Hi everyone...
I wanted to share my story. I had a bad case, it started at 35 weeks, I am now a little over 39 weeks.... it spread over my entire belly, down my thighs, around to the back of my buttocks and thighs, all the way down to my ankles! I even started getting it on my upper arms and, then finally the lower arms. This spreading took about two weeks.. with the itching waking me up at night.. it was awful.
Nothing seemed to help, and I was avoiding steriods (which is what doctor's prescribe). I didn't even want to use the steriod or corticosteriod creams, as you can absorb steriods through the skin, and I didn't want it to affect the baby. The doctor will tell you there is no cure.. but this is what worked for me.. I am now 100% rash free.. no joke.
"Sarna" lotion was the best for the itching. It's an analgesic lotion, and it's very cooling. I found a few threads out there that talked about v-8 juice helping, which it did.. it kick started my liver which cleans out toxins from your body. However.. what really did it.. and I stopped everything else so I know this is what really cleared it up... was an herb:
Dandelion Root. I got Dandelion Root tea from a health food store (make sure it's the root, not the leaves, there are two kinds), and also bought a liquid form of dandelion root in a tincture. I made the tea twice a day, and added a dropper full of the tincture each time. My rash was gone in about 4 days.
I've never felt better. I read in several places that dandelion root helps with rashes, and my midwife even told me to try it (especially the liquid 'tincture' form).
However, it was a few days on this treatment before I read the bottle: it says 'not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding'. So I would take this advice with a grain of salt.. a health professional recommended it, and others have used it, and my baby is just fine so far.. but I honestly don't know if it's the best for pregnant women or not.
I looked up the information pretty thoroughly, and several websites recommend dandelion root for support in pregnancy, high in vitamins, it's caffeine free, can be a substitue for coffee, can help with rashes, liver health, and even water retention.
But it also says that it's high in vitamin A, which is a fat soluble vitamin and it can accumulate in the body, so it's very important to take it in moderation.
All I know is that it worked, and it was amazing... no itching, at all! A week and a half later and I'm not even taking any anymore... I found once the rash subsided that it would be a good idea to wean myself off of the treament just in case, and I'm still rash free.
I just wanted to share with you, and I hope whatever you find and use works super fast... I truly know how bad it can get. Just please, if anyone tries the dandelion root, look up all the info you can, talk to your healthcare person, and take in moderation.
