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
Jenny
I have the rashes after a month of delivery. Now my little one is 6 months old. I am still suffering from this rashes. I have it all over my body, face and neck too. I’ve tried cold shower, African black soap. the tchiness is lesser but the rashes have never stopped.
I only have a temporary relief when I go for injection. But the rashes will come back after 2 weeks. I already have 10 injections in total and due to I’m breastfeeding, doctor can’t prescribe the strong medicine. Doctor told me the rashes may only go off when I weaning off breastfeeding. It could due to the hormones while breastfeeding. I’m not sure whether it works But I’m thinking to wean when my little one turns one.
Jolene Liow
Hi Jenny, do hope the rashes go away soon! Take care!
Namratha singh
Hey jolene..are your puppp marks gone totally?? And can you suggest something to fade my puppp marks as they r dark..and i wanted suggessions on stretch marks as am 38 weeks pregnant and can feel big stretch marks on my inner thighs and below my belly button and on the sides of my waists..please suggest something effective as i want to get rid of these stretches after my baby is born..
Jolene Liow
Hi Namratha! Yes the marks are gone totally. Don’t do anything to the marks except to moisturize. As for stretch marks, I’m afraid I can’t help as I had stretch marks myself too.
Amanda
I just tried this as well and am about to turn in for what I hope to be a decent night’s sleep! I have to say, the hot water was strangely gratifying and has offered some immediate relief. I will be extremely grateful if this works for me as well as it did for you! Thanks for sharing this tip!
Jolene Liow
Hi Amanda, thanks for sharing! Hope it helps!
CJ
Thank you for sharing! My method was the complete opposite!!!
Throw out any sort of hydrocortisone or benadryl because they dont work
Do NOT use lotion at all. Not once while you have this. This was hard for me because I usually put on lotion two times a day.
Buy Grandpa’s Pine Tar Soap from wholefoods and a can of corn starch. Well, buy like 6 bars. These will be your new best friends.
What I did was first thing in the morning I would take a cold shower. Do not use a loofah or rag, just your hands and wash down with the Pine Tar Soap. Let the suds of the soap stay on you as long as you would like because at that point in time you will probably stop itching. Once you are ready, get out of the shower, pat dry, and cover your affected areas with corn starch. You may think I am kidding but I am not. It drys out the rash and keeps it from itching for at least a few hours.
When this wears off and you start itching again, just take another shower. Don’t worry, you get used to the cold water.
At first, I was taking between 4-6 showers a day at first but the longer I kept up this routine, the better the itching got. In total, I had PUPPPs for 8 weeks, but this routine really made it bearable. I hope this helps someone!
Jolene Liow
Wow 8 weeks! Glad you got through it! Thanks for sharing!
Caitlin
I am in complete agreement, hot water is amazing! I thought I was going to lose my mind! I am 38 weeks and just stopped working and was looking forward to nesting, organizing and resting just a bit before the sleepless nights arrived. .. that’s when I started to notice the itchy, quick spreading rash.. I’ve never experienced an itch like this, it’s sooo much worse than poison oak. Pine tar soap and oatmeal baths can be relieving for a bit, but hot water is the only thing that stops the itch long enough to sleep.
Jolene Liow
Hi Caitlin! Thanks for sharing and wishing you all the best for your delivery!