20 Weeks Pregnant and Constantly Stuffed Up

for the allergies my midwife told me to take a teaspoon of honey made by local bees a day you can usually find it at a health food store. i also used breathe right strips at night to help me breathe while i slept.

I was the same way and got major relief from nasal irrigation or some call it the neti-pot. They sell them at Walgreens or on-line. Just type in nasal irrigation.
It was a life saver and I still do it. I used to get major sinus headaches and it provided instant relief.
Good luck!

I never had or have allergies; however, I was stuffed up during my first pregnancy. Dr. said it was due to pregnancy. Anyway, ask your dr. if it is ok to use Vicks vapor rub. I used it when I was pregnant but do remember something on the label about do not use if pregnant or on newborns (duh!). Not sure if they are just doing a CYA or if there is a problem with it. But if you can I would sit in a warm shower (not bath) and rub the Vicks right under and around my nose. I know they tell you not to, but it clears up your breathing soooo well. It may sting, especially if your nose is raw from blowing. They also have plug ins with menthol that weren't around when I was pregnant but I have used when kids are sick. I think they are made by Vicks or Sudafed or the like. You can find in drugstores/walmart etc. Again be sure to ask the dr. Mine also told me that regular sudafed, was ok. Not the 12 hour kind, or anything fancy just regular red tabs. I would take 1 (I think he told me to take 2), every 4-6 hours when I needed to. Funny thing I also found that helped was a couple of sips of soda (with caffine). Good luck, I think my stuffiness got better after the 7th month??

im sorry to hear your neti pot isnt working, ive been thinking about getting one, i have allergies and am all stuffed up and pregnant too!

have you tried boiling a pot of eucalyptus leaves? me and my hubby used to do that when we it was allergy season. you can probably get them at any natural market.
its like those holiday simmer potpourris, the scent is all around your home only it will help with your congestion as well.

i personally enjoy eating spicy food when im congested! it helps a lot! i will add some raw onion and spicy mustard to my sandwich, or eat some peppers on a pizza, you know things like that.

please, try the eucalyptus leaves and let me know if it works for you!

I feel you! Here's what I did!

1. Humidifier in the room
2. Saline spray or Neti Pot
3. Breathe Right Strips are amazing!! I used to wear the clear ones during the day if I was at home and not going anywhere
4. Vicks Vapo rub under my nose at night...Grandma trick she taught me
5. Either vicks waterless vapo plug-in or vicks strips/drops for the humidifier at night.

I had very bad allergies for the first 15 weeks and then, all of a sudden nothing. Make sure you are staying hydrated and if you need homepathic help beyond that make sure you check with you OBGYN first before you take it.

I use this now and it's awesome.

http://www.hylands.com/products/allergy.php

Congrats and good luck!

Hi A.-

Congratulations!! The second that I found out I was pregnant I seemed to be stuffed up. I was fine during the day but couldn't breathe at night. The Breathe Right strips were my sleep saver!! Also, I didn't know about it at the time that I was pregnant but my family now uses Neil Med sinus rinse. It was recommended to us by our Dr. and should be totally safe while pregnant.

Good Luck!

Hi A.,

I went through most of the remedies listed previously. I had horrendous allergies when I was pregnant and still a chronic allergy sufferer. I wanted to be all natural, so went down the list of nearly everything everyone here has recommended. My OB said sudafed was safe but I'm allergic to that too and was concerned about the baby. He finally convinced me to take children's Benadryl melts. It was the only thing that made any headway. It doesn't take care of it completely, but it made functioning much more bearable. Most people think of allergies as a nuisance but don't understand how bad it can get. If your allergies are anything like mine, I feel for you and wish you the best of luck in getting through this time. Oh, and FYI, I now have a very healthy and happy 3 1/2 year old boy who's never had any issues due to my taking the children's benadryl allergy melts. Take care, S.

I'm not taking the time to read the responses so sorry if this is repetitive. i just had to write because I have allergies and don't use any drugs. I use Boiron homeopathic "Allergy" thingies and saline (water with salt) if it's really bad. I've given many people the homeopathic stuff and it works great for everyone. They're so surprised because they're used to using the heavier stuff.

There is a product called ClearGaurd that is an organic plant based supplement made by Nutrilite that promotes clear nasal passages. My husband has been using it since it came out and he has been able to cut down a lot on his use of nasal spray etc. you can get it as www.we-us.mychoices.biz

It has a money back gaurantee too.

try eucalyptus oil on your chest and/or pillow, vicks vapor rub is also great. Make sure to take a hot shower or bath once or twice a day. Mint tea is also helpful. Good luck!

