What can you take for a sore throat while pregnant?

What can you take for a sore throat while pregnant?

Sometimes pregnancy would make a woman’s treatment a little complicated because the treatment includes the lives of two or more persons. Actually, your immune system is always suppressed when you’re pregnant. And that implies that you’re not to take in all types of medications or drugs.

Also, not all foods will work well for you as some may negatively impact your fetus’s growth. Of course, your fetus’ life would depend on most of your activities and what to eat or drink.

But, to take care of your fetus, you must ensure your health and comfort are upheld. Therefore, it’s necessary to diagnose and appropriately treat any potential infections you may develop during your pregnancy. That includes sore throats.

In this article, we’ve provided a detailed insight into a sore throat and everything you need to while treating a sore throat during pregnancy.

First, let’s find more about sore throat:

Understanding sore throat

Sore throats may be an indication of infections that might result in severe health situations and discomfort. And I believe there have been situations where you feel some pain in your throat while swallowing food or drinks. That could have been a sore throat.

So, what is a sore throat?

A sore throat is a bacterial infection that causes a dry, scratchy, and painful feeling or irritation at the back of your throat. The pain or the discomfort would vary as some may be mild while others may be severe.

What causes throat?

Sore throats can result from several things: environmental irritants and dry gas, pregnancy hormones to a virus, strep, and other bacterial infections.

Other causes include:

• Chemotherapy effects
• Chemical irritations and allergies from smoke or tear gas

How do you know you have a sore throat?

You can watch out for the following signs and symptoms. However, you should know that the symptoms would vary depending on the cause.

Here are the common symptoms of sore throat.

• Scratchy, burning throat
• Dry, itchy, and irritating throat
• Sneezing and running nose
• Body aches and headaches
• Nasal congestion
• Swollen glands in your neck
• Fever
• Hoarse voice
• Loss of appetite
• Red throat or tonsils that hurt when you swallow or talk

Something that worth mentioning is, among the common causes of sore throat, there exists strep throat, which is most common in pregnant women.

Strep throat and pregnancy

So, what’s strep throat?

It’s a bacterial infection of the throat that is caused by streptococcus bacteria. It comes suddenly, resulting in inflammation of the throat. It then quickly worsens and irritates within some two-three days. If the condition is not treated, it can cause severe health complications.

In addition to the sore throat symptoms, you may experience some rash and increased tiredness if you have strep throat. And sometimes, you may have white patches on your tonsils.

But how would a pregnant woman get strep throat?

As stated by the Centers for Disease Controls and Preventions, once you’re infected, group A streptococcus bacteria lives in your nose and throat. That implies that when an infected person coughs and sneezes around or closer to you, your chances of contracting the bacteria are high.

Also, your chances of getting sick are high if:

You get into contact with the bacteria droplets and touch your mouth or nose. Or when you happen to have touched any sores of the skin caused by the bacteria. Plus, if you share utensils with the infected persons

Is sore throat dangerous during pregnancy?

Some sore throats would be on and disappear by themselves; such sore throat would not be dangerous. On the other hand, there could be a sore throat that may cause more discomfort, and you should consider checking with your doctor.

For instance, you may be having strep throat, which may lead to severe complications if not diagnosed and treated at early stages.

Of course, the severe complications may not be familiar, but if they happen, then you may experience:

• Sinus and ear infections
• Kidney failure or post-streptococcus glomerulonephritis
• Pockets of pus around your tonsils
• Heart disease, also known as rheumatic fever

If you’re pregnant and you think you may have a sore throat, it would be better if you could visit or check with your doctor for precaution and reassurance. Please never assume any sore throat that persists for more than five days because it may be strep throat and, if not treated, would cause severe medical complications to you and your fetus.

How can you reduce Sore throat while pregnant?

You must always watch your medications while you’re pregnant. You’re not just to take any drugs because it may be hard to know if the medication you use is safe for your fetus/baby/. And some drugs would increase your chances of congenital disabilities.

