Treatment of colds while breastfeeding

Acute infectious diseases of viral origin, popularly called colds, cause a lot of trouble for nursing mothers. Women after childbirth and with abundant milk production experience a high load on the body, and it becomes quite difficult for them to resist the invasion of viruses. Failures in the health of a nursing mother affect not only her own condition, but also the well-being of the baby. To recover as quickly as possible without harming the baby is not such an easy task, because only a few medications can be taken during lactation. In this case, great care must be taken, given that some drugs will definitely pass into breast milk.

Treatment of the mother and interruption of breastfeeding

The first and most common mistake that inexperienced mothers are in a hurry to make when suffering from acute respiratory infections is to temporarily wean the baby from the breast and feed artificial formula. Breast milk contains antibodies that the mother's body produced while fighting the virus and will help the baby not get sick.

It is necessary to interrupt breastfeeding only in case of a very serious illness when a doctor prescribes medications that are prohibited for infants.

In a typical case, signs of acute respiratory infections include: general weakness, accompanied by nasal congestion, runny nose, sore or sore throat, watery eyes, cough and fever. When you first suspect a disease, you must wear a disposable medical mask to reduce the risk of your baby getting sick, and do not forget to change it at least every 2 hours.

Antiviral drugs for mothers

An antiviral agent must be chosen with extreme caution, because it should not only cure the mother, but also not harm the child. There is no need to independently determine which antiviral drugs can be used for acute respiratory infections. In order to avoid dangerous consequences, you must consult a doctor.

When a doctor prescribes antiviral drugs, you must follow the prescription exactly and not exceed the required dosage. Self-medication can aggravate the situation and harm the child.

There is a list of drugs that should not be used by nursing mothers, despite their effectiveness:

Remantadine;
Ribavirin;
Arbidol;
Groprinosin;
Amizon;
Amiksin.

These antiviral drugs are unacceptable for nursing mothers, as they cause side effects that can also affect the baby.

There are antiviral drugs approved for use while breastfeeding, but their list is very limited. During the feeding period, interferon-based drugs are the safest. In this case, preference should be given to those medications that are based on only one active ingredient, for example:

Laferobion;
Grippferon;
Viferon.

Which of these medications will be safer for mother and child, the attending physician must say.

Treatment of cold symptoms

Treatment agents should be as gentle and safe as possible. During lactation, there are no contraindications for thermal procedures, including mustard plasters, hot baths for hands and feet, and inhalation with herbal infusions. Do not forget about gargling with herbal decoctions and a weak solution of vinegar. Lubricating the throat mucosa with Lugol's or Iodinol solution will help. It is important to rinse the nose using ready-made solutions of Aquamaris, Salin or Humer. After rinsing the nasal passages, drip Kalanchoe juice and roll a hard-boiled egg over your nose.

If, despite all measures, the nose remains severely stuffy and breathing is difficult, use vasoconstrictor drugs Nazivin, Vibrocil.

Use herbal decoctions for oral use with caution, they can cause an allergic reaction in the baby. It is safer to use one-component decoctions, for example, from chamomile, because if a child develops an allergy, it will become clear what exactly he reacted to. Treatment with honey and its derivatives should also be carried out carefully, adding it little by little to tea or milk.

When a nursing mother coughs, herbal syrups are usually prescribed - Gedelix, Bronchicum, Breast Elixir.

Is it possible to treat colds while breastfeeding?

“A cold, scientifically, an acute respiratory viral infection or ARVI for short, is the most common inflammatory disease of the upper respiratory system, developing as a result of a pneumotropic virus entering the body by airborne droplets,” I read in the reference book, and nervously began to look for the page where it was I wish there was at least something written about how to treat colds while breastfeeding.
I quickly ran my eyes: “newborns, as well as children under one year old who are breastfed, have very good immunity, which they acquire from their mother, ... take precautions, ... use traditional medicine, ... you can avoid infecting the child.” So, this is already something, I thought, and began to study the problem of the disease and lactation in more detail. It turned out that treating colds while breastfeeding with medication is almost impossible. Antiviral drugs are not allowed, vasoconstrictor drops are also not allowed, antipyretics are contraindicated, and antibiotics are not even worth thinking about. Making a choice between treating a cold and breastfeeding, I decided that I would still feed Alenka, no matter what, because she is only a month old. Moreover, all medical professionals declare the high role of breast milk in the development of the child’s immune system. Also, microorganisms transmitted to a newborn with milk from a sick mother play the role of an immunomodulator or vaccination, that is, they form immunity in the child. That is why, in the event of another illness, the baby who ate mother’s milk during the first illness copes with the new illness more easily and quickly. Therefore, you should not give up breastfeeding. And you especially shouldn’t do this if the child has already become infected from the mother. The only exception is a severe form of ARVI with the development of various complications, for which a course of antibiotics is prescribed. And even in this case, it turns out that you need to give up breastfeeding just for a while. You can feed your baby formula for a while while giving him probiotics. And breast milk should be expressed so that lactation does not stop completely until the course of treatment is completed.

