Over-the-Counter Meds for Preggos

Today, I will discuss over-the-counter medications while pregnant.

First off, being sick and pregnant is a huge bummer! You already feel awful and you are also worried about your baby! You already have trouble sleeping due to back aches and acid reflux and now you are adding one more complication on top of those! NO FUN AT ALL! But there is hope for you! I promise!!!

Many older women (my parents generation) have said to me while sick: “Oh you poor thing, sick and pregnant, you can’t take anything to help you besides tylenol! How miserable!” I am hear to tell you today ladies that this is SO NOT TRUE!!! YOU DON"T HAVE TO SUFFER! Maybe back in the day that was the case, but there are lots of fabulous medications out there these days that are perfectly safe for pregnant women to take if needed – this means that the product either doesn’t pass through the placenta to the baby or doesn’t harm the baby.

I have had some rough allergies for the last few days… My allergies tend to hit me in the lungs… I was up all night last night coughing (and then worrying that my violent episodes of coughing were going to hurt the baby or break one of my ribs or make my water break)… I described my symptoms to my Kaiser Mid-wife/NP and she gave me some suggestions of things I can take to help… Because it seams I have some sort of asthmatic cough due to allergies, she said Claritin or Benadryl are okay to take while pregnant to help fend off the allergens – these fit into the “antihistamine” class of OTC medications…  The other products that are okay to take for the cough are Robitussin DM and Mucinex DM (both have similar ingredients)… Pregnant woman can also take regular Sudafed for nasal congestion… for pain and fever of course there is always Tylenol, and for indigestionTUMs and similar products are okay…. 

My point in sharing all of this with you is that you do not have to suffer! Now, don’t get me wrong, I am no pill popper and won’t even take a Tylenol unless I am completely dysfunctionally in pain, but I need my sleep and I spent a good majority of last night not sleeping due to fits of crazy violent coughing… Not to mention my poor husband who had to listen to it! So, why suffer? It isn’t good for you or the baby for you to be sick and run down!

I will sum up what I learned about OTC meds today with a list:

FOR ALLERGIES:

Claritin and Benadryl: The medicine in Claritin is called loratadine and can be found in other brands and generic medications. I tried the quick dissolve tabs (dissolve on your tongue) and I already have less of that scratchy feeling in my chest and less coughing. I went for the 12 hour relief instead of 24 because 24 hour meds have always worried me. I know I am weird – but like I said, I am an anti meds kind of girl... except when it comes to child-birth! Epidurals are awesome (I'll remember to blog about them later).

FOR COUGHS:

Robitussin DM is okay for coughs… it contains guaifenesin (an expectorant) and some other sort of cough suppressant to give you a break from coughing. An expectorant is designed to thin out the mucus that is stuck in your lungs and make it easier to get rid of. Because of this, you should drink lots of fluids when you are taking any product that contains guaifenesin.

Mucinex has almost the same ingredients as Robitussin… it too contains the guaifenesin… there is also Mucinex D that contains an added nasal decongestant that contains the same active ingredient as Sudafed, so that kind is okay to take… Mucinex DM has the same exact ingredients as Robitussin DM but in pill form that lasts 12 hours.  Mucinex has been one of my favorite products for years. It is great for a teacher who needs relief from allergy or cold symptoms but still needs to be alert and functional. It just thins out all the icky stuff so you can either cough it up or blow it out your nose! 

FOR NASAL CONGESTION (due to colds or allergies):

Sudafed - only the regular Sudafed, nothing fancy!

and remember Mucinex D has the nasal decongestant and the expectorant, so it is wonderful!

REFLUX, INDIGESTION, & SORE TUMMIES:

TUMs or any other basic antacid are safe to take (I am not sure about any of those acid reducer products though – I would check with your Dr. on that one).

HEAD ACHES, BACH ACHES, FEVERS, etc:

 Tylenol is perfectly safe to take while pregnant... nothing else is! Tylenol contains acetaminophen, so any generic brand that only contains acetaminophen is okay to take as well. Tylenol is just the fancy name brand of choice.