Traditionally, the expectant mother is concerned about the question of when toxicosis will end during pregnancy, and what harm can it bring the baby?
To answer, we will consider what changes occur in the woman’s body, and what provokes intoxication reactions.
Toxicosis – literally means poisoning, the penetration of toxic substances into the blood.
This is not only a common symptom of pregnancy, but also a sign of exposure to any (food, industrial, chemical) poison, and an indicator of internal intoxication (for example, with cancerous tumors or diabetes).
Toxicosis manifests itself as a classic reaction to eliminate poisons. Its first symptoms are nausea and vomiting. Diarrhea, pains in the upper abdomen, bad breath, coated tongue, heartburn are also possible. As a rule, there is no appetite and sleep disturbance.
Symptoms of early manifestation
Toxicosis during pregnancy is a complex of pathological changes in the body, in which toxic substances enter the bloodstream. The digestive organs are connected to the removal of poisons, as a result of which their work is disrupted. Despite the widespread spread of intoxications, their appearance during pregnancy is not the norm, but pathology. Distinguish between early toxicosis (in the first three months of pregnancy) and late (in the last two months of gestation).
Toxicosis during early pregnancy is accompanied by nausea and heartburn. The source of poisons are their own organs and tissues.
In addition to nausea, the following symptoms appear:
- vomiting
- diarrhea;
- increased release of saliva in the oral cavity (the composition of salivary secretion differs in bactericidal properties, therefore, in case of poisoning, its amount increases);
- increased vaginal discharge of mucus;
- dermatitis and skin rashes (such manifestations occur when internal organs can not cope with the flow of toxins, skin integrates to their elimination).
To understand how to get rid of toxicosis in early pregnancy, we analyze the causes of its occurrence.
Why does toxicosis occur during pregnancy?
Doctors argue about the causes of intoxication during pregnancy. Different theories are used here (adaptation of the body, changes in the hormonal background, formation of the placenta). So, one of the probable reasons is the development of the placenta, which until the 4th month of pregnancy is accompanied by the release of toxic components into the mother’s blood.
Another theory suggests that a fetus growing in the womb can be perceived as a foreign body and be attacked by the mother’s immune system, followed by the formation of toxic components.
Alternative medicine explains toxicosis in the first half of pregnancy by self-cleaning of the body. The onset of pregnancy stimulates the release of toxins that the mother kept in the liver, kidneys and other internal organs. In a state of increased stress, internal organs release part of the toxins into the blood and intestines for further excretion. So the symptoms of intoxication are formed.
If a woman was healthy before pregnancy, ate natural foods, drank clean water and breathed clean air, she would not have any toxic symptoms during pregnancy. For her, the question “how to get rid of toxicosis during pregnancy” does not arise.
For most women who live in industrial centers, daily poisoning by emissions from industrial enterprises and vehicles is the norm. In addition, eating habits play an important role: often the use of sausages, smoked meats, fast foods with synthetic additives pollutes the body, creates the conditions for diseases and future toxicosis.
Psychological reasons often provoke intoxication: unwillingness to give birth to a child, doubts about the advisability of pregnancy.
Timing: when toxicosis occurs during pregnancy
The timing of manifestations of internal intoxication is individual. In some women, nausea occurs from the first day of pregnancy and is a sure sign of conception. For others, unpleasant sensations begin only after 4 weeks, at the beginning of the second month of development of the baby.
It is impossible to unequivocally answer the question “at what week does toxicosis begin during pregnancy”. However, you can tentatively determine when the unpleasant state will end. As a rule, in most women, nausea and the urge to vomit subside in the third month and completely end by the fourth month of gestation.
By this time, a number of processes end in the mother’s body:
- Reactions cleaning the internal organs.
- The hormonal background is leveled.
- The formation of the placenta ends, and it ceases to supply toxins to the mother’s blood.
- The developing fetus is no longer attacked by the mother’s immune system.
The degree of toxic effects and their consequences
There are three degrees of toxic manifestations:
- Mild: slight nausea in the morning, urge to vomit (without subsequent vomiting), slight malaise (in the morning), increased salivation, rejection of certain odors. With mild manifestations, treatment of toxicosis in early pregnancy is passive: diet, enemas, drinking mineral water, rest.
- Medium: Unwell during the day. Vomiting (1 to 4 times a day).
- Severe: repeated vomiting, pressure surges, dehydration, smell of acetone. This type of toxicosis requires treatment at any time during pregnancy.
The heavier the sensations, the more the future mother is concerned about the question – when does the toxicosis pass during pregnancy?
Severe toxicosis does not go away on its own, exhaust a woman and leave her no strength for subsequent births. Therefore, timely treatment allows you to prepare for the baby’s birth process.
What other complications may arise with severe or prolonged intoxication?
What consequences may arise
So, we found out at what period of pregnancy toxicosis begins, and when it should end. And now let’s talk about why it is necessary to seek medical help for severe or prolonged intoxications.
In severe cases, the liver and kidneys of the body are affected. Disturbed water-electrolyte metabolism and the balance of acid-base balance. There is a smell of acetone from the mouth.
In addition, the absorption of nutrients that are necessary for the mother and the growing baby is impaired. Therefore, one of the consequences of toxicosis is the loss of minerals, followed by osteoporosis and spasms of the calf muscles.
