A Place To Buy My Oil Blend

Hello out there, itchy Mamas! Let me just first say, I'm sorry you've had a reason to find yourself here. PUPPPs is agony. 

Next, if you've read desperately through my blog, you've probably run across my Essential Oil Blend. I was selling it for a while, but another PUPPPs suffered asked me if she could sell it on Etsy for me. She uses my exact recipe, so I wanted to give her a shout out and endorse her shop. 

You can find her at OhioEssentials and the product is called PUPPP CLEAR.

Click here to go to her shop.

I hope you find as much relief with it as I found! Feel free to comment back here with how it worked for you or to leave her a review on her shop letting others know!

PUPPPs Essential Oil Blend: Amazing Relief!

As some of you may have noticed, I've been working on researching and testing Essential Oils for PUPPPs relief for some time now. It was important to me to be comfortable with the oils I was using and to be familiar with how they worked before I spread the word. Here are a couple links about Essential Oil safety in pregnancy. (But PLEASE, simply consult your care provider before using Essential Oils while pregnant! My midwives have signed off on my blend, but you'll want to have that assurance from your own provider. Also, I would hold off using any Essential Oils until you're through your first trimester. That is when the risk is greatest for birth defects and miscarriage.)

- Is it safe to use essential oils while I'm pregnant?
- Essential Oils

I've been working on refining a special blend of essential oils for PUPPPs for over 3 months, and I think I have something pretty exciting! It hasn't completely cured my PUPPPs, but it has kept it so minimal that I consider it a practical cure. I am functioning again!

Like I said, I've been using and refining this blend for over 3 months. I am very impressed with the combination of immediate relief and healing relief. The cooling effect is amazing. It calms the itch immediately and much more effectively than ANY other product I've tried over my 4 experiences with PUPPPs. But on top of that, it appears to keep the inflammation at bay! I chose each oil in the blend for it's anti-inflammatory properties. I have seen two other blends out there for PUPPPs that seem to use oils traditional for itchy rashes. My blend focuses on inflammation. From all the research I've done, PUPPPs seems to be some kind of an inflammatory response.

Here's some pretty impressive proof of my relief!

These photos were taken 1 week apart. The first is my rash at it's worst for this pregnancy after 1 day of using the oil blend. Miserable. The second picture is after 1 week of using the oils, and the third is after 2 weeks of using the oils! The photos are NOT edited at all! The lighting difference is simply that the first picture was taken in the evening under artificial light, and the last two were taken in the morning in natural light. 

As I have posted about before, my rash is not completely gone. It seems to be on a monthly cycle. Once a month, it "peaks," and I develop a couple of small patches (1-2 inches across) of rash. The peak lasts roughly a week, and the oils seem to take it away! I have never been this functional with PUPPPs before! Not even with steroid use! You know I've tried it all!

I've decided to make my recipe available to all of you, because it has been SO VERY HELPFUL for me! It has been more effective than the STEROIDS were with Baby #3. I'm so impressed that it is competing with and even beating the big guns! 

Here is my Recipe for Anti-Inflammation Oil Blend:

Materials: Essential Oils, carrier oil, and 1 oz glass roll-on bottle.

(Click HERE for a link to these bottles, which I have been very happy with. Not ONE leak!)

Makes 1 oz of Oil Blend (which last 1-2 weeks, depending on the severity of my rash)

Ingredients:
Peppermint Essential Oil - 45 drops (This number is flexible! I find that I like a more intense cooling effect when my rash is at it's peak, thus 45 drops. However, in-between peaks, I often make the blend with only 30 drops. You can vary this to your preference!)
Lavender Essential Oil - 15 drops
Geranium Essential Oil - 15 drops
Frankincense Essential Oil - 12 drops
Myrrh Essential Oil - 12 drops
Ylang Ylang Essential Oil - 7 drops
Eucalyptus Essential Oil - 5 drops
Tea Tree Essential Oil - 5 drops
Organic Jojoba Oil - Approximately 3/4 Oz.

