How to Treat Cough during Breastfeeding
How to treat cough during breastfeeding? Treating coughs during breastfeeding is often a confusing problem. You may be worried if the cough medicine you are taking can be passed through breast milk which can affect the baby. However, on the other hand, if the cough is not treated immediately, your baby will be at risk of contracting the cough you are experiencing.
How to Cure Cough While Breastfeeding
Actually, you can still take several types of medicine during breastfeeding, including cough medicine. However, the medicines you take can pass in small amounts into breast milk and into the baby's body. Therefore, you need to know how to choose a cough medicine that is safe for consumption during breastfeeding.
However, before deciding to use cough medicine, you can try some natural ingredients that are believed to be able to help relieve cough complaints.
How to treat cough when breastfeeding naturally
The following are some natural ways that you can do to relieve cough while breastfeeding:
1. Consuming Honey
There are various benefits offered by honey, one of which is honey can be used as a natural cough medicine that is safe for consumption during breastfeeding.
To get the benefits of honey as a cough medicine, you can consume honey directly or mix it with warm tea and lemon.
2. Consuming Pineapple
Besides honey, pineapple can also be used as a natural ingredient to treat coughs during breastfeeding. This is because pineapple contains bromelain as an antioxidant which is efficacious for relieving coughs and thinning phlegm.
3. Foods that contain probiotics
Probiotics are types of good bacteria that are found in several types of food. The foods that contain probiotics are kimchi, tempeh and yogurt. Although they don't directly cure coughs, probiotics can boost immunity. That way, cough complaints will subside more quickly.
In addition to these several ways, you are also advised to drink enough water, minimize exposure to dust and air pollution, and increase rest time so that coughs can heal faster. You can also take a warm bath to relieve coughing. The steam of warm water can help ease mucus out of the throat.
How to cure cough when breastfeeding using medicine
There are several ingredients in cough medicine that should be avoided when you are breastfeeding, including: Aspirin, Potassium Iodide, and Guaifenesin.
So far, cough medicines containing dextromethorphan are considered safe for consumption while breastfeeding. However, you should only take cough medicine containing dextromethorphan if your baby is more than 2 months old.
While breastfeeding you are also still allowed to take cough medicine with antihistamine content that does not cause drowsiness, such as decongestants, loratadine or cetirizine to relieve cold and sneezing complaints. However, antihistamines are thought to cause reduced milk production. Therefore, to be safer, before consuming cough while breastfeeding, you should first consult with your doctor.
That's how to treat cough during breastfeeding that I can write here. If the cough you are experiencing does not subside, then immediately go to the doctor to get the right treatment.