Temperature

Elevated body temperature does not always need to be reduced, remembering that it helps the body overcome a viral infection. But if the mother has a difficult temperature, she must take an antipyretic, and it is best if it is based on paracetamol.

Treatment is considered acceptable if carried out in doses of 1 tablet 3 times a day. Long-term use, more than 3 days, is undesirable. Drugs like Analgin and Baralgin are allowed to be taken only once; they can be used as emergency measures if nothing else is at hand.

Progression of infection

A cold in a nursing mother follows the “standard scenario”, therefore the disease in this category of patients is also not considered dangerous and usually goes away quite quickly.

However, women who breastfeed are thought to be particularly susceptible to respiratory infections. This is due to increased work of the whole body and a slightly reduced immune system. What are the main stages of ARVI?

Penetration. Infection with the virus occurs after inhalation of viral particles contained in the wet secretions of infected people. Pathogenic microorganisms most often settle on the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx and begin to “replicate themselves.”
Manifestation of symptoms. The period from viral infection to the appearance of the first signs takes approximately 2-3 days. Then a runny nose occurs, the nasal passages become blocked, the throat begins to hurt, and the temperature rises. Coughing will appear a little later, when wet secretions accumulate in the respiratory tract.
Immune system response . It usually occurs on the third day after the onset of the infectious disease. The mother’s body begins to produce interferons - a special group of protein substances that are secreted by organisms in response to the introduction of viral particles. Around the fifth day, antibodies to the virus are produced.
Recovery. Patients recover in 6-9 days. If, even after a week of illness, the condition of a nursing woman does not improve, we can talk about a complication - for example, the connection of bacterial agents to a viral infection.

Most people get multiple colds throughout the year, but they rarely go to the doctor. But a cold while breastfeeding is a special situation, since the woman is also responsible for the child.

Mom should definitely consult a doctor for qualified help for herself and her baby.

Treatment of bacterial infection

It happens that a bacterial infection joins a viral infection, and it can only be defeated with the help of antibiotics. Taking these drugs without a doctor's prescription during lactation is strictly unacceptable.

Treatment of colds while breastfeeding

A nursing mother should know that some antibiotics are approved for use while breastfeeding, while others are absolutely contraindicated.

— The use of antibiotics from the penicillin group, cephalosporins and macrolides is acceptable.

— Tetracyclines, chloramphenicol, fluoroquinolone derivatives, and metronidazole are prohibited. When prescribing such drugs, breastfeeding must be suspended, while continuing to express milk so that it does not disappear.

It is not possible to resume breastfeeding immediately after stopping the antibiotic, because the drug is contained in milk for several more days.

When taking medications and breastfeeding at the same time, you need to calculate when the maximum concentration of the active substance occurs in the blood and, accordingly, in milk. Knowing this time, you can reduce the amount of the drug that gets into the child.

In any case, if you are sick and cannot be cured without pills, consult an additional pediatrician you trust. By listening to his advice, you will protect yourself and your child from unwanted consequences.

♦ Category: Women's health.

Antiviral drugs in Russia

The Russian antiviral drug market is incredibly wide. And this has long caused skepticism among the scientific community in our country. According to Candidate of Medical Sciences Kirill Danishevsky, even the products recommended by the Ministry of Health rarely demonstrate effectiveness.

The main problem with most drugs is the lack of the required number of clinical trials. If in Europe the term “antiviral drug” can only be used to describe something that has undergone several dozen examinations, then in Russia drugs that have been tested no more than five times easily reach pharmacies. “From a scientific point of view, this is absolutely frivolous,” comments Kirill Danishevsky.

What antiviral drugs can a nursing mother use during lactation? Let's look at popular products for their effectiveness.

Prohibited drugs

“To date, not a single remedy has been created that would be truly effective against infectious diseases of the upper respiratory tract,” notes gynecologist, candidate of medical sciences Svetlana Vavilonskaya. “Moreover, most of these drugs cannot be used in the treatment of ARVI during breastfeeding.”