Directions:
Mix all the Essential Oils in a 1 oz roll on bottle, then add jojoba oil until bottle is full. Cap with roller top and start applying for immediate relief! Apply as needed. Note: Be sensible! PLEASE PLEASE test this blend on a small patch of skin first and avoid use in sensitive areas such as the groin, armpits, nipples, and mucous membranes. The oils are no joke, so be careful! Ask your doctor first before using Essential Oils in pregnancy!

My Happy Bottle of Sanity!

A note on purchasing Essential Oils:

They can be PRICEY! Two companies I am very pleased with are Plant Therapy (available on Amazon) and Beeyoutiful (available here). They have reasonable prices and a high quality product. (Note: I am not associated with either company. I'm just a fan.) I have done some reading on other popular companies, and while I believe they have quality products, I also believe they are over-priced. Please don't take offense if you are a loyal supporter of some particular brand! This is just my personal opinion.

Here is an article from the Beeyoutiful company that does a fantastic job explaining the ins & outs of essentials oil quality: Essential Oil Quality

Even with purchasing from companies with reasonable pricing, getting all the oils you need to make this blend is a financial investment. I have found it to be EXTREMELY worth the money, but I understand that some of you may be wary about spending a bunch of money not knowing if the oils will work for you. I am considering selling my oil blend on Etsy, just for some of you who want to be able to try it before making the plunge to buy all the oils. Is anyone interested in this? If I get a positive response, I'll get serious about setting up an etsy store!

UPDATE (November 1st, 2016): I'm riding out my 5th case of PUPPPs. My oil blend is still helpful for itch relief. I wanted to try making a blend that wasn't so oily, as it tends to make all my clothes oily. I whipped up a batch with witch hazel as the base instead of jojoba oil. My conclusions? It burns more, so don't use it in sensitive areas or on places you've scratched til they bleed. It'll hurt. And the relief doesn't seem to last quite as long. But I like alternating it with the oil-based blend. It cuts down on the greasy factor!

UPDATE #2: A fellow PUPPPs sufferer is selling my blend on Etsy! Find it here: OhioEssentials

PUPPPs & Depression

I've been reading quite a few posts lately on one of the Facebook support groups by mommas expressing that are at the end of their coping abilities. A few have mentioned considering terminating their pregnancies. It makes my heart hurt to read these comments. Partially, I remember feeling awful about my pregnancies when my itch was at it's worst. I remember feeling so sad that I wasn't HAPPY to be pregnant. It didn't seem right to me. But on the other hand, I've made it to the other side 3 times now, so I wanted to encourage some of you that are in that dark place right now.

First, I want you to know that what you are feeling is very real and shouldn't be minimized by anyone. People who haven't experienced the life-altering extreme itch of a PUPPPs rash that doesn't seem to have any hope of going away don't understand the mental place it brings you. You can't imagine facing another day, another sleepless night, with this itch!

But let me tell you about the first time I was alone in a room with my first born daughter.

The day before, I spent 18 hours of absolute agony bringing her into the world. Yes, PUPPPs is horrible. But I did not itch in labor. I hurt. I wasn't prepared for the natural birth I wanted, so when the reality of labor pain hit me, it hit me hard. (Side note: it's worth preparing all you can ahead of time to deal with labor! The Bradley Method is my favorite so far. My second birth was incredible in contrast to my first! It can be different!) I writhed in pain with contractions and then vomited in between them, presumably due to my high anxiety and adrenaline levels. There was no rest, no break, until the hard work was done. But then, she was here, and the joy and RELIEF was like nothing I'd ever felt. I'd done the HARDEST thing of my life so far and received the most amazing, beautiful reward!

