Four cups of tea with lemon and honey. Three garlic cloves on toast with tomato. Warm milk with honey and garlic. Kiwi fruit and mango for the vitamin C and a litre or so of water.
I still feel crappy but I think there’s been a breakthrough in my nasal passages, and I no longer sound like a broken hyena, or is it a seal. Regardless, it’s not pleasant. Apparently, being pregnant makes the common cold seem much worse than it really is, just another one of those side effects.
It’s Antibiotic Awareness Week (18-24 November), and I am at home sick with a cold and a secondary viral infection, whatever that means. The doctor said there’s a 50/50 chance of requiring antibiotics but he prescribed them anyway. 50/50 he says, well I say I’m going natural with garlic, lemon, honey, and ginger for the next couple of days.
Studies have found that bacterial infections once easy to cure have now become much more complicated due to antibiotic resistance. What happens when you really need an antibiotic and you have an antibacterial resistance? Well, you could be ill for longer and have serious complications. Thanks but not thanks.
The common cold and flu cannot be treated by antibiotics. They are viral infections not bacterial ones. Why take a dose of antibiotics when your body doesn’t really need it? I’d rather spend an extra day feeling like crap and getting better naturally than poisoning my body with unnecessary antibiotics.
Being pregnant I’m even more wary of taking any form of antibiotic or medicine. My baby consumes what I consume and I don’t want to be feeding it unnecessary drugs even if they are category A, i.e. suitable for pregnant women. I’m even hesitant with taking a Panadol for a headache, generally I’ve been enduring the pain until it becomes unbearable or goes away naturally. Fortunately, the womb protects the baby from my nasty cold. I may feel like crap but my baby is fine.
So, I’m off to the kitchen to make another cup of tea with honey and lemon, eat another clove of garlic on toast with tomato, and cook up some chicken soup while I’m at it. Later on I might build up the energy to take a walk in the park, fresh air is always good, and relax with a cup of warm milk with some squeezed garlic and tablespoon of honey in front of the telly.
Resources
Better Health – http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Antibiotic_resistant_bacteria
NPS MedicineWise – http://www.nps.org.au/medicines/infections-and-infestations/antibiotics/antibiotics-for-respiratory-tract-infections/for-individuals/what-is-antibiotic-resistance
Baby Centre – http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a542237/coughs-colds-and-flu-in-pregnancy
