What are some cold and allergy treatments you can do while breastfeeding?

You don’t have to be miserable when you’re breastfeeding your child and you get a cold or allergies. Here are some suggestions for remedies compatible with breastfeeding. From KellyMom.com

Let’s talk about natural remedies first. Rest, drink lots of water, and get more sleep (is that possible with a newborn? Ask me how!), vitamin C, Echinacea, raw garlic, homeopathic remedies, and OMT osteopathic manipulation are all considered safe for nursing mothers.

Saline nasal sprays, steam treatments and eucalyptus essential oils are safe treatments for head congestion. Cayenne pepper and fenugreek also help with head congestion. And you thought fenugreek was only for increasing milk production!

For chest congestion herbal anise steam treatments and fenugreek tea are also helpful.

What about for a sore throat and cough? There are safe treatments for you as well! Strong black tea, hot lemonade with honey, fenugreek tea, zinc lozenges, salt water gargle or apple cider vinegar gargle, slippery elm bark and chamomile tea are all good an safe options to relieve the throat symptoms. No one wants to deal with a cough when you are trying to slip a sleeping baby into his or her crib at night.

If the natural remedies fail to sooth your symptoms and you need to call on medication, take care to only treat the symptoms you have and avoid combination medicine. Also choose shorter acting drugs over long lasting ones. Use nasal medicine instead of oral if possible and take medicine after you nurse and only when you need it to minimize any exposure to your baby through breastmilk.

Avoid menthol, in cough drops and other sources such as diffusing essential oil as it can decrease milk production.

Pain medicines that are acceptable are: Advil, Tylenol, Aleve and aspirin. Eye drops are also considered safe. Nasal sprays are also considered safe when breastfeeding.

Decongestants pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine are generally considered to be safe for the breastfed baby, but pseudoephedrine may reduce milk supply.

Antihistamines, such as Benadryl are also considered safe for breastfeeding mothers; however, non-sedating ones such as Claritin and Zyrtec are preferred. There is no indication that antihistamines will lower milk supply. So here’s to a happy breastfeeding mama free from annoying allergy symptoms!

If in doubt always contact you baby’s pediatrician or your favorite lactation consultant for specific guidance when treating your cold or allergy symptoms.