if pregnancy isn’t uncomfortable enough on its own, enjoying the outdoors and those beautiful blossoms comes at a price for many women. To make matters worse, nasal congestion and difficulty breathing are already common in pregnancy due to increased blood volume and decreased lung capacity (among other changes).
So where can you turn for some relief? It’s important to know that we always recommend non-drug remedies (i.e., “comfort measures”) as a first line of defense before trying medications, especially in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy when the fetus is forming all the major organs, brain and spinal cord. These comfort measures include:
- Avoiding your allergy triggers. For more information about identifying and avoiding triggers, please check out What to do about Seasonal Allergies, a fantastic blog post written by Dr. Lynda Kabbash, a Harvard Vanguard allergist.
- Using a neti pot or saline nasal spray for stuffy nose
- Applying adhesive nasal strips at night to help you breathe
- Gargling with warm salt water or drinking decaf black tea with honey or lemon for sore throat
- Using phenol throat spray or plain, non-herbal throat lozenges (in moderation) for sore throat
- Applying Vaseline® inside the nose for chapping
If comfort measures are not enough, here is a helpful list medications generally considered safe for use in pregnancy:
- Chlor-Trimeton (chlorpheniramine) – our first choice recommendation in our practice
- Benadryl (diphenhydramine)
- Tavist (clemastine)
- Zyrtec (cetirizine)
- Claritin (loratadine)
All of the above medications fall in the pregnancy risk category “B” drugs and are generally considered safe in pregnancy because the testing data available shows that they are not associated with any adverse effects to the fetus when used according to package directions. However, the choice to take medication is ultimately up to you.
If you would like to research any medications on your own, the following websites are a good place to start:
I hope these tips help you enjoy this beautiful time of year!