How to get rid of nasal congestion during pregnancy

Pregnancy is a time of increased attention and care for women to their own body. After all, the development and growth of the fetus in the womb depends on her health. In order not to harm the child, a woman should carefully monitor her condition and, if any change occurs, consult a doctor. 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 rhinitis during pregnancy, as well as get acquainted with safe ways to get rid of nasal congestion.

Causes of nasal congestion during pregnancy

A pregnant woman is the same person who responds 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 precisely because of some changes in the body of a woman caused by pregnancy. Consider these cases in more detail.

1. Virus. The most common cause of rhinitis during pregnancy and without it is a virus, that is, ARVI. In this case, nasal congestion occurs rapidly, accompanied by other symptoms - coughing, nasal discharge, fever, red throat.
2. Bacterial infection. If the causative agent of rhinitis is a bacterium, then the picture will be slightly worse - the secreted mucus from the nose becomes not just transparent, but thick and yellow and green. High fever, intoxication, and headache are common symptoms of a bacterial infection.
3. Allergy. Allergies can also cause nasal congestion. It is necessary to analyze the time and cause of allergy, to identify the allergen. It could be pollen, a pillow, food, animal dander — anything. In case of allergy, additional symptoms appear - tearing, redness of the eyes, itching in the nose.
4. Rhinitis pregnant. In this case, an increase in adenoids and nasal congestion occurs due to hormonal alteration of the woman's body. Vasomotor rhinitis in pregnant women is characterized by the absence of additional symptoms and a satisfactory general well-being.

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

How to treat nasal congestion during pregnancy

If the congestion is due to a bacterial infection, antibiotics are not enough. It is very important not to engage in amateur activities and consult a doctor so that he can prescribe a preparation safe for the fetus. Probiotics are taken along with the antibiotic to avoid dysbiosis. During severe nasal congestion, you can use vasoconstrictor drops that are acceptable during pregnancy, for example, Sanorin, Naphthyzin, Farial.Be sure to read the instructions before use, because many similar drugs can not be used when carrying a child. Remember, vasoconstrictor agents should not be used for more than five days. Cure the nose will help the drug on the basis of oils and plant extracts - Pinosol. It is effective and safe.

When allergic nature of rhinitis need to take antihistamines. They will relieve symptoms of congestion. Antihistamines should be used at the beginning of a cold even to those who do not suffer from allergies - medications help relieve mucosal edema and open nasal breathing. Among the acceptable medications include Claritin, Cetirizine. You can also use sprays and drops from allergies for local action. In any case, taking any medications must be agreed with the 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. Washing is one of the most effective and completely harmless means against nasal congestion.Rinse the nose with the help of a teapot - attach the nose to one nostril and turn your head so that water flows out of the second nostril. You can rinse the nose with a syringe, as well as simply drawing in the water of the nostrils. This will help to remove the swelling of the adenoids, wash viruses and allergens from the mucous membrane. Flushing is very effective and as a preventive measure - flush the nose after visiting crowded places so as not to get sick. As a liquid for washing, you can use a weak salt solution, decoctions of chamomile and calendula, sea water (soda, salt and iodine).
2. It is very effective to treat the runny nose and nasal congestion with popular 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 compounds in half with water so as not to burn the mucous.
3. Use moisturizing drug formulations that are sold in pharmacies. Many of them are based on sea soda and can be used in unlimited quantities. This is Aqualore, Dolphin, Salin, Aquamaris.
4. Give up sweet, at least for a while. After sweet stuffiness only gets worse.
5. Keep track of the humidity in the room. To do this, as often as possible, ventilate the room, install a humidifier, temper the work of radiators. Ensure that the air temperature in the room is not higher than 24 degrees. Otherwise, the mucous membrane begins to dry up, which leads to nasal congestion.
6. Be sure to walk a lot and walk. This will allow you not only to disperse the blood in the body, but also to compensate for the oxygen deficiency that occurs when the nose is blocked. It is better to walk in nature - near water bodies, in a forest-park zone.
7. Do breathing exercises - it will help you improve nasal breathing. To do this, hold one nostril, inhale full chest, and then exhale the air in small portions.
8. Acupressure helps to effectively cope with nasal congestion. There are several points that should be alternately massaged in a circular motion in a clockwise direction. This is the area near the frontal sinuses on both sides of the nose, then the depression near the wings of the nose, then the deepening under the nose in the hollow above the upper lip.
9. Get rid of nasal congestion will help inhalation. If you have a nebulizer, you can use it - the device disperses the medicinal fluid into the smallest particles so that they fall directly on the nasal mucosa.If there is no appliance, just pour moderately hot water into the basin and cover it with the top of the towels so as to inhale the vapors. For greater effect, you can add a drop of balm "Star" to the water. There are a lot of herbal extracts in it, including mint, which perfectly opens nasal breathing.
10. You can smear your feet with iodine for the night and wear wool socks. It warms up the feet safely and relieves 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 sure before bedtime. Drink can be replaced with tea with raspberry jam, ginger and lemon, broth hips - these are also very effective drinks that help to cope with the common cold.
12. During sleep, you need to use two pillows so that the head was raised a little higher than usual. This will allow the mucus from the nose to flow down, rather than laying the nose.

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

If all the measures taken did not help you cope with the 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 anxiety of the baby, transmitted to him from the mother. Watch your body and go to the doctor in time to breathe deeply!

Video: how to remove nasal congestion without drops