Sinus Pressure Relief During Pregnancy

As a pregnant woman, you're probably being very conscious of everything that you put into your body---from the vitamins you take to the foods you eat. Physical problems, such as sinus pain or pressure, that might have been relieved with a quick trip to the medicine chest now makes you pause and wonder: Will the thing that helps me hurt my baby? If you have sinus pressure while you're pregnant, you don't have to suffer: You can find relief and protect your baby at the same time.

Steam

• For many years, people have turned to steam for help in relieving sinus pain and pressure. Steam is all natural and doesn't contain medications that might affect your baby.

  The quickest way to get steam for sinus relief is a steamy shower. Make sure it's not too hot if you're going to stand under the spray. However, you can also turn on the shower and close the bathroom door to create a sauna-like atmosphere. Breathe deeply and let the moisture work its way into your sinuses to relieve the pressure.

  You can get the same effect and use less water by heating a kettle or pot of water on the stove. Cover your head and the steaming pot with a cloth or towel---you'll make a mini-sauna that holds the helpful steam inside.

Saline Sprays

• For sinus-pressure relief on the go, get a bottle of saline spray. Several brands are available. Each squeeze delivers a measured amount of saline water into your sinuses. Because saline is just salt water, it is harmless to you and your baby. Saline sprays can be used whenever you need relief from sinus pain or pressure, unlike medicated nasal sprays that can be used only once every six to 12 hours (and may be addictive).

Nasal Irrigation

• In 2007, researchers from the University of Michigan found that nasal irrigation was more effective in providing long-term relief to sinus sufferers than saline sprays. So if you're really stuffed up, you should consider using another natural, but ancient, remedy: the neti pot. Once exclusively in the realm of ayurvedic medicine, the neti pot is a means of nasal irrigation, or washing out the sinuses with a mild saline solution.

  The pot's easy to use: Fill it with warm water and add the pre-measured, pre-mixed solution. Stand over your sink, tilt your head, and gently pour the solution from the pot into your upper nostril. The solution will fill your sinuses and drip out of your lower nostril. After you repeat the process, filling your sinuses through the other nostril, you'll feel much better.

  If you have difficulty with pouring from the neti pot, try a squeeze-type nasal irrigator instead. They use the same solution and produce the same results.