Tonsillitis during pregnancy
The risk of getting tonsillitis during pregnancy remains for any woman. Indeed, during the period of carrying a child, she is not isolated from society, continues to visit crowded places and go to work until she goes on maternity leave. If the disease does arise, you need to know what treatment methods will get rid of tonsillitis without harming the health of the mother and child.
Content:
- Symptoms of tonsillitis during pregnancy
- Treatment of tonsillitis during pregnancy
Symptoms of tonsillitis during pregnancy
Tonsillitis is an inflammation of the tonsils. It can be acute or chronic. If a pregnant woman gets tonsillitis, she needs especially high-quality and timely treatment. The infection is most often caused by staphylococci and streptococci, which are deposited in the tissues of the tonsils, and in the future with the blood flow can spread throughout the body. But even if this does not happen, the results of the vital activity of bacteria only in the tonsils negatively affect the bearing of the child and the health of the mother.
Symptoms that indicate acute tonsillitis:
- Severe sore throat that gets worse when swallowing.
- Muscle aches.
- Chills.
- Increased body temperature.
- General weakness.
- Hyperemia of the tonsil tissue, their swelling, the appearance of plugs and white plaque on their surface.
As for the chronic form of the disease, it will manifest itself with such symptoms as a periodic increase in body temperature, a sore throat, weakness unmotivated by objective reasons. Often it is not possible to independently determine chronic tonsillitis, but when contacting a doctor, the picture of the disease manifests itself. The otolaryngologist visualizes the loose tissue of the tonsils in a woman, as well as the presence of caseous-purulent plugs in their folds (gaps). If chronic tonsillitis worsens, then the woman begins to worry about all the symptoms characteristic of the acute stage of the disease.
Tonsillitis is a threat to a woman's health. If pathogenic bacteria begin to spread throughout the body with the blood stream, then they are capable of infecting vital organs such as the heart and kidneys. There are frequent cases of joint inflammation against the background of untreated acute tonsillitis.
If you ignore the symptoms of tonsillitis during pregnancy, then the disease can provoke late toxicosis, the onset of early labor and even miscarriage.
Treatment of tonsillitis during pregnancy
If a woman knows about the presence of chronic tonsillitis, then she should get rid of the disease while planning pregnancy. Treatment is reduced to washing the lacunae of the tonsils and undergoing physiotherapy procedures.
If chronic tonsillitis was diagnosed during gestation, then not always a woman needs intensive care. But you should be prepared for the fact that the disease may worsen.
When acute tonsillitis begins to develop unexpectedly, you should not panic. You just need to report your illness to the doctor and follow his recommendations.
During the acute stage of tonsillitis, you need to stay at home and adhere to bed rest. Limiting physical activity will allow the body to gather strength and direct them to fight inflammation.
Nutrition should be complete. Food should be boiled well, best of all until puree. This will prevent injury to the inflamed tonsils. A prerequisite for a speedy recovery is the use of large volumes of fluid. You can drink not only clean water without gas, but also fruit drinks, compotes, rosehip broth, tea.
Antibacterial therapy. Acute tonsillitis requires antibiotics. Of course, during pregnancy it is undesirable to take antibacterial drugs, but the harm that a disease can cause to the body is much higher than the harm that can be caused by drugs.
Almost all instructions for antibiotics indicate that they should be prescribed with caution during pregnancy. Therefore, the independent use of any drugs is unacceptable.
While carrying a child, it is possible to take antibacterial agents from the following groups:
- Protected and unprotected penicillins: Amoxicillin, Flemoxin Solutab, Amoxiclav, Ampicillin, etc.
- Macrolides such as Josamycin or Azithromycin.
- Cephalosporins such as Cefadroxil or Cefuroxime.
Antibiotics of the latest generations have minimal toxicity, therefore they are considered practically safe for health. This makes it possible to use them to treat pregnant women and children. However, there must be a compelling justification for taking these drugs. It is worth remembering that there are antibacterial drugs that are strictly prohibited during pregnancy, among them, for example, Biseptol, Streptomycin, Tetracycline, Levomycetin, etc. They can disrupt the embryonic development of the fetus, so they are not prescribed for the treatment of pregnant women.
Symptomatic treatment. In case of inflammation of the tonsils, be sure to gargle. To do this, use a soda solution. Take one teaspoon of powder in a glass of warm water.
You can breathe in vapors of medicinal herbs such as chamomile. Also, for rinsing the throat, it is allowed to use pharmaceutical solutions, including Miramistin, Chlorhexidine, Chlorophyllipt. During the gargling, the tonsils are mechanically cleansed of mucus, which helps to reduce the number of bacteria and speed up recovery.
Sore throat can be relieved with lozenges. They are aimed specifically at alleviating the patient's condition, and not at getting rid of her tonsillitis.
If a woman has a very high body temperature, then antipyretic drugs, for example, Ibuprofen or Paracetamol, can be used. However, before taking the first time, you should consult a doctor.
Treatment of tonsillitis under constant medical supervision is safe for both mother and child. Therefore, you should not refuse to undergo therapy. It should be taken into account that the absence of treatment can lead to serious health problems for both the woman and the child.
The author of the article: Lazarev Oleg Vladimirovich | ENT
Education: In 2009, he received a diploma in the specialty "General Medicine" at the Petrozavodsk State University. After completing an internship at the Murmansk Regional Clinical Hospital, he received a diploma in Otorhinolaryngology (2010)
