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
Joanna
I have to say with me it’s the exact opposite. I was diagnosed with PUPPP at 20 weeks and heat makes it so much worse! The only way to get some relief is through cold showers or ice packs on the affected areas, but that’s not too easy during the winter. I ordered a pine tar soap after reading that it helped so many other other, am hoping for a miracle!
Jolene Liow
Hi Joanna, I’m sorry to hear that! Heat definitely makes it worse! What some of us do is actually a last resort effort, using extra hot water (but not to the extent of scalding) to treat the spots momentarily. It works to agitate the itch until it’s numb so we get to sleep, cos otherwise we can’t even sleep! Sigh. But of course, execution is key and I hope the pine tar soap works well for you!
Juliana from Indonesia
I had PUPPP when I was 4 months pregnant with my 1st kid, i took dandelion roots and it helps!! Took it around a week and the itch got much less.. on my 2nd child, i got PUPPP too, so I took it again once I started to get the itch and it did got better again. The itch was gone after about a month consuming dandelion roots. Hope it helps!! It was such a misery to went through PUPPP. Hang in there !!
Jolene Liow
Hi Juliana! Thanks for dropping by and sharing!
Jacalyn
Hello! I don’t really understand…do you just blast really hot water on yourself in the shower…? If so for how long? Thank you
Jolene Liow
Hi Jacalyn, thanks for dropping by! Think of it as watering a plant, the plant being your rash areas. So you just do quick splashes of hot water on those affected areas, and do not scald yourself, always test with your palm if it’s too hot. Go slow! Splashes shouldn’t last too long, you’d be able to tell when the hot water agitates the rash enough to render it “numb” and provide you some respite.
Cassie
Living this dream now!! Glad someone else does the hot water relief!!! 7 more days… until baby…. ???
Jolene Liow
^5 Cassie!!! Congrats and smooth delivery!
Michele
You are my hero! I developed PUPPS at 34 weeks (I’m now 36) and the dermatologist told me it was the “most aggressive case” he’d ever seen. I have never experienced anything so mentally taxing as the 10 days with no relief. I found your blog during a 2am itch attack and decided to try it. Well…2 days later and I’m feeling so much better. My rash still looks awful, but I went 8 hours with NO itching today and then another 4 with only minor itching. It just started getting bad again and I’m about to get back in the shower….knowing I’ll be able to sleep.
Ps. I talked to my doctor and she said it was fine to do this on my stomach, as a short period of time wouldn’t raise my core temp and hurt baby. 🙂
Jolene Liow
Hi Michele! Thanks for coming back to share your good news. I’m glad it has helped!