Natural Treatments for Colds, Flus and Coughs During Pregnancy

While it’s exciting to get pregnant, and you spend hours thinking about meeting your little one, unfortunately, pregnancy itself can be a physically uncomfortable time. This is particularly the case if you get sick and are unable to utilize the types of medical treatments you normally would.

Thankfully, though, there are steps you can take to feel better when you contract things like colds, flu, and coughs during your pregnancy. Read on for some natural treatment options.

Get More Rest

It’s vital that you get as much rest as possible. This is important any time you’re ill but particularly when you’re pregnant. Your body needs you to get enough sleep, so it can heal more quickly.

Unfortunately, with coughs, colds, and flu, many people find it hard to sleep through the night, which makes them even more tired and sick. Combat this with lots of smaller naps during the day, and sit or lie down to relax at other times, even if you can’t fall asleep. Think of it as a chance to catch up on your favorite books or Netflix series before the baby comes!

Combat Throat Pain

Sore throats are a regular symptom of colds and flu. If you’re struck down with throat pain, there are things you can do to feel better naturally, from the comfort of your own home. Search online for the best throat pain home remedy, for instance, and you’ll find that one of the most common suggestions is to gargle with salt water.

This option isn’t the nicest tasting, but gargling salted warm water can help ease the pain. In addition, you can try things like sucking on ice chips or using throat lozenges or cough drops (the cough drops can be helpful if your throat soreness is exacerbated from lots of coughing).

Eat the Right Foods

Even though you probably won’t be particularly hungry when you’re sick, it’s necessary to keep your strength up. Even if you find it too hard to stomach larger meals, you should be able to eat smaller portions more often. Just make sure you’re eating the right foods, though. For example, good options include soups (there’s nothing quite like chicken soup when you’re sick) or broths, which are light but help you to get much-needed nutrients. They can also be soothing on a sore throat.

Other foods that can help because of their antibacterial and antiviral properties include Asian mushrooms (think reishi and shitake) and coconut oil. Raw honey is also helpful. Try to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, which are full of vitamins and minerals that will help fight off sickness, too, like vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin D, selenium and zinc.

Stay Hydrated

Dehydration is a real concern in pregnant women, so stay hydrated if you want to get better quickly. Stick with mostly clear liquids like coconut water, which will boost your electrolytes, as well as filtered water and raw apple cider vinegar diluted in water, which helps to alkalinize the body and make it harder for bugs to survive. Fresh juice and green smoothies can also help you to get more vitamins and minerals into your body when you have a cold or flu.

Of course, tea is an excellent drink to have when you’re combatting illness and need to get more fluids into your body. Choose decaffeinated options such as peppermint, ginger or chamomile, or have some tea or hot water with lemon and honey.

Ease Congestion

If you’re suffering from bad nasal congestion due to a cold or flu, take natural steps to ease it. For example, saline nose drops (which are safe for use during pregnancy) can help clear your nose out; just place a few drops in each nostril, wait around 10 minutes, and then blow your nose.
To help you sleep and breathe easier, utilize chest rubs (such as eucalyptus-based ones) and steam vaporizers or humidifiers to moisturize the air in your home and ease chest congestion.

Avoid Getting Sick in the First Place

One of the best action plans is to avoid getting sick in the first place. There are numerous ways to help yourself stay healthy. For example, make sure your home is clean, so bugs can’t linger, and wash your hands often. In particular, if you have been out and about touching bacteria-laden things like shopping carts, handrails and the like, be careful not to touch your nose, mouth or food before you wash your hands.

Also, steer clear of other people who may be sick with colds, flus and coughs, so there is less likelihood you’ll pick anything up from them. Being healthy in general will also help you to be more resistant to bugs.