What to do if you have a cough during pregnancy

As we all know, pregnancy is a particularly difficult process for women. They must pay attention to their physical health throughout the whole process to prevent it from affecting the normal development of the fetus. However, during pregnancy, the pregnant woman's physical constitution deteriorates and her resistance becomes weaker, which makes her prone to illness. If she takes medication, it will have a certain impact on the fetus. This article briefly introduces how to relieve a cold and cough during two months of pregnancy.

Here are some ways to treat colds without taking medicine or injections:

1. When your throat is itchy and painful at the early stage of a cold, immediately gargle and rinse your throat with concentrated salt water every 10 minutes. It will be effective after more than 10 times.

2. Drinking chicken soup can relieve symptoms such as nasal congestion and runny nose during a cold, and it is also effective in clearing respiratory viruses. Drinking chicken soup regularly can enhance the body's natural resistance and prevent the occurrence of colds.

3. Warm a metal spoon in boiling water (to a degree that does not burn your hands), then place it on the "cold treatment point" on the surface of your palm and massage. After a few moments of hot massage, use a spoon soaked in cold water to stimulate the area. For those with mild colds or coughs, stimulate 5 to 10 times using the above method. The cold-treating point on the palm is located between the thumb and index finger of the left hand (near the base of the thumb) and on the palm surface below the second joint of the right thumb.

4. Pour hot water at about 42°C into a thermos teacup. People with a cold should put their mouth and nose into the mouth of the teacup and continuously inhale the hot steam, three times a day.

5. If you have a cough, you can beat an egg, add a small amount of white sugar and ginger juice, and take it 2 to 3 times with half a cup of boiling water to stop the cough. Pregnant women should not take cold medicines because most cold medicines are compound preparations containing multiple ingredients. Common ones include Quick-acting Cold Capsules, Ganmaotong, Contac, Baijiahei, Kangbid, Kegankang, Kuaike, etc. Most of these medicines contain histamines and should not be taken during pregnancy, especially before 4 weeks of pregnancy. Cold medicines are mainly symptomatic drugs that treat the symptoms but not the root cause. They are not safe for pregnant women. Therefore, it is recommended that pregnant women do not take cold medicines. If they take medicines, they should pay attention to the following matters:

1. Antiviral drugs have adverse effects on the fetus and should not be used by pregnant women. If they must be used, they should be used under the guidance of a doctor.

2. Antipyretics: A cold accompanied by high fever usually indicates a serious illness and you should see a doctor immediately. Indomethacin is a contraindicated antipyretic drug for pregnant women, and aspirin should not be used after 32 weeks of pregnancy.

3. Antibiotics: If there is no clear evidence of bacterial infection in pregnant women with colds, such as tonsillitis, high blood pressure, coughing up yellow sputum, runny nose, etc., antibiotics are not needed. Because antibiotics can pass through the placenta and enter the fetus, there is a 20% to 40% chance of causing harm to the fetus. Therefore, safe antibiotics should be chosen under the guidance of a doctor.

4. Expectorants and cough suppressants are generally safe, but cough suppressants containing iodine preparations should not be used by pregnant women. The most important thing in preventing colds is that women during pregnancy should pay attention to rest, strengthen exercise, and keep a strong body. During epidemics, they should pay attention to personal hygiene, not go to places with crowded entrances, avoid contact with patients with colds, ventilate the room at home, maintain appropriate temperature and humidity, fumigate the room with vinegar frequently, maintain a good mood, and enhance resistance to disease. If you catch a cold, don't panic or take medicine indiscriminately, and don't ignore it. You should go to the hospital to consult a doctor in time.