I was the same way, totally stuffed up to where I could barely breathe. It got worse as my due date got closer. My OB sent me to an ENT who said that if I really needed it, it would be okay to use nose spray once a day. I would always use it at night to help me sleep but a few weeks before delivering, I had to use it twice a day. My baby was born a month ago and he was totally fine. A day or so after you deliver, you should be able to breathe normally again. I had to push through the contractions, breathing through my mouth only...it was so annoying so I totally understand what you're going through. It's one of those things that no one ever tells you about pregnancy (for some people). I also tried the neti pot with breathing strips at night which helped but after a while it wasn't enough.

I had the same problem during my last pregnancy. (I have 8 week old twins). I don't remember the problem being so severe with my daughter 5 years ago. This time I often felt like I was suffocating because I couldn't breathe out of my nose. This caused me to breathe out of my mouth, in turn causing a dry mouth. I needed to get up all night long to drink water for my dry mouth. I tried nasal sprays and such, but nothing really helped, other than having the babies. I no longer have the problem with stuffiness, other than that related to my allergies.

I don't like taking medications unless I have to when I'm not pregnant and even more so when I am. But my allergies this season have been really bad (I also have asthma and allergy triggered migraines). I asked my midwife what is safe to take and was told Zyrtec and Claritin are both safe. I take Zyrtec. I only take a tablet once in a while when symptoms get too severe to handle. I find that I take one and I get relief for several days from the worst of the symptoms as well, even though they say it's only good for 24 hours. Maybe it's just that it takes time for everything to build up again. Don't feel bad if you have to take something every so often.

I recently heard that saline (salt water) squirted into the nose helps without using meds. I haven't needed to try it yet so let me know if you do and if it works. Good luck.

Hi A.,

I would try a saline nose spray and try to sleep with your head propped up a little. What kind of prenatals are you taking? Shaklee (#1 natural nutrition company in the U.S.) has the best vitamins called VitaLea. You might also want to take a some alfalfa and a probiotic supplement (aids the digestive track and works in conjunction with the immune system.) Everything that Shaklee makes is safe and effective. They do over 350 quality control tests per product each year. I love this company because I can trust that my family is taking the purest and most natural supplements for our health. Another thing that most people don't realize is that the cleaners we use in our house have a huge negative effect on allergies and our health, especiall for children. Shaklee has a non-toxic, natural line of cleaning products called Get Clean that are amazing. You can check out these products and more at www.shaklee.net/greennutrition and you can always contact me for questions. Hope this helps and good luck.

C.

Hello A.,
I did have this problem with my first pregnancy and the only thing the doc's said to use was Sudafed. It really just didn't work well enough and I was afraid of taking it too regularly.
I now use Ocean irrigation and nasal spray. It keeps the sinuses clear and moistened. I had bloody noses a lot with my first pregancy and wish the product was available then. I hope this helps. It's all natural salt water saline. It works really well though. Warm showers to loosen it all up before you use the product works well too.
Good luck!
~~D.

I also get a stuffy nose when I am pregnant. I didn't do anything. as soon as I delivered I could breathe and taste food. It is another one of those "nifty' changes our bodies go through.

Antronex is so safe. I used it and so many friends of mine have as well. I took, while pregnant, 7 in the am and 2 every hour until the symptoms were gone. Allergies are a sign that the liver is congested....of course, it's not going to be to the extent that they show up on a blood test. Milk thistle can help as well....but I would combo it with 2-3 PB8 each day. Vitamin C with bioflavinoids are also natural anti-histimines.

I would be cautious of sudafed.

Ditto. Neti pot.
If done regularly, it can really help.
Pregnancy often exacerbates current conditions.
When I was pregnant with my 2nd child, my asthma flared up big time. But I found out, pregnancy can do this per asthma.

If anything, ask your OB/GYN.

take care,
Susan

"Breathe Right" strips worked great for me! You can buy them at any drug store and are safe and drug free. Hang in there- it's a frustrating feeling to be so stuffed up.

I believe a product called Afrin is safe for when you are pregnant (but of course ask your OBGYN). It works really well, but you can't use it for any longer than 2 or 3 days. Good luck!

Hi:

You might want to look into having your allergies eliminated via NAET. This method does not involve any medicines or putting anything foreign into your body. I have had many allergies cured as have two of my grandchildren. NAET is a combination of Western and Eastern medicine. I go to Dr. David Karaba in Fullerton at the East West Medical Group and absolutely think the world of him.

Best wishes,

M.