HELP what can i take.........

[0351wife]

ok i ma BF my 8mo DS and i have a sinus/cold or something..head killing me nose all that good junk... is there anything i can take to feel a lil better! HELP! thanks mamas!

[MamaZelly]

Plain Sudafed from behind the counter is all that's really safe to take. Not Sudafed PE, or Sinus Formula, or anything else. JUST plain old Sudafed.

[mmillerRN]

Originally Posted by MamaZelly Plain Sudafed from behind the counter is all that's really safe to take. Not Sudafed PE, or Sinus Formula, or anything else. JUST plain old Sudafed.

yeah, that. And plain old tylenol or motrin. GL to you.

[ge0rge]

You can try calling a LLL leader and see if they have a copy of "Medications and Mother's Milk". It will tell you what the consequences are of different drugs and how safe they are. I took some stuff for sinuses last year and most of them said they could decrease milk supply. If you do take something, just keep an eye out for that.

[lillyfire]

I like this link: http://www.babycenter.com/0_drug-saf...nfo%40330eaa2b

Have you tried a nasal wash using a neti pot or bulb syringe? It's not as bad as it sounds/looks as long as the solution has the right amount of salt and is body temp. Googling is pulls up some nice videos.

[Alioop]

Hi! I have medications and mothers milk....and have studied it! Sudafed, although safe for your baby, can reduce your milk supply. So, take it only if you really need it. I use a nasal decongestant if I really need it. Since it works locally, less gets into your blood.

Tylenol and ibuprofen for pain. And, the nasal wash stuff works....Walgreens even sells kits that are great.

[keen1981]

I had a HORRIBLE sinus infection when pregnant with DS#2. I couldn't take anything..... My face swelled, I couldn't open an eye.... the best thing for me was to do sinus rinses (yuck....) use a heating pad on my face and take approved vitamins. Kellymom has the info you need on most medicines- you should bookmark it- or Dr. HAles page

[MammaNilsson]

I would definitely check into some of these resources. My dr told me that she couldn't recommend anything for me that wasn't recommended for infants because they keep turning around and saying that everything OTC has negative/dangerous side effects for children after initially saying it's safe.

Basically, anything in your bloodstream can get into your milk and the effects on children aren't the same as the effects on adults. That's why things like Tylenol are suspected of killing children at ages 2-3. The medicine continues to accumulate in their system and they OD on it by about that time even though no one has ever given them more than is recommended each time a dose was administered.

[takasmom]

so sorry you're not feeling well mama.

hre is the kellymom page on bfing and cold meds.

depending on your symptoms, claritin (plain claritin, NOT claritin D)
might help.

i second the PP who says steer away from sudafed. any pseudoephedrine product could hurt your supply.

Originally Posted by MammaNilsson Basically, anything in your bloodstream can get into your milk and the effects on children aren't the same as the effects on adults. That's why things like Tylenol are suspected of killing children at ages 2-3. The medicine continues to accumulate in their system and they OD on it by about that time even though no one has ever given them more than is recommended each time a dose was administered.

mama, i don't know if you have some particular cases in mind but tylenol is well studied in babies and an otherwise healthy baby should not suffer lethal effects from taken the recommended doses at the recommended intervals.

also, concerning the passage of medications into milk, it is not accurate to say that everything passes into breastmilk equally. the molecules need to be able to bind with the proteins in BM, and some medications will bind more readily than others. other factors, like the halflife of the drug, how it is metabolized, and age/weight of baby effect how much the drug will effect the baby. i'm sure someone with more scientific background can probably explain this better.

[naivete]

I love my nasal decongestant sprays. Like PP said, since it works just right in your nose, barely anything goes into your bloodstream at all.

I have really bad sinus issues, because whenever I get sick, I have something wrong with my nose, it doesn't drain. I don't get runny noses naturally, like ever, instead the goop builds up in my sinuses, then drips down my throat into my lungs and it always develops into bronchitis.

But, I've found now that if I start to feel a cold coming on, or I already have pressure in my sinuses, eating super spicy foods, really helps force the drainage. Whenever I feel sick now, I have a friend who makes me a killer spicy ginger tea, and I always get east indian food. It works every time.