To reduce or treat sore throat during pregnancy, you can:

Use over-the-counter medications and pain relievers like acetaminophen, naproxen, and ibuprofen. Usually, doctors would advise you to take penicillin and some safe antibiotics.

You can also use sore throat sprays and lozenges to help soothe or numb the scratchy pain in your throat. Here are some sprays you can use;

• Phenol-which is made with Chloraseptic ingredients with high numbing effects.
• Glycerin such as pectin, which is a demulcent product and will coat your throat to prevent irritation.
• Benzocaine- an anesthetic spray that is often used to numb areas during surgical procedures.

You can also apply some home remedies to help manage your sore throat or ease your throat irritation and discomfort.

Here are home remedies to treat sore throat while pregnant:

Gargle with warm salt water- saltwater gargling is a remedy for several health conditions, like mouth pain, bleeding gums, and mouth sores. It’s also helpful in treating discomfort like sore throats, among other health benefits of saltwater gargles.

Also, ensure you stay hydrated and get plenty of rest to allow your pain to heal. Besides, consider the type of foods or drinks you take because some of them would worsen your sore throat situation.

What can you take for sore throat while pregnant?

With irritation and discomfort at your throat, not every food or drink would be helpful, and some may even worsen your pain. In other words, you should take what will help reduce your sore throat pain

So, it would be better if you mind what you eat and drink while pregnant, and here are some of the foods to take plus those you must avoid.

Foods to take for sore throat while pregnant:

Ginger and lemon

The irritation and discomfort in your throat may result from the inflammation of the throat tissue, which sometimes would be more often. Therefore, ginger being an anti-inflammatory substance, will help reduce the swelling, pain discomfort in your throat.

Also, taking in lemon would help break up your throat’s mucus layer to soothe your irritation and discomfort your throat. In addition, lemons are full of vitamin C that would boost your immune fighting mechanism to battle sore throat infections.

Finally, both ginger and lemons would help open up your sinuses and clear mucus from your nose and throat. Therefore, you can solve ginger, water, and lemon and drink for quicker pain relief.

Consider taking smoothies

It would help if you can make smoothies of fresh fruits and vegetables for excellent sore throat treatment. First, they are non-processed foods that are immune-boosting and help your body fight infections, including those in your sore throat.

Therefore, you can make smoothies by blending banana, orange, ginger and combining them with leafy vegetables like broccoli and folic, among others delicious or highly soothing and refreshing mixture of smoothies.

Take a concoction of apple cider and vinegar.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a mixture of apple cider vinegar (ACV) has both antibacterial, antivirus, and antifungal properties. Its antibacterial properties would help soothe any bacteria sore throat.

On the other hand, the antiviral properties ensure you control sore throats due to viral infections. Thus, immediately you experience a sore throat. You can prepare a concoction of ACV and gargle it for faster pain, irritation, and discomfort relief.

Package your meals with sage .

Sage is among the different herbs and spices that can help pack extra and healthy flavors into your meals. It adds flavor to your meals while boosting your meals’ antiseptic, antibacterial, and astringent properties. That implies that packaging your meals with sage would not only add flavor but also bring healing or soothing properties to your sores.

You can also:

Take scrambled eggs- they are rich in protein required by your body for tissue repairs as it would fasten your painful healing process.

Take oatmeal- ensure you only take those meals that are easy to swallow. Or meals that won’t cause irritation and discomfort at your throat, and oatmeal are the best. They contain zinc, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, and folate that would initiate your body’s detoxification process to eliminate waste and infection from your body.

With the ideas of what foods you need to take for your sore throat while pregnant, you should also ensure you avoid:

Conclusion

It’s practically common to experience some illness while you’re pregnant because your immune system would be lowered so that your body can accommodate your developing baby. A lower immune would mean you’re more susceptible to infections like a sore throat.

However, if you experience a sore throat while pregnant, you must be careful of what you take regarding the treatment, foods, and drinks. Some treatment methods and meals may worsen your sore throat conditions and cause you more harm than benefits. You must, therefore, take in foods and medications that help soothe and relieve you of the irritation and discomfort of scratchy, dry, sore throat.