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Sore throat during pregnancy
Last reviewed: 04.04.2024
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The pain in the throat during pregnancy can bother the woman for various reasons. Causes may be elementary angina, sore throat due to poor microclimate (increased dryness of the air), disruption of the immune system and other serious diseases. Read more about this.
What can be the cause of sore throats during pregnancy?
"There are many possible causes of sore throat in pregnant women - acid reflux, asthma, allergies, bacterial or fungal infections, contaminants or chemicals. But most of the pathogens in the throat are viral infections, "says Mary L. Rosser, associate professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Women's Health from Albert Einstein College. If you are pregnant, a sore throat can often be troubling due to postnatal droppers.
Acid reflux (heartburn) and sore throat in pregnant women
This is a condition where the stomach acid does not remain in its place in the stomach and creeps up into the esophagus.
Causes of Heartburn in Pregnant Women
Heartburn is a very common condition during pregnancy, because progesterone, the main pregnancy hormone, slows down the digestive system. This, combined with pressure on the stomach of a growing baby, increases the likelihood that stomach acid will rise up and cause pain in the throat.
What are the symptoms of heartburn during pregnancy?
The most common symptoms of acid reflux are a burning sensation in the throat or upper chest. You can also feel nauseous. Eating and belching in pregnant women can also be a sign of acid reflux.
Diagnostics
Most often heartburn during pregnancy is diagnosed when a woman is at rest. But if you continue to experience heartburn after pregnancy, the doctor can recommend you additional testing, including endoscopy, a test that is used to see the condition of the inside of the upper digestive tract.
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How often does heartburn occur during pregnancy?
"Heartburn is an extremely common symptom during pregnancy," says Michel Collins, assistant professor of obstetrics at Vanderbilt University. More than half of all pregnant women experience heartburn during pregnancy.
As your digestion slows down, you have less room in your stomach, so acid sneaks into the esophagus. This causes pain in the throat due to too acidic environment, which includes toxic hydrochloric acid.
How can acid reflux of a pregnant mother affect a child's future?
Heartburn should not affect the baby in any way. And do not listen to tales that your child will be born hairy if you have heartburn. This is not true.
Asthma and sore throat in pregnant women
Asthma is a potentially serious lung disease. During an asthma attack, the woman's airways are partially blocked, limiting the flow of air and oxygen circulation throughout the body.
Causes of Asthma in Pregnant Women
Asthma, as a rule, is a hereditary disease. So if your mom and aunt had asthma, you probably were born with a penchant for this disease. The impact of some viral infections and allergens in early childhood also leads to asthma.
What are the symptoms of asthma during pregnancy?
The most common signs of asthma are wheezing, shortness of breath and a feeling of tightness in the chest. A persistent cough that usually worries at night or early in the morning (when a pregnant woman may be cold) can also be a sign of asthma. Due to the fact that a woman coughs or suffocates during an attack of asthma, she may have sore throat due to irritation of the mucous membrane.
Diagnosis of asthma in pregnant women
If your doctor suspects a woman of asthma (or if she previously suffered from asthma), he will recommend the following tests: Allergen test Spirometry (research of the function of upper respiration organs) Measurement of the expiratory volume within 1 second and the volume of the lungs, which is called their vital capacity . They are judged on how bronchial tubes are used. Radiography of the chest (in this method determine the degree of transparency of the lungs and their tendency to proliferation of connective tissue)
How often does asthma occur during pregnancy?
About 4 to 8 percent of pregnant women suffer from asthma.
How does the asthma of a pregnant mother affect a child's future?
Do not worry - as long as you manage your condition during pregnancy and keep it under control, chances are great that the baby will be born healthy. But if asthma is poorly controlled during pregnancy, your child is likely to have little weight at birth and / or will be born too soon.
