Subject:   Common Cold         

 

 

 Rule out nasal stuffiness common to pregnancy, allergic rhinitis, and history of

nasal trauma. 

 

1.      Verify which trimester patient is in emphasizing nonpharmacologic therapy in the first trimester.

 

 

2.      Increase fluid intake; humidifier or vaporizer at bedside; if temperature exceeds 100.4 or a rash occurs, call for consultation.

 

3.      For general aches and pains and/or fever use acetaminophen.  Patients should NOT use Ibuprofen.

 

4.      For congestion use a nasal decongestant spray for <3 days at a time or pseudophedrine in the 2^nd and 3^rd trimesters.

 

5.      For rhinorhea use chlorpheniramine at bedtime.

 

6.      For sleepessness use chlorpheniramine at bedtime.

 

7.      For pharyngitis use saline nose drops and hard candies/zinc lozenges.

 

8.      For cough due to postnasal drip use a nasal decongestant spray OR pseudoephedrine in the 2^nd and 3^rd trimesters.

 

 

 

                                                                       

                                                                        Prepared in conjunction with the

                                                                        Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine

                                                                        Duke University Medical Center

 

 

                                                                        ____________________________

                                                                        Director

 

                                                                        ____________________________

                                                                        Date                

                                                                                   

 

 

 

 

 

                                                            References

 

 

1.         Spector SL.  The common cold: current therapy and natural history, Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.  95 (5 Pt 2): 1133-8, 1995 May.

 

2.         Wigle P, McNeal S, Tibbs K. Pregnancy and OTC Cough, Cold, and Analgesic Preparations. US Pharm. 2006;3:33-47

 

 

 

 

The Clinical Care Guidelines Development Committee of the Perinatal Improvement Board of Duke University Health System has developed a series of multi-disciplinary protocols to offer guidance to health care providers who are caring for pregnant women with high risk conditions.

 

These protocols are designed to assist health care providers in the management of a variety of problems that occur in pregnancy and the time of delivery. They should not be interpreted as standard of care, but instead represent only general guidelines for the care of pregnant women with high risk conditions.  We recognize that services offered by individual providers depend not only on their training, experience and institutional resources, but on the medical facts and circumstances of the specific care situation.

The protocols remain the intellectual property of the Duke University Health System.  They cannot be reproduced in whole or part without the expressed permission of the Health System.

 

These protocols are reviewed by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the Department of Pediatrics Division of Neonatology and the Department of Anesthesiology Division of Women’s Anesthesia.  Please contact Andra H. James (andra.james@duke.edu), Chair, Clinical Care Guidelines Development Committee of the Perinatal Improvement Board with ideas for additional protocols.