Taking rest, relax, drink a lot of fluids and taking supplements/vitamins are some of the remedies for cold and cough during breastfeeding.

We all face a little sniffle and a cough here and there during the year. Everyone around you has it as well. However, what natural treatments are available and safe for breastfeeding mothers?

If you are pondering on what to prevent and which treatments would be beneficial for both breastfeeding moms and babies, then read this article below.

Read More: 5 Vaccines that are Safe to Get While Breastfeeding

Ways to Treat Cold and Cough During Breastfeeding

Take rest

Getting adequate amounts of rest is quite difficult as long as you have small babies to care for but make sure this is your ultimate priority. Even if there may be times where you cannot attain enough rest, try to create time in order to optimize rest levels. Try to lie down on your bed or couch which is near your baby wherein you can be quick taking care of them when they wake up.

Give yourself a break and order takeout if possible, make use of paper plates and even let the babies enjoy their time watching TV on their own. Getting well is an important priority which strengthens you to take care of your family.

Try to relax

Try to find time to enable extra relaxation periods in order to replenish and nurture your body. Ask trusted people around you to look after your kids when you try to go somewhere important or even get massages from loved ones if they come to help and support you. You can take a hot steamy bath or shower in order to relax the muscles. Try meditation in order to develop better stress handling skills. Taking deeper breaths and visualizing enables your body to become much healthy and stronger.

Read More: Can I Get Pregnant While Breastfeeding?

Drink a lot of fluids

You need to drink lots of fluids in order to provide breastmilk for your child wherein if you tend to have a sick body, this can make it distressful.

Consume a lot of juice, water, tea, Gatorade and beverages which are not filled with caffeine in order to enhance the body systems. Moreover, drinking tea helps to calm down the nerves and relaxes you. There are many brands which even provide throat relief tea which tastes amazing and soothes the throat which is sore and aid in reducing congestion in the nasal along with mucous secretions.

Herbal teas which are therapeutic need to be brewed strong, long and covered tightly in order to take advantage of many benefits from herbs. Other tea options can be chamomile tea, peppermint tea or even consuming hot water mixed with a lemon slice and a spoon of honey is healthy, rejuvenating and delicious.

Taking supplements/vitamins

These are not complementary options but are helpful in supporting the overall health treatment. You can take prenatal vitamins when you start breastfeeding in order to nourish the body. Consuming vitamin C from foods, juices and supplements is completely fine. Even so, garlic is known to be beneficial for the immune system and can be taken in supplement or raw form. Even Echinacea is well known to be risk-free for breastfeeding mothers.

Head or chest congestions

Saline Flush

One of the most effective methods in relieving head/nasal congestion is using the saline nasal spray. You can buy a bottle which is prefilled or can even make your very own mix and save money. Sinus flush can be intolerable at first but once you understand how to do it then it becomes quite easy.

Sinus or nasal massage

This method seems to work amazingly when you take steamy hot showers. All you need to do is massage the temples, forehead and sinus areas where you move downward towards the nostril region. This would lead to a flow of mucous and urges decongestion.

Using steam treatment

All you need to do is boil water in a pot, remove the pot from the stove, and add in few drops of essential oil and (if you want) lemon or lavender for smells purposes. Next, you would need to cover your head with a bath towel and breathe deeply and softly for 4-5 minutes.  Repeat this method several times in a day in order to keep the chest and head clear and even massages the sinus areas.

A cough or a Sore throat

1. Consume hot water mixed with honey and lemon juice in order to soothe a cough naturally.

2. Drink herbal tea (strong) in order to comfort a sore throat.

3. You can gargle using salt water wherein you blend one tablespoon of salt in a cup of warm water. Then you gargle the entire mixture but do not swallow it. This can be performed multiple times in a day in order to eradicate bacteria and kill germs in the throat.

4. Try gargling with warm chamomile tea wherein you can drink the tea as well.

5. You can use cough drops however you need to prevent using drops with large amounts of menthol since it can lead to a decrease in milk supply.

Throat or cough medications

1. Using sore throat lozenges (for example Chloraseptic) can be typically considered to be safe just like cough drops but as mentioned above, do tend to avoid drops which have a large content of methanol since it reduces milk supply.

2. Different cough medicines like Delsym, Robitussin, and even Benylin are known to be medically okay when breastfeeding. However, do keep a check on certain active ingredients for each brand. Some of the distinct ingredients include:

Codeine– where this is safe at an average level.

Guaifenesin – where this is safer compared to Codeine

Dextromethorphan – where this is the safest compared to other ingredients

Furthermore, you can consider eye drops since it is designed to fight allergy and cold symptoms which are known to be compatible and safe when used with breastfeeding.

Nasal sprays or gels

Generally, these gels are known to mix well and considered safe when breastfeeding. Compared to all the nasal medications (to treat allergy symptoms) found in the market, ‘Nasal steroids’ such as Flonase are known to work wonders when breastfeeding.

Lastly, the nasal decongestant sprays (those which contain Phenylephrine) which work on a short notice are more likeable compared to ingredients (such as oxymetazoline) which take longer to be in effect and are not usually the first option when it comes to breastfeeding mothers.

The bottom line

So here you have it. Here are some tips and advices for those who have trouble breastfeeding their little ones during cold and cough seasons. It is important to note that the medicines being provided above may not be always available in a local pharmacies hence ask your doctor for prescribing the right medicines and follow the natural medicines as well for better effect.