How to get rid of nasal congestion during pregnancy

Pregnancy is a time of increased attention and care for a woman to her own body. After all, it is precisely from her health that the development and growth of the fetus in the womb depends. In order not to harm the child, a woman should carefully monitor her condition and consult a doctor at any change. One of the common symptoms of a pregnant woman is a runny nose and nasal congestion. In this article, you will learn about the causes of a runny nose during pregnancy, and also learn about safe ways to get rid of nasal congestion.

Causes of nasal congestion during pregnancy

A pregnant woman is the same person who reacts with symptoms to ordinary pathogens that act equally on men and women, children and the elderly. But in some cases, a runny nose may be due to some changes in the woman’s body caused by pregnancy. We consider these cases in more detail.

1. Virus. The most common cause of a runny nose during and without pregnancy is a virus, that is, SARS. In this case, nasal congestion occurs rapidly, accompanied by other symptoms - cough, flow from the nose, fever, red throat.
2. Bacterial infection. If the causative agent of the common cold is a bacterium, then the picture will be a little worse - the mucus secreted from the nose becomes not just transparent, but thick and yellow, green. High fever, intoxication, headache are common symptoms of a bacterial infection.
3. Allergy. Allergies can also trigger nasal congestion. It is necessary to analyze the time and cause of the allergy in order to identify the allergen. It can be plant pollen, a pillow, food, animal hair - anything. With allergies, additional symptoms appear - lacrimation, redness of the eyes, itching in the nose.
4. Rhinitis of pregnant women. In this case, an increase in adenoids and nasal congestion occurs due to hormonal changes in the body of a woman. Pregnant vasomotor rhinitis is distinguished by the absence of additional symptoms and satisfactory overall health.

It is important to understand that good nasal breathing provides the body and fetus with a sufficient amount of oxygen. If congestion is severe, the baby may suffer from hypoxia.

How to treat nasal congestion during pregnancy

If congestion has occurred due to a bacterial infection, antibiotics are indispensable. It is very important not to engage in amateur activities and consult a doctor so that he prescribes a drug that is safe for the fetus. Probiotics are taken with an antibiotic to avoid dysbiosis. During severe nasal congestion, vasoconstrictive drops can be used, which are acceptable during pregnancy, for example, Sanorin, Naftizin, Farial. Be sure to read the instructions before use, since many similar medications can not be used when bearing a child. Remember, vasoconstrictors should not be used for more than five days.Pinosol, a drug based on oils and plant extracts, will help cure your nose. It is effective and safe.

With the allergic nature of the common cold, antihistamines should be taken. They will relieve symptoms of congestion. Antihistamines should be used at the onset of the common cold, even for those who do not suffer from allergies - medicines help relieve swelling of the mucosa and open nasal breathing. Among the permissible medicines can be called Claritin, Cetirizine. You can also use sprays and drops from allergies for local action. In any case, the intake of any drugs should be agreed with an allergist.

How to get rid of nasal congestion during pregnancy

Here are effective and safe ways to get rid of nasal congestion during pregnancy.

1. Lavage is one of the most effective and completely harmless means against nasal congestion. You need to rinse your nose with a teapot - place the nose on one nostril and turn your head so that water flows out of the second nostril. You can rinse your nose with a syringe, as well as simply drawing in water from the nostrils. This will help relieve swelling of adenoids, wash away viruses and allergens from the mucosa. Rinsing is very effective and as a preventive measure - rinse your nose after visiting crowded places so as not to get sick. As a washing liquid, you can use a weak saline solution, decoctions of chamomile and calendula, sea water (soda, salt and iodine).
2. It is very effective to treat runny nose and nasal congestion with folk recipes in the form of homemade drops. To do this, you can drip into the nose the juice of beets, Kalanchoe, aloe, carrots, onions, garlic. However, be sure to dilute these formulations in half with water so as not to burn the mucous membrane.
3. Use moisturizing medications that are sold in pharmacies. Many of them are based on sea soda and can be used in unlimited quantities. These are Aqualor, Dolphin, Salin, Aquamaris.
4. Give up sweets, at least for a while. After a sweet nasal congestion only intensifies.
5. Watch out for room humidity. To do this, you need to ventilate the room as often as possible, install an air humidifier, and moderate the work of radiators. Make sure that the room temperature is not higher than 24 degrees. Otherwise, the mucous membrane begins to dry out, which leads to nasal congestion.
6. Be sure to walk and walk a lot. This will allow you not only to disperse the blood throughout the body, but also to fill the oxygen deficiency that occurs with nasal congestion. It is better to walk in nature - near ponds, in a forest-park area.
7. Do breathing exercises - it will help you improve nasal breathing. To do this, squeeze one nostril, inhale a full chest, and then exhale air in small portions.
8. Effectively deal with nasal congestion will help acupressure. There are several points that should be alternately massaged in a circular motion clockwise. This is the area near the frontal sinuses on both sides of the nose, then the hollows near the wings of the nose, then the recess under the nose in the hollow above the upper lip.
9. Inhalation will help get rid of nasal congestion. If you have a nebulizer, you can use it - the device sprays the medicinal fluid into the smallest particles so that they fall directly onto the nasal mucosa. If there is no appliance, simply pour moderately hot water into the basin and cover yourself with towels on top so that you can inhale the vapors with your nose. For a greater effect, you can add a drop of Zvezdochka balm to the water. It has many plant extracts, including mint, which perfectly opens nasal breathing.
10. You can put iodine on your feet at night and put on woolen socks. This will warm your legs safely and relieve congestion.
11. It is very good to drink hot milk with honey. The combination of these useful products will allow you to get rid of the disease much faster. Drink milk with honey must be at bedtime.You can replace the drink with tea with raspberry jam, ginger and lemon, rosehip broth - these are also very effective drinks that help cope with a cold.
12. During sleep, you need to use two pillows so that the head is raised slightly above normal. This will allow the mucus from the nose to flow down, rather than blocking the nose.

With nasal congestion, it is effective to soar the legs, but during pregnancy this is strictly forbidden. Therefore, during treatment, do not resort to such measures.

If all the measures taken did not help you cope with the common cold on your own, do not wait and do not experiment. Remember, nasal congestion is not only the oxygen starvation of the fetus, but also the baby's anxiety transmitted to him from the mother. Watch your body and go to the doctor in time to breathe fully!

Video: how to relieve nasal congestion without drops