We spent the next 24 hours marveling over her every detail. When it was time to go home from the hospital, my husband went down to bring the car around, and I was alone with my daughter for the first time. The situation struck me hard. I began to cry. I was alone with this little girl, a helpless tiny person, and she needed me desperately. I suddenly felt I knew the love of a mother. It took me being alone with her, with no nurses or husband to share the burden, to realize she was mine. She slept so peacefully in my arms, unaware of the dangerous world she had just joined.

And as I thought about that dangerous world, I suddenly had a feeling I had never felt before. It was fierce.

I would DIE for this person if need be.

I would trade my life for this child.

It was fierce! It was the fierce, intense love of a mother!

I could not have known the intensity of this love prior to this moment. If someone would have told me before birth, I would not have understood. In the darkness of my PUPPPs, I could have been in danger of missing it!

Ladies, I know you're suffering! But take heart! There is something SO precious on the other side of this! Your child needs you! You will know it when you hold them, but until then, press on!

Find one more remedy to try. Go ahead and order that one more crazy product to try. Make one more appointment with your doctor...or a different doctor! Or a dermatologist! Take one more icy, cold bath. Take a trip to the store to stock up on some luxurious ice packs and comfort food. (Or send someone to the store if putting on clothes sounds horrible.)

(My 3 little PUPPPs babies.)

Do what you need to do to get through, because there is a precious, tiny person inside, unaware of the dangerous world they are about to enter, that needs YOU! You are his or her only protection in this world. You CAN get through. You WILL get through, and you will get to hold that person and be so thankful you made it. Keep going, Momma. Keep going.

(PS. As always, I'd love more information about PUPPPs, so please feel free to answer my polls on the right side of the page. If you are using the mobile version, scroll to the bottom, click on "view web version" and you'll be able to see the polls. Thanks! ~PUPPPs Mom)

Seven Star Hammer Test!

Well, PUPPPs, you've gone and made me feel crazy again. This time, it's for poking myself repeatedly with itty bitty needles. Need a little explanation for that statement? You can read up on my Seven Star Needle journey here: Seven Star Needle Posts. Anyway, I finally had a patch of rash that deserved some extreme attention. So, I pulled out my "hammer" and gave it a go.

I documented the process, so you all could follow along with the crazy. 

Here's the before picture of a lovely little patch of rash on my hip. Red, raised, and SO itchy. I tried not to scratch before this picture to keep it from looking too inflamed. 

And here's what I used in the process. Cotton balls for sterilizing my skin, the torture device (aka the seven star needle or plum blossom), and some isopropyl alcohol. 

Here I am sterilizing my skin. You need to give it a good long, vigorous scrub for the alcohol to be effective, at least 5 minutes. 

All clean and ready to commence!

Sterilizing the hammer. I let it sit there in a capful of alcohol for 5 minutes. 

Then I went to tapping! I did a little video, but my internet connection is sketchy right now, so I'll have to upload that later. I tapped until there were little spots of blood all over the patch. Yes, it hurt! Let's see, how shall I describe it... Well, it felt like seven tiny needles pricking me over and over and over. I found that the faster I tapped, the less I recognized the pain. I also tried it on a patch of skin in a more "sensitive" area that I didn't feel comfortable photographing. It hurt a lot more there.

Here's the skin right after:

And here it is about an hour later:

And this is a full day later:

Pretty well healed up from the pricks. The hives are less obvious, and I will say that this patch has not bothered me at ALL since the treatment. Unfortunately, the patch in the more sensitive area is still crazy itchy. CRAZY itchy. It could be that I didn't tap as hard, since it hurt more. I even tapped that area for a second time today without success. It still itches!!

I will continue to monitor the patch on my hip to see if the itch returns. I'm not sure what to make of this PUPPPs treatment. It seems very effected for the patch on my hip but hasn't improved the patch in the sensitive area at all.

I guess I would recommend giving it a try, provided you understand the risk of infection and consult with your doctor/midwife ahead of time! I'll let you know if my condition changes in the near future! I'd be quite curious to hear if any of you try it and how it turns out! Please be careful in your efforts!