The lack of minerals in food is offset by the bones and teeth of the mother. As a result, the tissues of the musculoskeletal system and teeth become soft, vulnerable. Caries appears or intensifies, injuries and fractures with minor loads become possible.
Late toxicosis during pregnancy
Late toxicosis appears in the last two months of gestation. They are distinguished by a complex course and serious complications: edema, increased blood pressure, protein in the urine.
Severe toxicosis during pregnancy in the later stages is called gestosis. It is formed in women with serious diseases of the liver, pancreas, as well as kidneys and heart.
Excretory organ diseases do not allow the body to cope with increased stress. At the same time, part of the toxins from the life of the fetus remains in the blood of the mother, forms persistent poisoning.
Pregnancy toxicosis: a boy or a girl?
Among the folk ways to determine the sex of the child, symptoms of intoxication are used. They are regarded as a sign of a girl. Medical studies have not confirmed this fact. The study was conducted for several years, from 1987 to 1995 in Stockholm. Among 5900 women who consulted a gynecologist with a complaint of toxic manifestations, 55% gave birth to girls, and 45% had boys.
If there is no toxicosis during pregnancy, is this normal?
The question – why there is no toxicosis during pregnancy – is relevant for women with problem bearing.
In the normal course of pregnancy, a healthy woman should not have symptoms of poisoning.
However, in a completely different way it is necessary to evaluate the feelings of those women who are trying to maintain pregnancy amid the threat of miscarriage. If the nausea and the urge to vomit disappear under the threat, then this may be a sign of an abortion (spontaneous interruption).
Treatment: how to deal with toxicosis during pregnancy
Now let’s talk about treatment. There are excellent homeopathic remedies that improve the functioning of the body, normalize hormones and the excretory system. This reduces the manifestation of intoxication and in 2-3 weeks helps to completely get rid of discomfort. However, for the correct prescription of drugs, a homeopathic doctor is needed, who will pick up individual homeopathic remedies for you. A common cure for toxicosis during pregnancy will be ineffective.
A gynecologist will prescribe a number of drugs that will relieve toxic effects. However, their use during pregnancy is debatable. It is in the first months that the baby’s organs and tissues are laid. Therefore, you need to very responsibly approach the choice of drugs for treatment.
You can turn to the methods of traditional medicine, they do not harm the baby, but require competent use, the correct choice of one or another drug.
In addition, nausea and vomiting can be prevented if you prepare for pregnancy with preventive cleansing. Perhaps this is the most correct approach to the treatment of toxicosis.
Means of treatment: how to relieve toxicosis during pregnancy
And now we will list those funds and drugs that are used in the treatment of intoxication.
Pharmaceuticals for toxicosis during pregnancy
- Emetrol (syrup with phosphoric acid) – sold in pharmacies without a doctor’s prescription.
- Compazin, Zofran (dispensed only by prescription, have contraindications for use in the list – pregnancy)
- Pills for toxicosis during pregnancy – Motilium, Primperan – antiemetics.
- Injections of B vitamins (general strengthening agents).
- Hofitol is an extract of artichoke leaves.
- Traditional drugs from a number of sorbents that are used in cases of poisoning: activated carbon, smecta, blue iodine (blue).
Traditional medicine
How to relieve toxicosis in early pregnancy with herbal supplements?
- Peppermint tea or peppermint powder is a traditional remedy for any nausea (during pregnancy, in automobile transport or in an airplane). Mint has a choleretic and laxative effect.
- Rosehip infusion (vitamin cocktail).
- Tea or powder from nettle leaves (a supplier of vitamins and a hemopoietic stimulant).
- Narrow-leaf fireweed tea (Ivan tea or Koporsk tea) is a natural product that supplies minerals, activates digestion and soothes nerves. Recommended for use in courses of 2 weeks with breaks for 2-3 weeks.
- A decoction or powder from valerian roots – as a sedative for severe late toxicosis.
The listed herbs supply vitamins and minerals to the body, stimulate digestion and blood formation, and eliminate toxic substances.
We list what helps with toxicosis during pregnancy from other natural and safe methods (you can choose what is available, according to season, and which more effectively removes unpleasant symptoms):
- Cranberry juice with honey or cranberry juice. Juice is squeezed out of fresh berries and mixed with honey. If you are allergic to bee products, cranberry juice is taken without honey (1 tablespoon several times a day). Morse insist on a cake of cranberry berries.
- Fresh berries of viburnum, lingonberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and juices from them.
- Lemon juice.
- Tomato juice.
- Citrus fruits and freshly squeezed juices from them.
- Water with ginger and lemon.
- Water with natural apple cider vinegar (1 tsp) and honey (1 tsp). Important: vinegar is only natural!
Good to know: with toxicosis, it often makes you sick on an empty stomach. Therefore, the symptoms of the disease appear more often in the morning on an empty stomach. Make food fractional, eat often and little by little so that your stomach is not empty.
Toxicosis is not the norm, but pathology. It can be prevented by proper preparation for pregnancy. With severe and severe manifestations of intoxication, effective treatment is necessary. And the most correct prevention is a healthy lifestyle and a good rest.
