Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy.
Translation? Red, puffy CRAZY itchy rash for pregnant women.
Some people abbreviate it PUPPs, but as far as I can tell, the medical professionals use PUPPPs or just PUPPP. In the UK, it is sometimes called PEP (polymorphic eruption of pregnancy).
Why they can't come up with a better name, I don't know! It's a mouthful to explain and you get pictures of puppies when you google it. Ridiculous.
About 1 in 160 pregnant women get it. (source) It typically starts in the 3rd trimester and resolves within a month or two of baby's arrival. For some women, it starts on stretch marks and moves outward, but it really can start anywhere. The people who should know have no good idea what causes it. Theories range from baby DNA irritating skin to some kind of inflammatory process relating to stretching skin. The alternative medicine world believes it has something to do with our livers not handling pregnancy hormones well. Maybe it's all 3! Who knows. But until better studies are done, we are in the dark. The itchy, scratchy dark.
Here are a few pictures of my rash in various stages (I didn't take pictures of my worst rashes. I think I was too overwhelmed and disgusted):
If that looks familiar, you may very well have PUPPPs. I highly recommend a visit to your care provider. And I'm so sorry!
Treatments in the mainstream medical world typically involve steroids and strong antihistamines. They do help some people, though potentially serious side effects exist. That is worth significant thought. I used steroids with baby number three (#3's Story) and had a normal kiddo with some serious yeast issues. Yeast growth is one of the less serious side effects of steroids.
Alternative therapies are numerous and varied! Some include Grandpa's Pine Tar soap, Dandelion Root, various creams and lotions, etc. I will do my best to cover all the options to keep you informed! I have tried almost everything! (See my survival tips label on the right to find them all in one place. If you are using the mobile version, click on "web version" at the bottom of the page to view the labels. Here is my post about Treatments I Tried.)
Wherever you are in your PUPPPs journey, I hope you find some helpful relief tips here!
I really enjoy chatting with other PUPPPs sufferers and hearing their stories, so please feel free to comment on any of my posts! I also love it when people vote on my polls! (FYI: Once again, you have to be in the website version of my blog to see them. If you're in the mobile version, just scroll down to the bottom and click on "web version.")
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