UPDATE: It's been roughly a week since I tested the hammer, and here's the status...The patch on my hip has disappeared. There is no itch in that spot. However, two patches cropped up right next to that patch. I don't know if it's related to using the hammer, but they sure do itch. I'm considering trying the hammer on them too. Now, the patch in the "sensitive" area is just as itchy as ever, maybe more. I don't understand why it appeared to work in one place but not the other. Very strange. I will post an additional update if I decide to test it again.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Roughly two weeks after the first hammer test, I decided to give it a go again.  I had developed two additional patches on my hip, right next to the original patch. I pulled out the hammer and followed the same steps as before. It's been 3 days since I did this, and those patches are nearly gone! You can tell there used to be rash there, but there are no raised hives, and they do not itch. I'm more and more convinced that there might be something to this remedy! 

The Delay & My Current Treatment Routine

I'm sorry for the delay in the Seven Star Needle test! I've had the wonderful problem of not having a good enough patch of rash to try it on! I anticipate my rash flaring up again in a week or so if it sticks to it's previous pattern. I will be testing it as soon as that happens!

In the mean time, I'm so pleased that my current rash routine is helping! I will soon need to write baby #4's story and tell you all about it! In case you can't wait (and I know what it is to be in a desperate place!!), here is a quick list that I'll elaborate on later.

• Dandelion root capsules: 800 mg 1-2x/day (Oregon's Wild Harvest brand)
• Daily probiotics (Biokult brand)
• Daily superfood supplement (Dr. Schulze brand)
• Magnesium supplement (Professional Formulas Note: I haven't ordered from this website. I buy from a relative, so I am not endorsing this seller. I just wanted you to have a link where you could read more about it.)
• Liquid chlorophyll supplement (Nature's Sunshine brand)
• Topical essential oil treatment that I came up with recently.

The probiotics, superfood, magnesium, and liquid chlorophyll are not specifically for PUPPPs. Those are just my normal vitamin routine, but you never know what is helping! 

The dandelion root capsules and the essential oils are the only things I'm doing specifically for PUPPPs, and they really seem to be helping!

A more detailed post is in the works. :) 

Black Cherry Juice Update

I've been testing the Black Cherry Juice remedy for a couple weeks now, and I DO feel like I'm seeing some positive results!

Here's a little info link about why the highly anti-inflammatory Black Cherry Juice is helpful: Black Cherry Juice Info

And here's the gist: Black Cherry Juice contains anthocyanins, a type of antioxidant that helps to block enzymes that cause inflammation. As well we know, PUPPPs is quite the inflammatory process. So, there does seem to be some science behind why this tasty remedy may help!

And boy, is it tasty! Tastes just like eating the canned cherries from my Grandpa's farm when I was a little girl.

I've been drinking 8 oz a day for about 2 weeks. I wasn't consistent at first, due to traveling, but I have been very consistent this last week, and my rash looks quite a bit better. The itch is less severe as well. Unfortunately, it's hard to say whether that is just the natural pattern of my PUPPPs taking its course or the juice really helping. But I'm pretty sure it can't be hurting, and it tastes so good!

I would highly recommend giving it a try!!

This is the brand I'm drinking, in case you're curious. 

I Finally Made the Order

I did it! I ordered a seven star needle!

"What on earth is that??" You may ask?

Here's an excerpt from my "Treatments I've Tried" post...

Chinese Medicine 7 Star Needle: supposedly complete healing relief
This is a bizarre one! I recently found out about this treatment through puppps.org. It uses a Chinese medicine device designed to treat hives. Here's a pic...

Crazy looking, no? Apparently, you tap the hive until it starts to bleed, and then that hive NEVER itches again. The testimony on puppps.org is really compelling!!! Otherwise, I don't think I'd even consider this treatment! You can find videos on youtube if you want to see the treatment in action. I'm currently building up the courage to order one from amazon. I'll let you know!

