Common Health Questions

This information only applies to full-term, healthy babies. Further advice should be sought if your breastfed baby is premature, has a low birth weight, or has an underlying medical condition.

The majority of coughs and colds will get better on their own, and medicines do not always help to speed up the recovery process. Symptoms can often be relieved with simple measures, such as rest, drinking plenty of fluids, taking an over-the-counter (OTC) painkiller, such as paracetamol, and inhaling steam. These measures are the preferred choice if you are breastfeeding.

What ingredients do cough and cold remedies contain?

Products sold for the treatment of coughs and colds usually contain several ingredients, each intended to ease a different symptom. It is recommended that the individual medicines are used for specific symptoms. However, some people prefer to take combined medicines..

If you are going to take a combined cough or cold remedy, it is important that you read the manufacturer's leaflet carefully, so that you know exactly what ingredients the medication contains.

Most combined medicines for coughs and colds contain two, or more, of the ingredients listed below.

• Antihistamines: to dry up a runny nose, and help you to sleep.
• Decongestants: to relieve stuffiness.
• Cough suppressants: to relieve a dry, tickly cough.
• Cough expectorants: to aid a 'chesty' cough, by making the mucus easier to cough up.
• Painkillers.
• Antipyretics: to reduce fever.
• Vitamin C: which may help to reduce the length of a cold, or cough.

Antihistamines

Antihistamines are not recommended during breastfeeding because they can cause your baby to become irritable and drowsy, which can interfere with their normal sleeping patterns. Diphenhydramine, triprolidine and promethazine are the antihistamines that are most commonly found in cough and cold remedies.

Decongestants

The use of decongestants is generally not recommended during breastfeeding. This is because they can interfere with the production of breast milk.

Pseudoephedrine, phenylephrine, and phenylpropanolamine are the decongestants that are most commonly found in cough and cold remedies..

Cough suppressants

Most cough suppressants contain either pholcodine, or dextromethorphan. Dextromethorphan is known to be safe to use during breastfeeding, but there it is still uncertainty as to whether pholcodine is safe to use, so it should be avoided.

There is limited evidence as to whether cough suppressants are actually effective in the long-term. Coughing is a way of getting rid of excess mucus in your respiratory system, so by suppressing a cough, you may be actually prolonging your symptoms. Thereogre, it may be more effective to drink plenty of fluids and inhale steam to treat the symptoms of a dry cough.

Cough expectorants

Most cough expectorants contain guaifenesin, or a combination of glycerine and honey linctus. There is not enough evidence to say whether guaifenesin is safe or not during breastfeeding, so its use it not recommended.

Glycerin and honey linctus is considered safe to take when you are breastfeeding.

Painkillers and antipyretics

The preferred painkiller to use during breastfeeding is paracetamol because it has been proven to be safe. However, you should not take aspirin during breastfeeding because there is a small risk of your baby experiencing adverse effects, such as their blood becoming thinner. This could cause them to bleed more easily.

Paracetamol can also be used to help reduce a temperature, so you should also use paracetamol if you require an antipyretic while breastfeeding.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C may help to prevent colds, or a cough, but there is no evidence that taking it after the onset of a cold, or cough, will help to fight the associated symptoms. Therefore, the use of vitamin C to treat a cold, or a cough, is not recommended, whether you are breastfeeding or not.

If you wish to take vitamin C during pregnancy, it is safe to do so as long as you follow the manufacturer's, or supplier's guidelines regarding the recommended daily amount that you should take.