"What is very, very important and responsible during pregnancy is to be sure that the baby is getting enough oxygen," says Rebecca Kolp, MD, obstetrician-gynecologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. - If you do not breathe oxygen in normal quantities, your baby will not get enough oxygen, so controlling asthma is especially important for moms. Then you can cope with the pain in the throat for asthma attacks. "
Allergy during pregnancy and sore throat
Whether it's food allergy or hay fever, it's very important to know how to cope with this during pregnancy. What medications can I take? What are the risks for the child? How to cope with sore throat during allergy during pregnancy?
What is an allergy during pregnancy?
It is perfectly normal (and useful!) For the mother during pregnancy to be able to recognize the presence of a harmful foreign agent in the body in time. At this time, the body declares a total war against the "invader", which is not so bad. This is just a signal from the body that it is necessary to remove an object that irritates the body and does not allow the organs of the future mother and the baby's organism to function normally.
What are the causes of allergy in pregnant women?
Some women are genetically predisposed to allergies. In others, the allergy develops because of the constant and frequent exposure of allergens.
What are the signs of an allergy during pregnancy?
Nasal congestion, sneezing, watery eyes, itching, pain and choking in the throat are the main signs of an allergy, there is also hay fever. Other types of allergies can also cause urticaria - cones, itching, face swelling or itching and reddening of the entire body or some of its areas.
Diagnosis of allergies during pregnancy
Sometimes an allergy is diagnosed after her symptoms are manifested. Or if you have a suspicion that the body is not reacting to anything correctly. (For example, if you develop swelling after taking antibiotics, then, most likely, you are allergic to these antibiotics.)
But sometimes it's unclear symptoms that are difficult to diagnose, so an allergist can be recommended an allergy test. Skin testing - a mirror testing for allergens. If your skin reacts with redness or itching on anything, you are allergic to this substance. Testing can be carried out on single allergens or complex.
How common are allergies during pregnancy?
Allergy during pregnancy is quite common. About 20 percent of women, or one in five, suffer from allergies during pregnancy.
How does the mother's allergy affect the child's future?
If your mother has severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), which interfere with breathing during pregnancy and cause pain in the throat, your child does not get it down. But in the future he may have allergic reactions - after birth.
Nausea and sore throat in pregnant women
Nausea during pregnancy can also cause frequent sore throats, as often accompanied by vomiting reflexes. Vomit irritates the mucous throat, so there are pain. But can this be a sign of something more serious?
What can cause nausea during pregnancy?
At the beginning of pregnancy, a woman may experience morning sickness - nausea, and this condition is caused by new hormones that are secreted during pregnancy. Usually, nausea is manifested in the worst case between 6 and 14 weeks of gestation. Nausea, vomiting and sore throat for these reasons are also quite common in the last few weeks of pregnancy and may even be a symptom of premature birth.
Nausea can be a sign of serious illnesses such as pre-eclampsia, hemolysis due to elevated liver enzymes and low platelet counts. Nausea and sore throat in pregnant women can occur due to a syndrome of stomach upset or a symptom of poisoning.
When should I see a doctor?
If you experience severe vomiting and the fluid does not stay with you for more than one day, and the body is very dehydrated, be sure to consult a doctor. Whatever the reasons for your malaise that accompany pain in the throat during pregnancy, you should not joke with these conditions. It is better once again to see a doctor and check the severity of the symptoms of sore throat during pregnancy in order to prevent negative consequences.
When should I see a doctor with a sore throat during pregnancy?
If your symptoms are very severe or last more than 24 hours, consult your doctor.
How to treat sore throat during pregnancy?
Try first natural remedies, such as rinsing the throat with salt water or warm water mixed with honey and lemon, and if they do not help, you can take paracetamol from the pain in the throat. With more serious symptoms that accompany the sore throat - nausea, weakness, high fever - consult a doctor. Treatment of pain in the throat during pregnancy depends primarily on the causes - the diseases that cause this pain. Let's look at each of the diseases and its symptoms in more detail.