Well, I finally ordered one! $5 on amazon with free shipping. That's pretty cheap if it truly gets rid of the rash. The shipping was abominably slow, sadly. It'll probably be 3-4 weeks before it arrives, but when it does, I'll test it on myself and let you know!

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. 

Treatments I've Tried

Here's my comprehensive list of treatments I've tried in the past. I'll rate them on a scale of 1-10, 1 being not helpful at all and 10 being complete healing. I'll also indicate whether it simply brought temporary relief or actually worked to heal the rash. 

Alternative Treatments:

Oatmeal Baths: Rating - 2, temporary relief
These baths (I used the Aveeno brand) felt ok while I was in them, but left zero lasting relief once I was out.

Epsom Salt Baths: Rating - 1, neither temporary or healing relief
While I normally love a good epsom salt bath, I found no relief from the itching with these.

Herbal Baths: Rating - 2, temporary relief
I had another friend with PUPPPs that found huge relief from herbal baths that included herbs like comfrey, calendula, lavender, plantain, red raspberry, and others. The bath felt sort of nice while I was in it, soothing even. Sadly, there was no change in the itch as a result of the multiple treatments I tried.

Aloe Vera: Rating - 2, temporary relief
Aloe, which I refrigerated to increase the cooling effect, alleviated the itch while it was drying. However, as soon as it dried, I was reaching for something else.

Banana Peels: Rating - 1, neither temporary or healing relief
I read somewhere that someone found relief from rubbing banana peels on their rash. Pretty bizarre. That was not the case for me. It stung a bit, but did not decrease the itch at all. Here is a link to one momma that DID find relief with banana peels: Click Here.

Sun Bathing: Rating - 1, neither temporary or healing relief
I think the theory here is that the UV or the release of vitamin D is supposed to help. Not for me! No help at all. I tried multiple sessions just to be sure.

Charcoal Poultices: Rating - 1, neither temporary or healing relief
This one makes me laugh, just because of the giant mess it made. Charcoal in general is like a zillion tiny sponges. It's awesome treating food poisoning, because it actually soaks up the toxins and bad bugs that are making you ill. I read that charcoal poultices also help some skin conditions in that same way. You paint yourself with a paste of charcoal and water and cover the mixture so that it doesn't dry out. It doesn't work dry. That becomes tricky when the rash is ALL over! I decided to try it on my worst patch, which was at the top of my belly. My mom help paint me with the paste, and then we wrapped me in plastic stretch wrap to keep it from drying out! What a sight! Black goo wrapped up like yesterday's leftovers! Anyway, I tried it for a couple days and then gave up. It wasn't helping, and it was torture to have my itchiest spot covered where I couldn't get to it!

Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap: Rating - 1, neither temporary or healing relief
I'm sorry to say that the soap that seems to help so many people gave me no relief! I didn't notice ANY reduction in the itch. Glad it helps so many others though! If I were starting over, I would still try it, as it seems to bring relief for lots of PUPPPs people!

Sulfur Soap: Rating - 1, neither temporary or healing relief
This soap is recommended for rashes like poison oak, so I thought I'd try it. It was no help, and it was stinky.

Dandelion Root: Rating - 6, healing relief
I drank the tea and took the tincture. When the rash was bad, I tried to drink a cup of tea a day and take 2 droppers of tincture 3x/day. (This was at my midwife's recommendation.) During the 4 times that I've had PUPPPs, this remedy hasn't always worked. I do believe it was the reason my rash became tolerable with my 2nd pregnancy, but it wasn't enough to help my rash on my 3rd pregnancy. I am currently taking it with my 4th pregnancy, and it seems to be contributing to keeping my rash from driving me crazy. I am sleeping through the night.

Nettle Tea: Rating - unsure, healing relief
I drink this tea off and on, but drank it consistently in my second pregnancy. It may have contributed to the healing. It's easy to add a teabag of this stuff when you are already steeping a bag of dandelion tea. Traditional Medicines is the brand I used.

