No one is safe from the common cold. Especially the woman who just bore and gave birth to a child. After all, the body directed all the forces to bear the fetus, recover from childbirth and maintain lactation. It is not surprising that right now there is so much chance of catching a cold, although there is absolutely no time and energy for this. How to help a nursing mother? What nasal drops for breastfeeding can I use? What drops are considered the safest for the child?
Runny nose and lactation
Most often, nursing mothers are chased by the usual seasonal viral diseases. Their main symptoms are:
- Elevated body temperature.
- Cough.
- Sore throat.
- Runny nose.
But still it will not be amiss to go to the doctor to exclude another nature of the disease (for example, bacterial). Indeed, now a newborn baby directly depends on the health of the mother. Everyone knows that most children are immune to many diseases for the first six months or even for the entire period of breastfeeding, but no one can be fully insured.
It happens that, despite a strict diet and a serious restriction in foods, a runny nose in a nursing mother causes an allergic reaction. In this case, after an appropriate examination, the doctor will surely pick up medications that can not harm the baby.
What advises Komarovsky E.O.
Being a doctor talking to people on behalf of civilized medicine, Komarovsky immediately does not recommend categorically applying drops in the nose during breastfeeding. He advises, at the first sign of infection, to lie down, dress warmer and create the most comfortable conditions for recovery: cool air and almost one hundred percent humidity. Subject to these recommendations, the doctor promises that drops in the nose during breastfeeding, if a runny nose is not complicated, will not be needed and the cold itself will pass in 3-7 days.
As an additional treatment, Evgeny Olegovich prescribes to his patients:
- A plentiful warm drink.
- Diet.
- Drops from saline to the nose (salted water solution).
- Regular ventilation of the apartment.
The doctor recalls that to protect the family and the child from infection, it will be useful to use gauze masks (which must be changed every two to three hours). And also recalls that folk remedies such as honey, lemon, raspberries and garlic not only do not bring any scientifically proven benefits in the fight against infection, but can also be dangerous for a baby.
Drops in the nose when breastfeeding: which ones?
It is worth noting that the use of any drug during breastfeeding, even after consulting a doctor, should begin gradually and with small doses. This will determine the presence of possible allergic reactions in the baby.
The safest and even the most beneficial are drops and sprays based on water and sea salt. They perfectly moisturize the mucous membrane and can be used during pregnancy, feeding, and even in children from the first weeks of life.
Relatively safe are oil drops from a cold. During lactation, they usually do not cause allergic reactions due to plant components (Vitaon, Pinosol and others). They have a good antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effect.
To relieve edema from the nasal mucosa and quickly relieve symptoms, vasoconstrictive drops in the nose (with breastfeeding) with xylometazoline in the composition are usually prescribed. When breastfeeding, doctors do not recommend using them for more than three to five days. It is also advisable for mom to use baby drops, since the dosage of the drug in them is much less. You can try to do without any vasoconstrictor drugs or use them only before bedtime.
There are drugs like Derinat ( nose drops ). When breastfeeding, they are absolutely harmless. It is recommended to drip it even for prevention. According to reviews, it can be judged that these drops are often prescribed even for babies, if someone in the family is sick.
List of approved drugs
Officially approved nasal drops for breastfeeding:
- "Aquamaris", "Physiomer" (composed of water and salt).
- Derinat (active ingredient - sodium deoxyribonucleate).
- Pinosol, Vitaon, Delufen (oil-based).
- Euphorbium Composite (homeopathic drops).
- "Nazivin", "Tizin", "Nazolin", "Naphthyzine" (as part of xylometazoline).
Can I drip breast milk into my nose?
Doctors categorically forbid to bury, rinse the nose and even just lubricate it with breast milk. It is scientifically proven that sweet warm milk creates a favorable environment for the reproduction of bacteria and viruses. So such a medicine will not only not cure, but will seriously aggravate the situation.
Homeopathic remedies for a cold in a nursing mother
Very often, homeopathic remedies are recommended as a powerful weapon against all adversities at any age and position. Proponents of such treatment at every step shout about the dangers of “chemical” drugs and promote their methods.
The fact that homeopathy cannot do any harm is not surprising. In the famous "peas" and "droplets" there is such a tiny amount of active substance that the body is simply not able to notice it. So you can really use such drugs even without a doctor, because their whole benefit lies in the placebo effect. Therefore, very often you can hear reviews that homeopathy treats everything, because if a person really believes that this is a medicine, then with a high degree of probability, he will recover.
Nursing mother's runny nose and antibiotics
To begin with, antibiotics are never taken for nothing because of a cold. There is always a serious reason and appointment of a doctor for taking such a medicine. If it already so happened that the usual runny nose has already started, a strong cough has appeared, the temperature does not drop, but rises higher, health worsens and various localizations of pain appear, you just can not do without going to the doctor.
The doctor may prescribe antibiotics to the nursing mother if the benefit outweighs the risks. But at the same time, one should remember: feeding will have to be temporarily (until recovery) stopped, and the milk should be decanted and poured out (so that it does not burn out, and later the baby can be resumed feeding). It's okay that a child will have to spend a couple of weeks on the mixture, the main thing is that the mother will soon recover.
Continue feeding if a runny nose begins, or switch to a mixture? Reviews
Experienced mothers argue that if there are no other symptoms, breastfeeding is not only possible, but also needs to be continued. When a mother is sick, the baby receives antibodies with milk, which the adult body begins to produce in the first hours of the disease. Thus, according to the law of nature, a baby cannot be infected. But nevertheless, doctors recommend for the period of the illness to refuse kisses and, of course, not to cough on the child and not to blow his nose if he is nearby.
How to protect a child from a cold
- It is advisable that the child can at least sleep in an uninfected environment - try to provide the baby with a separate room for the period of his mother’s illness.
- Ask dad or grandmother to go out with the baby more.
- Wet the apartment at least once a day.
- Ventilate the apartment every two hours.
- Try to feed your baby in a gauze dressing.
- Continue breastfeeding - this is the best support for your baby’s immune system.
Folk remedies
Are there completely natural drops in the nose (when breastfeeding)? What to treat in this case, a runny nose, traditional medicine will recommend:
- Flushing the nose with saline. The same method, by the way, is recommended by traditional medicine (salt is diluted in warm boiled water in a ratio of about 1 to 30).
- Drops in the nose from aloe juice / Kalanchoe (aloe leaf is cut and squeezed, diluted with water and instilled into the nose).
- Drops from beetroot juice (squeeze juice from raw beets and drip 2-3 drops into the nose).
- Rinse with a decoction of chamomile and instill it in the nose.
A tablespoon of dried chamomile flowers is poured with a glass of boiling water and insisted for several hours. The resulting solution is filtered and instilled into the nose. Also, the infusion can be additionally diluted with water and used to rinse the nasal passages and throat.
- Inhalations on herbs. It can be used only if there is no temperature.
Reviews of experienced mothers suggest that it is not worth using drops of nose in the nose (when breastfeeding) from garlic, as well as funds based on raspberries, lemon, onions and honey. They often cause severe allergies in the child.
Prevention
In order not to use drugs to combat rhinitis, it is worth thinking about prevention in advance. This will help:
- Walking (at least twice a day). It will be useful for both mom and baby.
- Airing the apartment.
- Maintaining the air temperature in the apartment in the region of 20 degrees Celsius.
- Use a humidifier.
- Clothing for season and weather.
- Healthy eating
- Doing sports.
- Hardening.
- The use of protective ointments and masks (in public places, especially during epidemics).