Does it sound like I have pneumonia? I had a bad cold for about five days?

Clear to white phlegm with a persistant cough are cardinal symptoms of asthma---even on a good day without any colds. You have 2 things working against you here---the virus from your head cold and the pregnancy. If you were not taking anything for your asthma previously, you have mild asthma unless you are having a lot of symptoms you are not treating. Drainage from your sinuses can irritate your lungs and make asthma symptoms worse. Pregnancy hormone changes can also make it worse (usually temporarily). You need to be concerned if that phlegm changes to yellow or green with a foul odor or taste and also keep checking to see if you have a fever. If these things don't happen, you don't have pneumonia. It is good you have the appointment with the doc soon---I would say to make one if you didn't. You may need an inhaler and it is possible they would suggest an inhaled steroid. Please, please understand that the inhaled steroid is perfectly safe for you and your baby. It is not the same as taking an oral steroid---which has many side effects and I would not ever take it while pregnant. I use all of my inhalers while pregnant and there have been no problems. If an inhaled steroid is suggested for you, don't be afraid to take it. It might be your best help. It is also a possibility that the asthma has gotten worse, and it coincides with your cold. But, before I would worry about that, I would talk to your doc. My OB tells me it is safe to take sudafed and benadryl---if you are comfortable doing this and feel you need the symptom relief, maybe ask your doc about these as well. Depending on how far you are in pregnancy, persistant cough, especially at night could be due to having a little acid reflux when you are lying down. Probably more than you wanted to know, but when I had these concerns as a pregnant woman with chronic severe asthma, I wanted every piece of info I could get.

Using your humidifier is a great idea to help thin out secretions and make it easier to cough up the phlegm. I have had relief from putting my face over a steaming hot bowl of water with a towl draped over my head to make a little tent as well. (you get a nice facial in the process!) You might want to add some eucalyptus oil to this for additional relief (same smell as Vicks) Remember that you don't "catch" pneumonia per se,-- pneumonia develops when secretions stay in the lungs and "fester" such as after a chest cold, persistant allergies, or aspirating food or other foreign material.

I have a degree in Respiratory Therapy and also am currently pregnant---hang in there! Best Wishes

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Hi, first, I'm sorry for your troubles and hope you feel better ASAP! But, second, if you have pneumonia, it's a very serious matter. I've only had it once and, man, I could FEEL IT... it was like something ****ed my lung and I was really having to draw in deep to breathe. I mean, it wasn't at the point where it was horrible but I absolutely knew that something was DEFINITELY not in order.

What you have described, and I am NO doctor, sounds to me to be something more like bronchitis or bronchial asthma. It's a pain in the *** -- it can make breathing a bit difficult and, definitely, uncomfortable, and with a little phlegm here and there but, unless you have walking pneumonia, you should be able to darn well know that you have something like never before.

Pneumonia won't feel like a cold, or a cough... at the beginning, it'll feel like you're just starting to need to suck for wind a little. But, this is all just my opinion from my experience. So, I'll reiterate... it's not like a typical crappy hacking cough with bronchial irritation. It FEELS like it's something in the depths of your lung, not an upper respiratory infection.

Even if you don't want antibiotics, pneumonia is nothing to mess around with... and you should do whatever your doctor tells you.

Best wishes,

Sam

ps. You can do a little further research on WebMD, too.

You're pregnant. You need your lungs! Do you feel a crackling sort of feeling when you breath out? That's what I remember the most. I think there's usually some sign of infection, though. Still, you're pregnant. See a doctor.

Btw, don't discount the power of hot tea and garlic. Garlic is a natural antibiotic. When I had pneumonia, my doctor told me to drink water till I was peeing 24/7 so it would break up my lung congestion.

I had a slight case of it about six months ago. I was coughing up small ammounts of blood. I think you have a glorified cold, but I'm not a doctor. Best of luck to you.

you first consult a doctor and conduct some primary tests,