Help! My belly itches like MAD!

[MommytoHHH]

Ok, I am at the beach with my family for 5 weeks. We got here on Tuesday. Thursday I started to notice a bit of a red rash appearing on my stomach. At first I thought it was heat rash and that it would just go away. Well, no... it's taken over my whole stomach, and it's spreading to the top of my legs too. It looks kind of like raised bumps that bleed together into patches. It didn't itch at first. But now it itches like MAD. Like I am sitting here contemplating whether it's worse to itch this badly or worse to simply scratch my skin off. I am 12 weeks pregnant. I have a 3.5 year old little girl and a 1.5 year old little girl. I have had 3 miscarriages. I am still nursing my younger DD, my older DD self-weaned right before I got pregnant. Is this PUPPS? This early? Any other ideas? I guess if it keeps up, I am going to call my OB on Monday... but it's not like I can go see them - I am 800 miles away from home. I figured this would be a great time to go to the beach since I'm not huge yet... Ugh! Please help!

[~Demeter~]

Sounds exactly like my PUPPPs rash... though mine didn't spread to my legs, I read it could though. Cortisone was my friend.. I hated that I had to use it but I would quite literally wake myself up with uncontrollable scratching that made my belly BLEED.

I suggest getting some dandelion root tea or capsules to help gently detox liver, that's the usual cause of PUPPPs, the liver is sluggish and your body is purging the toxins.

[paintedfire]

Oh, God. Just reading this thread is making me itch. PUPPPs is one of my biggest fears.

Take care, MommytoHHH! I'm so, so sorry. (I would have used a hug smilie here, but you've got a rash )

[m0xxie]

Goodness gracious! Every few days around here I read about another aspect of pregnancy I've never even heard of before, that I then have to worry about! Who knew there was so much I had no idea about... I am truly humbled. At least with PUPPP I read that the worst itching usually only lasts about a week, and it sounds like while it's a trial for the mom, the fetus is unaffected and there are treatments that will help ease your suffering. Hugs to you, and I hope you are feeling much better really soon!

[~Demeter~]

Originally Posted by m0xxie

Goodness gracious! Every few days around here I read about another aspect of pregnancy I've never even heard of before, that I then have to worry about! Who knew there was so much I had no idea about... I am truly humbled. At least with PUPPP I read that the worst itching usually only lasts about a week, and it sounds like while it's a trial for the mom, the fetus is unaffected and there are treatments that will help ease your suffering. Hugs to you, and I hope you are feeling much better really soon!

Hate to burst your bubble... but my PUPPPs rash did not last only a week. It was months and months of itching. It hit some time in the second tri and lasted until a couple weeks after I gave birth. It was miserable.

[Twinklefae]

I was lucky and didn't get the PUPPP til week 38, but it was HELL. I'm so so sorry mama!

I found that the worst itching would last about a week, and then move somewhere new. I used a lot of cool things - ice packs, Johnson's itch relief gel, etc. on it, as well as costizone. My doctor also made up a cream that had a little cortisone and a little menthol in it that really really helped.

The good thing was that the itching disappeared as soon as I went into labour, and I didn't even think about it after DS was born.

I had it on my belly, my thighs, and the tops of my feet.

[MommytoHHH]

Ugh! My DD2's Godfather is an allergist and he suggested trying some Zyrtec. I took one this morning and it is much more tolerable. It is still itchy, but not bad at all. I'm still going to call my OB on Monday. I'm already taking Zofran for awful morning sickness (throwing up 12+x/day). I hate to take more drugs.