PUPPP Rash During Pregnancy

I just delivered my baby last week and had pupps and actually still have it a tiny bit it's finally going away. What worked best for me is Caladryl the stuff you put on chicken pox.

My neighbor has the worst case the doctors have ever seen I guess they're on her hands/feet infected you name it. She ended up in the hosptial and finally was put on prednisone I think a steroid and it's helped her dramatically. They are thinking of letting her have the baby early.

I got good results with alternating applications of Grandpa's Wonder Pine Tar Soap, which you can get at the health food store (smells like you've been standing in a campfire - blech! - but works great!), diluted tea tree oil, and aloe vera gel just like you'd put on a sunburn. I also really like this website with lots of recommendations for remedies before you go the steroid route - http://www.tcinternet.net/users/kritzerburke/naomi/mother...

Good luck - that is the worst itchy mess ever! It was waking me up nights but I had it dried up within a week and down to a dull itch, no worse than the rest of my stretch marks.

M.,

I got this with my last pregnancy, oh how I hated it. I think my doctor told me it was OK to use one of those anti itch creams. However, I would place a call to your doctor and double check that information. I also found, that just keeping it hydrated helped, even with regular lotion. You could always try aveeno lotion too...I think Oatmeal is one of the ingredients in it.

My doctor was able to prescribe me a cream that the pharmacy made up. I think it was a combination of Lubriderm and menthol and it was wonderful. Very soothing.

I just had my first daughter in June and had PUPPP. I was diagnosed at 33 weeks, I did the oatmeal baths and aveeno oatmeal cream, but I could no longer take it after all the spreading. I litterally felt like I wanted to scratch my skin off!! I was very scared to take the steroids also, but it made life bareable again. Not saying that it is for everyone but I would do it again if need be. P.S. they make you very sleepy at first so be prepared! Best Wishes, A.

I have not had any personal experience with this but Ask Dr Sears Web site has never failed me. Read if he has anything on it and if not I believe there is a space to email questions. He is holistic and mommy/baby friendly.

Good luck!
J.

Hello M.-first let me just say how sorry I am that you got this rash not only once but twice...I had pupps with my first pregnancy and was in pure hell. I found that gold bond cream helped with the itching but I did use dandelion root and it took the rash away...I swear by this! I used a tincture and followed the dosage on the bottle. I found it in a natural health foods store.
I also did not take the oral steriods, I was scared also and thought I'd try the dandelion root first, that would be my advice to you. Although if you are desperate for immediate relief, try the gold bond cream and stand in front of a fan. The cool air with the menthelated (sp?) cream helped so much for me. Good luck to you, I hope it is short-lived. :)

I had a rash in my second trimester. I don't know what PUPPP is, so I don't think it was that? But during pregnancy I developed an allergy to red dye and sesame seed oil. (Both allergies went away about 3 months after delivering my son). Anyways, we couldn't figure out what I was allergic to, so I had to be on steroids two different times for about 7 days each. With both the steroids (prednisone to be specific) cleared up my itching, but they made me wired and my heart raced while I was taking them. My son will be 2 in November and so far we have not seen any negative effects from the steroids. I did a lot of the oatmeal baths and Sarna lotion. You can find both at the local pharmacy. The Sarna was wonderful to get me through from one bath to the other. I shared my Sarna with a friend and she thought it was a God send too. My doctor said it was fine to use during pregnancy and actually he's the one that recomended it! Good luck, I know it's enough to drive a person crazy!!

Oh M., you poor poor thing. My heart also goes out to you. I had a raging case of PUPPPS during the last few weeks of pregnancy with my son. It spread to my arms and legs and was just absolutely awful. I tried dandelion root and nettles, but neither really made the difference. The doctor had me take Benedryl at night to sleep (which only helped for about 3 hours of the night) and told me to use Sarna lotion. While the Sarna worked at first, I found myself putting it on constantly. I think I'll cry if I ever have to smell that again. Anyway, it got so awful and I wasn't sleeping at all, so the doctors (who initially didn't believe that I had PUPPPS, even though I had come to that diagnosis) finally put me on prednisone. I initially didn't want the steroids out of fear for the baby, but oh heavens did it help! They were gone within a few days of taking the steroids and I could finally sleep again.

One side effect of the steroids, by the way, is premature leaking of fluid or rupture of membranes. My fluid started to leak at 39 weeks, and they admitted me that night. After 40 hours of unsuccessful labor (complete with pitocin and the works) I ended up with a C-section. I have no idea if the leaking was from a normal rupture or a premature one from the steroids. Either way, I still think the steroids were worth it - PUPPPS is just about the worst thing ever!!!

Also, one thing that helped me get through the day at work with this rash was ice packs!! I got a really big ice pack from the drug store that lasted for quite some time. You can even strap it to yourself with a handy dandy little case. I would buy two or three and rotate them throughout the day and night to get some relief.

Best of luck to you M.,
Amy K

I sympathize. I also had PUPPP when pregos and it was awful. I did the steroid route but it didn't help a great deal (sorry). Aveeno anti-itch helped temporarily as did oatmeal baths. I also put Noxzema on the rash and that helped sometimes. Good luck.

Hello M. - I am so sorry for you - lots of good suggestions on here. I had a horrible case at 34 weeks - started on stretch marks then spread to my entire body except my back and from the neck up. I had an awesome doctor who gave me a steroid cream - I wish I could remember the name of it. It worked wonders keeping the itching under control and I was able to sleep again - Ask your doctor about steroid creams if nothing else works for you. I tried everything for a week - got no sleep and looked like I had sunburn with bumps all over my body. My doctor knew I was about to go stir crazy and prescribed the cream and I survived!!!! Good luck to you - M.

M., first let me say that I also had PUPP with my first pregnancy and my heart goes out to you!

You asked about the oral steroid...I didn't take an oral steroid, but I used a cream steroid on my stomach and forearms to aleviate symptoms and hopefully keep it from spreading. It really didn't do much to help to be honest. I was also prescribed Zyrtec (back before it was over the counter) but again, not much relief. Despite the fact that neither of these prescription rememdies helped much, I did have a healthy, hearty, 10 pound baby boy...so on that topic, the meds proved to be safe for us.

I used alot of Aveeno products and they helped a little, but my understanding is the only remedy is delivery. Ten years ago when I was pregnant and suffering from PUPP, they thought it was only a first pregnancy condition and that normally you don't get it with subsequent pregnancies, but I have since read some new theories exploring wether it might be an allergic reaction of the mother's body to testosterone in a male baby....are you having a boy? If you are waiting to be surprised, I might start leaning more toward blue than pink! Either way, best of luck and hang in there!