When I had my first OB appointment with Dr. G, he gave me a bunch of literature on pregnancy including a yellow sheet with over the counter medicines I could take safely during my pregnancy. Now, with a cough lasting three days and getting especially worse this morning, I decided to start my day at Urgent Care. As I was there early, I was the second patient signed in. The triage nurse had me put on a mask and gown.
The cough had started ironically the evening of my last OB visit, so it wasn’t something Dr. G could examine me for. Some online reading had convinced me that Ocean Saline Nasal Spray would be safe so I bought some and then after I kept reading about it was scared it might hurt the baby instead, so all I took was soup – including chicken noodle and drank warm water throughout the day.
This morning my cough which had been productive in yellow mucous yesterday and mostly clear today, was so bad I was wheezing and felt like I’d stop breathing for a moment, and that’s when I decided I would stop using the Internet as my physician and would go to Urgent Care.
The one I went to was the one where I’d been for a cough treatment and it was there that Doctor T. had confirmed my pregnancy tests were correct. The triage nurse agreed it was a good idea to get checked out, though I don’t know if he would have told a patient s/he was being overly cautious in coming by. My vitals were great so I took a picture to show Dr. G and for this blog.
Dr. S was very through in her assessment and exam. She told me to stop using the Internet as a source of medical information, which I agree is a great idea. She looked at the list Dr. G had given me and suggested I take the nasal spray I had as it was very safe and Robutussin DM for cough, or a generic equivalent. After listening to my lungs which amazing sounded clear to her (especially as I had a mini coughing fit during the breathe deeply part of the exam), she declared that luckily it was just a viral cold and not the flu, which would have been more dangerous for baby. This made me extra glad that I had had the flu shot weeks before.
I figured it would be easy to choose the DM medicine and then I saw this shelf at the store.
After going through many choices and unable to buy DM that didn’t say for cough and chest congestion selected a generic that was alcohol free and non drowsy. I’ve had one dose of spray and DM, and I’m already feeling a bit better. I’m so glad Urgent Care was an option to keep baby and I healthy.
~ Danielle
Over 40 First Time Mom 