NOT MEDICAL ADVICE – ALWAYS CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE TRYING ANYTHING!
When I was pregnant with Lauren, I suffered from Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy (PUPPP). It is a debilitating hormonal rash so itchy you’d think you had sand flies underneath your skin biting their way out. All day and night. You wouldn’t even wish it upon your worst enemies. So I’m going to share a simple PUPPP relief method, for the good of all womankind. NOT MEDICAL ADVICE! [space]
Table of Contents
What Is PUPPP?
PUPPP is uncommon, but not rare, and apparently has a reported rate of 0.5% in single pregnancies. In other words, 1 very unlucky woman out of 200 will get this. So 199 women can thank their lucky stars that I was the chosen one, 天煞孤星. How do you know if it’s PUPPP? It comes during the last trimester and spreads everywhere, excluding the face, palms and soles. That’s right, you’d even get the rash on your armpits and butt crack. Nasty right? For me, it started from my belly stretch marks. The rest is history. I was only 36 weeks and according to the doctor, the only PUPPP cure was to deliver the baby.
I know right, if men could get pregnant, I’m sure there would be a PUPPP cure. Heck, there may even be a vaccine to prevent it from happening. Just take a look at this monstrosity.
PUPPP Rashes and How It Looks
As you can tell, the rash is unlike any other rash. They are like college cheerleaders, forming cliques and all.
Another tell-tale sign that you have PUPPP, if it’s not obvious enough when you are losing your sanity from scratching, is the rash has a halo effect. Yea, nothing beats being mocked by an angelic rash from hell.
So, many women opt to induce birth so they can be freed by the shackles of this PUPPP rash. Others try oatmeal baths and pine tar soaps that make you smell like you were roasting boar at a campfire. Many others just scratched till they bled. It’s so tragic! So how did I manage to get through this without a single scar on my skin?
Hot Water or Hot Air
That’s right, I used hot water. *DISCLAMINER: This worked for me and does not necessarily mean it will work for you. Execution is key. Try at your own risk! AND BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO BURN YOURSELF!
As mentioned, execution is key. Hot water has a wide range and the hot water I’m talking about is like onsen temperature hot water. Almost as hot as you can accept and yet, not scald your skin. For me, I turned down the water outlet to the right temperature and used the shower head to focus on the PUPPP rashes.
I am not sure about the science behind it but in simple layman’s terms, the hot water actually manages to agitate the excessive histamines store (we don’t know why we suddenly produce so much!) all at once, i.e. getting to the root of the itch and it feels as though you scratched the crap out of it but you didn’t! So you are gratified without damaging your skin! And since it takes time for our bodies to build up the histamines store again, before we start itching like mad, it’s time for us to get some sleep! Finally! And this method is good for relief around 8 hours! Only issue is, the rash will look very freaky friday.
Recovery Phase
Oh yeah baby. That’s what I’m talking about. It looks horrendous but the hot water provided me relief of up to 8 hours at a go! In fact, the hot water felt so good, I recall looking forward to it every time! Hahaha! I kept it up for about 1 week or so and by then the rash had pretty much stopped itching and my skin was on its way to recovery. Isn’t that fast?
You have no idea how victorious I felt overcoming something that was told to me, “Sorry no cure”. Take that, b****! Self-censorship there.
Update 7 Feb 2019
I’m now pregnant with my 4th baby and getting rashes again at 22 weeks. The hair dryer works just as well and has less possibility of accidentally scalding yourself. You just have to be extra careful and hold it further away first to get a feel of it. You will feel as if you’re scratching but you’re not. Turn the hair-dryer away once you feel the itch has been “scratched” and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT burn yourself!
The rash was totally gone before Lauren was 1 month old. No scars, no sweat. Thank God! Well, if you are dealing with PUPPP and can’t even sleep, hope this helps. If you’ve had another way to deal with PUPPP, share with us!
***Update: So although Lauren is already 20 months old, the rash still comes back, in small patches like under my belly button. So due to the “strategic location”, I can’t exactly scorch myself anymore. Sigh! Haha, so thankfully I’ve got the Baby Miracle Balm cos it stops the rash and dries it up overnight. Doesn’t have the ooomph factor but works.
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183 Comments
Namratha
Hot water was the only option left for me..when i started doing this my grand ma and my mother in law added boiled neem leaf water with some salt and turmeric and it feels great and do not forget to end your hot water bath with cold water to close your skin pores..the marks are turning darker..and most importantly do not itch..the red marks used to itch like hell..can sleep now..and am 28 weeks pregnant ..now my only concern is the dark MARKS..till when will they fade..anf yes i am applying coconut oil in the night all over ..
Jolene Liow
Hi Namratha, hugs. Please don’t worry, the dark marks will definitely fade off. Give it some time, maybe a month or two, just make sure you don’t scald yourself or break the skin. Once the rashes are flat and not itchy, stop the hot water as it’s really very drying and will slow down the healing process. My skin has no traces of the rash patches at all after some time. All the best for your delivery! Hope this helps!
Haley Murphy
I’m 29 weeks, and the rash popped up over the weekend. My doctor’s nurse diagnosed me over the phone and said it was common. My stomach and shoulders have the worst rash. My legs and arms mostly have small bumps. My skin is extremely dry, but putting lotion on stings. Should I expect this to get worse, or will the areas that have dried out go away and new areas pop up. I can’t believe that we really don’t know anything about this rash. We should start a go fund me page to finance a scientist to do actual research. 🙂
Jolene Liow
Yup, I suppose if men could get it, we would know much more about it! Having said that, if it’s PUPPP, it’s very likely to spread everywhere except your face, palms and soles of your feet. Do not break your skin by scratching, do try out some of the natural remedies as mentioned by others and as a last resort, you can consider the patch-by-patch spot hot water hack, provided your skin is not broken. All the best!
Gina marasco
I hate this rash 🙁 I got it at 38 weeks I am 39 now and I scratch myself bloody. I cry at night bc I get no sleep and everyone around me says don’t scratch it but they truly don’t understand the feeling of this rash. My skin is swollen and burns but itches at the same time making it even more worse I don’t go out for I hide away bc I feel like a monster my skin looks horrible sometimes I don’t even want to go to Church. It baffles me they won’t find a cure that works for everyone WHY are pregnant woman suffering it’s not good for the baby when we are stressed or upset or even overtired something has to be done this is crazy women have to just wait this out
Jolene Liow
Hi Gina, big hugs and if your skin is broken, please take care to moisturise and ask your Dr for some topical or even oral relief medication. You wouldn’t want to risk an infection from the broken skin. Hang in there, your baby will be out soon and the rash will definitely go away eventually. Take care.
Lauren
Thank you so much for posting this! I tried cortizone cream, Benadryl, pine tar soap, Saran lotion, baking soda paste, and Icy Hot with varying degrees of success. But nothing provided more than an hour’s relief and I was at the end of my rope. I tried this before bed and slept through the night for the first time in weeks!
Jolene Liow
Hi Lauren, IKR! I had the same experience and for the first time I could finally sleep through the night. That’s bliss!
Rachel
I appreciate the comments. I am only 23 weeks and have it, but i am dealing with a compromised liver from cancer. My ob has me on some steriod cream, benadryl and zyrtec but never told me it would last until delivery, as i found out reading online later.. As i have searched online about it, this is the 1st post that gives me hope i could find a manageable solution until pregnancy.
Jolene Liow
Hi Rachel, hope you find something that helps and all the best for your pregnancy and delivery!