Among the products not approved for use, doctors note the following.

"Remantadine." It is used in the treatment of influenza, but during lactation it poses the first risk of danger to the child. According to the international directory of medicines E-LACTANCIA, it is prohibited for sale in Spain.
"Ribavirin". A drug with a high risk of danger during lactation. Used in the treatment of hepatitis C. The E-LACTANCIA reference book notes that safer alternatives should be used.
"Arbidol". This antiviral drug is prohibited for use during breastfeeding due to the lack of a scientific basis for compatibility with lactation. The specifics of its effect on a child have not been studied; the drug is not registered in most countries of the world. According to the President of the Society of Evidence-Based Medicine Specialists, Professor Vasily Vlasov, research on Arbidol does not allow it to be considered a drug with proven effectiveness in the treatment of acute respiratory infections and influenza. A similar drug based on the active substance umifenovir was denied registration in the United States.
"Groprinosin". There is no data about him in international sources. The specific effects on the child during breastfeeding have not been studied.
"Amizon." Cannot be used as an antiviral during lactation. Included in the group of non-narcotic analgesics based on iodine, which have immunomodulatory and antipyretic properties.
"Amiksin". A drug from the group of interferon synthesis inducers. There is no data on its compatibility with lactation. It has not been registered in developed countries; the effect on infants has not been determined.

Despite the fact that some of these drugs, according to reviews, demonstrate some effectiveness at the beginning of treatment, they cannot be used as antiviral drugs during lactation.

Homeopathic remedies

It is customary to classify homeopathic medicines as a separate unit in medicine. Official science does not recognize them, reducing the effect of taking drops or tablets to a “placebo”. That is, their action, positive or neutral, is based solely on the patient’s belief in their power.

It is up to the nursing mother to decide whether to take them or not. They cannot cause any harm for the simple reason that there is either no active substance in them at all, or its content is so small that it can not be taken into account. But allergic reactions are quite possible. And when taking alcohol solutions, you can expect a decrease in lactation.

Among the well-known drugs of the homeopathic spectrum, the following are distinguished.

"Aflubin." Alcohol-based drops or tablets. Contains gentian, aconite, iron phosphate, lactic acid, bryonia dioecious in a volume of D1-D12. The probability of containing at least one molecule of a medicinal substance in a preparation tends to zero.
"Engystol". Homeopathic tablets containing vincetoxicum hirundinaria in the amount of D6-D30 and sulfur in the amount of D4-D10. This amount is even less than in the drug “Aflubin”.
"Oscillococcinum". Development of the French laboratory "Boiron". The composition uses the internal organs of the Barbary duck: extracts of the heart and liver. The manufacturer insists on the effectiveness of its drug, based on the fact that the duck is a typical carrier of influenza viruses in the wild. Accordingly, infinitesimal doses of its organs should be effective against infectious diseases. It is difficult to say anything regarding the veracity of these statements, especially since the manufacturer itself does not report the mechanism of action of the drug, nor does it provide scientific data on the peculiarities of the influence of duck organs on human immunity.
"Anaferon". A Russian-made drug for the treatment of acute respiratory infections and influenza. The manufacturer notes its effectiveness due to the use of unique manufacturing technology. It involves immunizing rabbits with human interferon, as a result of which antibodies to the virus are produced in the animals' blood. These antibodies are isolated from the blood, repeatedly and sequentially dissolved up to fifty times with water and alcohol. As a result, in the solution itself the ratio of active substance to liquid is 1:99. The volume of active ingredient indicated by the manufacturer is 10-24, which actually means its complete absence in the product.

Modern science does not prohibit the treatment of ARVI during lactation with homeopathic remedies. However, a breastfeeding woman should be aware of the complete lack of evidence on their effectiveness. The World Health Organization warns that trusting your health to homeopathic medicines when treating viral diseases is dangerous.

Allowed means

The list of drugs with antiviral activity approved for use during lactation is extremely limited. However, they exist. These are drugs based on recombinant human interferon alpha.

Approved antiviral for nursing mothers:

"Laferobion";
"Grippferon";
"Viferon".

According to the E-LACTANCIA medicinal reference book, human alpha interferon is used in the treatment of hepatitis groups B and C, and leukemia. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not object to its use in the treatment of a nursing mother. The composition of the drugs is similar to the substance that is present in breast milk. And provides natural immunization of the child. Excretion into milk is minimal.