Dermatology Article

Did you know PUPPPs used to be called "Nurse's late onset prurigo," "Bourne's toxemic rash of pregnancy," and "Toxic erythema of pregnancy?"

Neither did I! 

I found this write up on PUPPPs by the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology and thought it was a really great summary on the rash. It's thorough with tidbits of info I hadn't found before. 

(example of PUPPPs rash from the article)

Here the link to the article. Happy Researching, fellow itchy people! 

News Headline

Scanning through the news yesterday, this headline caught my eye...

"Mystery Rash Caused By Electronic Devices"

http://mobile.wnd.com/2014/07/mystery-rash-caused-by-electronic-devices/

Sadly, not the answer to PUPPPs. But it might be worth taking note of if you have a history of allergies to metals. It would certainly be a bummer to find out you were exacerbating your PUPPPs with your tablet time. 

Current Discussion Forums

Anyone else out there having trouble finding discussion forums with active conversation? I certainly am!

Here are links to the most recently active that I can find:

I-am-pregnant forum (last active 32 days ago, as of this post.)

Babycenter forum (last active 8 days ago, as of this post. I reactivated it, and someone posted after me.)

What to Expect Forum (Best I can tell, this was last active in May of 2014)

Another What to Expect Forum (Last active in February of 2014)

ALL the other forums I can find are years old! There is a serious lack of conversation for currently suffering mommas.

Feel free to start chatting in the comment sections of any of my posts! I'll check on comments daily.

Boy or Girl? Does PUPPPs mean boy?

According to this scientific study, no, having PUPPPs does NOT mean you are having a boy.

I think we've all wondered at that statistic that 70% of PUPPPs babies are boys. I know for me personally, that's just silly. I've had THREE GIRLS so far.

Well, this study, published in a 2005 volume of the British Journal of Dermatology, was done in two big hospitals in Austria and London. It looked back at a group of 181 patients with PUPPPs and analyzed the data. Statistically, boys were no more likely than girls in the group.

Ha! Finally, a little piece of research that backs up MY story!

I think I'll do a little non-scientific study of my own and put up and poll about gender over on the right side of my blog. Please vote if you know the gender of your PUPPPs baby! By the way, if you're viewing the blog using the mobile version, you won't be able to see the polls. Click on the website version at the bottom of the page.

Here's the summary of the article: click here

PUPPPs & Epidurals

Here's a little something for those of you considering an epidural for pain relief in labor.

This 2006 case study from the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia follows the experience of one woman with PUPPPs. She had been on strong steroids for the rash, which lowered her immune system. Her lowered immune system allowed some nasty bacteria to take root at the site of her epidural. She got an infection that required surgery within a week or two of her baby being born!

Here's a visual of where an epidural is usually placed:

(image from pregnancy.about.com)

Keep in mind, this is just one woman, but the article makes the point that an epidural with a compromised immune system can have additional risks. So talk to your doctor about that before you decide!

Here's the article: link

Surviving in Public with PUPPPs

I'm going to a wedding this weekend...and I have to bring PUPPPs with me. Obnoxious party crasher.

Here's my survival plan.

First of all, let me just say that if my PUPPPs was at its worst, I would skip the wedding. The rash is no joke, and I'm in no condition to go out in public when it's peaking! So, my advice if you are supposed to be attending the nuptials of friend's this summer? Skip it! And don't feel bad!

However, my rash is tolerable at this point, so I'm going to attempt attendance.

• Bring your favorite ointment! I plan to slather myself every chance I get. I'll be excusing myself to the restroom frequently to reapply. 
• Keep it brief! I'm only staying as long as I need to. Things can get dicey if I'm away from my itch-reducing routine for too long.
• Be comfortable! I'm wearing a loose fitting dress. No tight stuff for me! (See my post about clothing tips for PUPPPs.) 
  
• Consider pre-treating. If you have a silver bullet for itch relief that isn't appropriate to use in public, make sure you take care of it right before! I plan to increase my dose of dandelion root before I go and make all efforts to NOT scratch for a day or two prior. Both those things keep the inflammation at bay. 

A note about going to work with PUPPPs...

I'm so happy to be a stay at home mom at present. Life would be so much more complicated if I was attempting to make it through a work day with PUPPPs. If anyone has tips about working with PUPPPs, please PLEASE feel free to comment. The only thing I can think of is bringing a cooler of ice packs with you to work everyday and applying them liberally! It would probably be helpful to bring your superiors on board with the condition of your rash so that they can have a better understanding of how to accommodate you. 

Dandelion Root: Tincture or Capsules?

One "cure" you'll find all over the PUPPPs websites is Dandelion Root. Apparently, that lovely yellow weed in all of our yards has helped a lot of people! Herbalists for decades have known that dandelion is a good liver cleanser. Taraxacin and choline are the chemical compounds in dandelions that aid the liver. (source)

Here's the rundown on the liver. The liver is the major workhorse for processing junk. It's like a filter for the blood. Nasty stuff goes in (paint fumes, pesticides, chemicals in your lotion, you name it...), and the liver has to work to remove it. When we're pregnant, we're filtering for two! Not only that, but we produce way more hormones than normal. These are also processed through the liver. The alternative medicine world thinks all this may have something to do with PUPPPs.

Many of us PUPPPs sufferers have turned to dandelion root as a remedy. But there are options! Capsules? Tincture? I'll give you the pros and cons of both so you can decided which is best for you.

Tinctures

What is a tincture? It's a liquid extract of a plant. Think of vanilla extract. It's made by dropping some vanilla beans in alcohol until all the vanilla-y goodness comes out. What's left is delicious. With herbs, what's left is a potent form of the plant. Most herbalists seem to agree that a tincture is often stronger than the dried herb itself. Actual numbers seem to be lacking. One herbalist said tinctures are 5-10 times stronger than the herb itself. I would bet that it mostly depends on the quality of the herbs you start with and how much care is put into the making. As far as actually taking a tincture goes, it's pretty simple. Put your drops in some water and drink it down. Dandelion tincture is a bit bitter but totally doable, in my opinion.

The gist? If a tincture is stronger, it is most likely faster acting and better at it's job. The downside? Tinctures tend to be pricier than capsules.

Capsules

I think most of us are familiar with this form of the supplement. Dried and/or powdered herb is placed into a capsule that your body breaks down. You take it like you would any other pill. Opinions in the herbal world seemed to be a little more down on capsules. You have to digest the contents before your body can make use of it. There's more waste as lots of the plant is just fiber that passes through. You may have to take more to get a therapeutic effect. (Here's a source about some of that.)

The gist? Possibly a little slower acting and less potent. The upside? A little more reasonably priced.

The conclusion I came to for myself is that I like to have both on hand. One is great for the flare ups. One is more practical for maintenance. Both are getting me that liver cleansing goodness!

One big message that I got from all my research was that regardless of whether you're taking a tincture or a capsule, the main thing is making sure you are buying from a quality source! Research your herb supplier and be confident in their passion for their products! You don't want junk and filler. You want pure therapeutic herbs, my friends, so do your homework!

For more reading: 

Here's a good article put together by the University of Maryland Medical Center about dandelion. (click here)

Here's a list by WebMD of medications that may interact with dandelion. (click here) Please, be sure to consult with your care provider before starting new supplements.