What medicines should not be taken during early pregnancy?

You should not take over-the-counter medicines in the early stages of pregnancy. Before taking any medicine, you must ask your doctor whether you can take it. In addition, antacids, tetracyclines, kanamycin, aspirin and other antidepressants and antibiotics must be taken under the guidance of a doctor. Also, you should not use tonic medicines indiscriminately, such as ginseng, longan, astragalus and other sweet and warm tonics, which can easily increase fire and cause fetal movement and blood movement, which is tantamount to adding fuel to the fire for pregnant women with yin deficiency and internal heat.

1. Western medicine

1. Over-the-counter drugs

The so-called over-the-counter drugs refer to medicines that are used based on one's own judgment and in accordance with the instructions for use, such as self-diagnosis and treatment of common diseases such as colds, coughs, and fevers. Before taking these cold and allergy medicines, it is best to confirm with your doctor whether you can take a certain medicine.

2. Prescription drugs

If you are taking antidepressants, antibiotics, or medications for asthma, acne, diabetes, high blood pressure, or epilepsy when you find out you are pregnant, you need to consult your doctor. The following are the ones that cannot be used.

(1) Antacids: Avoid the use of various antacids containing bismuth and alkaline salicylates.

(2) Tetracyclines and kanamycin: cause congenital deafness or kidney damage in the fetus.

(3) Streptomycin and kanamycin: cause congenital deafness or kidney damage in the fetus.

(4) Chloramphenicol: Inhibits the fetal bone marrow hematopoietic function and causes pulmonary hemorrhage in newborns.

(5) Sulfonamides: They cause various fetal malformations and may also cause kernicterus in newborns.

(6) Aspirin and phenacetin: They cause malformations of the fetal skeleton, kidneys, and nervous system. The location of the malformation is related to the formation process of a certain organ.

(7) Barbiturates: They can cause the fetus to have short fingers or toes, blocked nostrils, and mental depression. These drugs include oral luminal, succinate, sodium pentobarbital, isopentol and sodium phenobarbital for injection.

(8) Hormone drugs: such as cortisone, adrenal cortex hormones, insulin, etc., can cause fetal malformations such as cleft lip, cleft palate, anencephaly, hydrocephalus, etc.

(9) Antiepileptic drugs: Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and phenytoin sodium can cause fetal brain abnormalities.

(10) Anticancer drugs: can cause miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, and multiple fetal malformations.

(11) Diet pills: Dear beautiful mothers, if you are planning to get pregnant or already have a baby, please do not lose weight for the sake of your baby! Currently, diet pills have caused great controversy. Some of these drugs can cause harm when used on normal people, let alone pregnant women. There have been many cases where pregnant women who used diet pills without knowing they were pregnant have suffered serious consequences such as fetal malformation and brainlessness.

2. Chinese Medicine

1. Herbs

Chinese herbal medicines such as safflower, immature bitter orange, pollen, musk, and angelica can excite the uterus, which can easily lead to intrauterine fetal ischemia and hypoxia, resulting in fetal malformation and development, and even miscarriage, premature birth, and stillbirth.

Chinese herbal medicines such as rhubarb, Glauber's salt, euphorbia, pokeweed, croton, genkwa, morning glory seed, and gansui can stimulate the intestines and reflexively cause strong contractions of the uterus, leading to miscarriage and premature birth.

Some Chinese herbal medicines are toxic in themselves, such as blister beetle, raw arisaema, aconite, monkshood, artemisia selengensis, Sichuan pepper, centipede, gelsemium elegans, genkwa, cinnabar, realgar, euphorbia, pokeweed, croton, etc. The various alkaloids and chemical components they contain are very complex, and some can directly or indirectly affect the growth and development of the fetus.

What expectant mothers need to pay attention to is that many Chinese herbal medicines with toxic side effects often appear in the form of formulas in Chinese patent medicines. Therefore, you must be cautious about Chinese patent medicines containing the above-mentioned Chinese herbal medicines, and should avoid taking Chinese patent medicines that are marked as prohibited for use or should be used with caution by pregnant women.

Of course, expectant mothers should not be afraid to see a doctor. After all, among the thousands of Chinese herbal medicines, only a very small number have adverse effects. However, when you see a doctor, you should tell the doctor that you are pregnant and ask the doctor to weigh the pros and cons and try to choose safe medications without side effects.

2. Be careful when taking tonic medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that if pregnant women abuse sweet and warm supplements such as ginseng, longan, and astragalus, the sweet and warm properties can easily increase fire, cause fetal movement and blood movement, which is tantamount to adding fuel to the fire for pregnant women with yin deficiency and internal heat. Excessive fire will burn and block blood circulation, while hot blood will cause disorder of the upper and lower qi mechanisms, which may cause bleeding, abdominal distension and other precursors of miscarriage or premature birth. If excessive qi consumes yin and disturbs the fetus, it may even be life-threatening.