Pregnant women often experience an increase in nasal congestion, which can lead to a sinus infection, according to drspock.com. This can start as a cold, but if symptoms last longer than a few days, speaking with a doctor to get the right kind and amount of medication to treat the symptoms. The U.S. Department of Agriculture assigns medications a risk category in terms of their potential to harm an unborn baby. A woman who is pregnant should be sure to only take medications deemed safe to use while pregnant.
Acetaminophen
Drspock.com notes that a sinus infection that causes pain or a fever can be treated with acetaminophen, better known as Tylenol. This pain reliever and fever reducer carries a B risk for an unborn baby. According to drspock.com, a fever during pregnancy should always be treated because it can lead to birth defects. To relieve pain or fever due to a sinus infection during pregnancy a woman should always stick to the dosage on the package or as prescribed by her doctor, according to Baby Center.
Antibiotics
A sinus infection that is caused by bacteria will need to be treated with antibiotics, says the Mayo Clinic. Antibiotics deemed safe during pregnancy include amoxicillin, ampicillin, clindamycin, erthromycin and penicillin. However, the Mayo Clinic cautions that there is not much research on the safety of antibiotics during pregnancy and recommends that a woman follow her doctor's advice if taking them. They also say that more research is being done to determine the causes that antibiotics could have on an unborn baby.
Sudafed
Taking Sudafed is only recommended when the benefits of doing so outweigh the risks, according to drspock.com. Sudafed is used to treat nasal congestion associated with sinus infections during pregnancy, but it is a C risk drug so women are cautioned to only use it when absolutely necessary. This drug can be bought over the counter and the drspock.com website recommends avoiding it during the first trimester.
