Angina during pregnancy: how dangerous, how to treat, consequences

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Angina is a rather unpleasant and painful disease in itself, which is accompanied by inflammation of the tonsils, fever and general weakness of the body. This is an infectious disease that is often diagnosed in childhood, but it does not always bypass adults. Angina during pregnancy is not the most common, but not the rarest phenomenon, the woman's body during this period is very vulnerable, since it devotes most of its strength to the development of the fetus.

Typology of disease

The etiology of the disease can be viral and bacterial, transmitted by airborne droplets, as well as through household items and personal hygiene. Bacterial tonsillitis is considered the most common, its causative agents are most often staphylococci.

In medical practice, it is customary to distinguish several types of tonsillitis:

• Catarrhal angina - there is no white or yellow coating on the tonsils, they are covered with mucus.
• Purulent tonsillitis, which is divided into follicular, lacunar and necrotic.

WhenPregnancy purulent tonsillitis is the most common type of disease, almost 75% of cases are named for it. You can diagnose yourself at home, but after that, immediately consult a doctor to protect your he alth and the he alth of the unborn baby.

Disease symptoms

In the early stages, a sore throat during pregnancy can be confused with other diseases, but the symptoms indicate only one thing, that the body needs competent medical help.

General symptoms:

• Loss of appetite, chills, weakness.
• Cervical and submandibular lymph nodes increase in size (painful on palpation).
• White or yellow coating on the tonsils.
• Fever, headache, sweating.
• Swallowing is accompanied by pain.

It is worth noting separately that some types of sore throats have their own signs:

1. Follicular tonsillitis, common during pregnancy, is accompanied by the formation of white and yellow dots on the tonsils. The foci of inflammation are painful and are the accumulation of the main sources of inflammation.
2. Necrotic type of sore throat rarely appears on its own, most often it is a complication of another disease. The main feature is the death of tonsil cells, which requires serious medical treatment.
3. Lacunar purulent tonsillitis is characterized by the formation of a film on the inflamed tonsils, which completely covers them. This becomes the area of main inflammation.

Angina during pregnancy is especially dangerous in the earlyterms. If left untreated, it can cause complications in the heart, kidneys and joints, which will also affect the development of the fetus.

Angina in the 1st trimester

During pregnancy in the first trimester, angina can greatly affect the development of the fetus. It is in the first three months that the formation and development of the main organs of the baby takes place, and the elevated temperature and the painful state of the mother lead to oxygen starvation and intoxication. In the most severe cases, medically necessary abortions have to be resorted to due to pathological consequences for the fetus.

It is very important to establish the cause of the expectant mother's ailment in a timely manner and prescribe a course of treatment in order to protect the baby from irreversible consequences and cure the woman with the least damage to the bearing of the fetus.

Angina during pregnancy after the 1st trimester

Angina during pregnancy in the second trimester, and even more so in the third, is not able to provoke malformations in the development of the child, since all its organs have already been formed. However, this does not mean that treatment can be taken lightly.

Angina during pregnancy at a later date is fraught with the development of complications that threaten hypoxia for the unborn baby, and also increase the risk of premature birth. Treatment of tonsillitis from the 4th to the 6th month of pregnancy can have an adverse effect on the mother's body, and therefore on the body of the unborn child.

It is for this reason that it is worthwhile to approach the choice of drugs with extreme caution andonly together with the attending physician.

Treatment of tonsillitis during pregnancy

The period of pregnancy is the most exciting and difficult in the life of any woman. The treatment of possible infectious diseases is greatly complicated by the fact that not all medications can be prescribed to the expectant mother.

What is the danger of angina during pregnancy, we discussed above, now it is important to find out how it can be treated with the least possible consequences for the he alth of the mother and child. First of all, the expectant mother must strictly observe bed rest, excess activity will only harm he alth.

Antibiotics

The most common method of combating angina is a course of antibiotics. The period of pregnancy is no exception, but is accompanied by nuances that the attending physician should carefully consider.

Before prescribing antibiotics for angina, a pregnant woman should have all the necessary tests taken, the doctor should have a complete picture of the course of pregnancy and the general he alth of the mother.

Bioporox (in the form of a spray) is recognized as the most common drug today, it has a local effect, is practically not absorbed into the bloodstream and does not affect the baby. Microparticles of the drug enter the throat and descend into the respiratory tract, where they exert their therapeutic effect.

