Dayquil (cold medicine)

[Leids]

I came down with a nasty cold yesterday, so I called the on-call pediatrician and asked if dayquil was fine for breastfeeding. He told me it was. I did some research on the individual ingredients in the medicine and they were all relatively safe. I decided to take it at night time after he had gone to bed, because it would be 8 hours before I fed him again anyway so it would be out of my system.

Lo and behold, he wakes up. I walked him around, rocked him, sang to him, put him in the carrier and he just won't fall asleep. He started rooting and fussing. He doesn't generally get fussy for milk, but he was really whining up a storm. I put some frozen milk in a sippy cup (he usually does sippy because he refuses the bottle) and he just got even more pissed off. I tried spoon feeding him the milk, and he locked his lips together and gave me the meanest look ever.

Basically, I tried everything! Anyways - I ended up feeding him, 4 hours after I took the medicine. I feel really bad, because I see a lot of people online saying absolutely not. There are others saying it's okay, and there are some saying that their doctors said it was alright as well. I hate all of these differing opinions.

This is what's in dayquil:
Acetaminophen (325 mg)
Dextromethorphan (10 mg)
Phenylephrine (5 mg)

Everything I read says the amount that would actually get into the milk would be negligible. I can't help but be paranoid though. It sucks because the dayquil didn't even do anything for me. I'm still absolutely miserable with a cold and am unable to sleep.

Has anyone had experience with this? Has anyone taken anything like this before or been told it's alright by your doc? Even though I got it okay'ed I still feel like a bad mom for some reason. :\

 

[Lownthwaite]

You are NOT a bad mummy at all! You are a poorly mummy who needs to feel better.

I've posted a link below for you to have a nosey at.

https://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/meds/cold-remedy/

This website is amazing for everything breastfeeding.

Personally I would avoid the Dayquil. Your doctor is correct in that the medication is generally safe in the levels of which it gets into your milk but I was always told to avoid decongestants (which Phenylephrine is) as they are known to reduce milk supply. I know the website says there is no evidence that this particular type of decongestant reduces supply but as it is well known in alot of other decongestants I, personally, never took the risk.

There are lots of natural ways to help relieve cold and flu syptoms that will not affect BF at all - see the website. I always swear by hot lemonade as a decongestant. Hope you're feeling better soon.