There are other antibiotics that are often prescribed to treat sore throats. Often the doctor has toweigh the risk to the baby against the potential he alth benefit to the mother. The use of a number of drugs is allowed only if the positive effect is many times greater than the possible damage to the child's he alth.

Antiseptics

Only the attending physician can determine how to treat angina in each case. In addition to the course of antibiotics, topical antiseptic preparations are prescribed in the form of rinses, lozenges, or a solution for lubricating the tonsils.

Pills primarily have an analgesic effect on the sore throat, while simultaneously coping with the bacteria that have settled in it. This form of treatment is prescribed quite often, but absorbable pills alone cannot cope with the disease.

A solution for gargling helps to remove unpleasant painful plaque from the tonsils. The choice of a drug should be handled by a doctor, taking into account the individual characteristics of the woman's body. There are many options in modern medicine, but self-medication is not allowed, especially during pregnancy.

For example, the well-known Lugol's solution, which is recommended in most cases for the treatment of angina, is contraindicated for use during pregnancy.

Solution for self-treatment of tonsils is designed to remove unpleasant plaque. A piece of cotton wool wound on a stick is moistened in the product and gently rubbed with it on the tonsil. The process is rather painstaking and not very convenient, so more often these solutions are alsoused as mouth and throat rinses.

Antipyretics

Angina is often accompanied by an increase in body temperature, which contributes to the development of fever. Women are wondering how to bring down the fever so as not to harm themselves and the child.

There are a wide range of antipyretics that are designed to do just that, but most of them have adverse effects on the fetus. So, for example, the well-known "Nurofen" can provoke premature birth.

By what means and how to treat a sore throat, only a doctor can determine. Prescription of additional drugs is justified only in cases where the benefit to the mother outweighs the risk to the baby.

There is an unspoken rule in medical practice. If the temperature of a pregnant woman does not exceed 38.5 degrees, then antipyretics are not prescribed. Doctors recommend drinking more raspberry tea, doing special body rubs and using other folk remedies approved by a specialist.

Medicines are used only at higher temperatures that last a long time.

Diet for angina

In addition to the methods of dealing with the disease described above, a woman should carefully monitor her diet. Angina is accompanied by loss of appetite, but during pregnancy, good nutrition for a weakened body is necessary.

There are a number of simple recommendations:

• Avoid solid foods that are hard to swallow with a sore throat.
• In the early stages of the disease, add to the dietchicken broth.
• All food should not be too hot, spicy or sour.
• Food should be easily digestible.
• Use vegetable juices from carrots, cucumbers and beets.
• No carbonated drinks.
• Exclude sour cream, yogurt, fried foods from the diet.

As soon as the disease begins to recede, it is recommended to sit on fruit for several days, which will not overload the body, but will supply it with the missing vitamins and trace elements.

Complications after sore throat

Having considered the methods of dealing with the disease, one cannot fail to mention the possible consequences and complications.

Oddly enough, but angina is most easily tolerated in the first weeks of pregnancy, when the mother's body has not yet had time to rebuild and successfully develop antibodies to fight the infection.

The end of the first trimester is recognized as the most dangerous, when the fetus is not yet sufficiently protected, and viruses and bacteria are quietly transferred through the bloodstream, leading to septic poisoning of the body.

Among the most dangerous consequences of a sore throat are:

1. Intensification of the intensity of toxicosis, the development of preeclampsia.
2. Placental abruption, which threatens with complications in the development of the baby's organs and systems.
3. Miscarriage.
4. Fast development of the fetus in the womb.

At the end of pregnancy, despite the sufficient development of the child, the protection of the mother's body weakens, as the forces are exhausted. That is why you should carefully monitor your he alth at the crucial stage of bearing a child.

Angina can provoke the development of a number of comorbidities:

1. Meningitis.
2. Sepsis.
3. Kidney inflammation.
4. Inflammation of the lymph nodes.
5. Abscess.
6. Failure of labor activity.

Prevention of angina

Prevention of angina is necessary, because it is much easier to prevent the development of the disease than to get rid of it later.

Doctors give pregnant women the following advice:

• Conduct regular strengthening of immunity.
• Follow nasal breathing.
• Treat your teeth in time.
• Give up bad habits.
• Adjust diet.
• Be moderately active.
• Avoid hypothermia, do not drink ice-cold drinks.

The rules are very simple, but they should not be neglected in order to reduce the risk of developing an unpleasant and dangerous disease.