Apis Mellifera homeopathics: Rating - 1, neither temporary or healing relief
Once again, I was disappointed to find that a remedy that seemed to help a lot of women did nothing for me.

Acupuncture: Rating - 1, neither temporary or healing relief
I really gave this one a shot, because lots of people said you can't tell with just a few treatments. I even tried a couple different practitioners. I know it has helped some people, but it did nothing for me.

Ice Packs: Rating - 8, temporary relief
This is definitely my favorite treatment for temporary relief. I have a whole post on it here. Icing the itch would calm it down sometimes for hours. This meant sleep! Keep a cooler of ice packs by your bed so you don't have to get up in the night.

Essential Oils: Rating - 9, temporary AND healing relief!
This has been revolutionary in my 4th pregnancy with PUPPPs! I wish I had experimented with it in earlier pregnancies! I made a blend of peppermint, lavender, geranium, frankincense, myrrh, eucalyptus, tea tree, and ylang ylang essential oils. The cooling effect of the oils calms the itch immediately and keeps it calm for hours and hours. The anti-inflammatory properties of all the oils seems to heal the rash! It's awesome!! Here's a link to my recent, thorough explanation of this treatment and a recipe for the blend: Click HERE.

Not-So-Natural Things I've Tried:

Sarna Cream: Rating - 2, temporary relief

This lotion, found at most drugstores, uses menthol and camphor to calm itches. Unfortunately for me, it brought little relief. I would describe it as a mild cooling effect that lasted roughly 5 minutes.

Benadryl: Rating - 1, neither temporary or healing relief
I noticed absolutely zero reduction in symptoms from benadryl pills, either 25 mg or 50 mg doses.

Over the counter hydrocortisone cream: Rating - 3, healing relief
I've found that this brings mild relief. It is NOT an instant relief, but if used consistently, I noticed a slight reduction in the intensity of the itch. I would estimate it took 3-5 days to notice any effect.

Benadryl cream: Rating - 1, neither temporary or healing relief
Again, similar to the pill form, I found zero relief from this antihistamine cream.

Vistaril (hydroxyzine): Rating - 1, neither temporary or healing relief
This heavy-duty prescription antihistamine did nothing for me. It was intended as a sleep aid, and it didn't work for me. The thought is that it makes you sleepy enough that the itch doesn't wake you up. I noticed zero improvement in my sleep from this pill.

Prednisone: Rating - 5, healing relief
Sadly, this nasty steroid did work for me, but my experience was brief. 2 days before giving birth to my first baby, I broke down and took this. By the time I went into labor, I did notice a big drop in the itch. I was feeling much better. I stopped the drug after my girl was born, and the itch did return, though not as intensely for about a month. Talk to you doctor or midwife extensively and give careful consideration before you go forward with this steroid.

Topical triamcinolone 0.1%: Rating - 7, healing relief
This is a topical steroid that was my saving grace with Baby #3. Within 2-3 days of starting treatment, I found a huge reduction in the symptoms. I was more comfortable with this than taking oral Prednisone, because the general opinion of the medical world is that less of the drug gets into your system when it's applied to your skin versus taking a pill. I still had flare-ups periodically, but I would just increase my usage temporarily, and it would calm things down. However, though I didn't notice any side-effect for myself, my baby was born was some serious yeast issues. She had yeast in her diaper area, arms pits, and neck folds until she was roughly 9 months old. Steroids suppress your immune system and allow bad bugs like yeast to grow. It is my understanding that the steroids caused my natural flora (my personal collection of bacteria on my skin, in my gut, and even in my birth canal) to change. Thus, when my baby was born, she was colonized with more bad bacteria than good. We spent months battling this yeast. I will tell her story in more detail in a future post. For now, please know that steroids have side effects worth considering before using them. I learned my lesson with baby #3 and have done everything possible to avoid taking them with this current pregnancy rash. 

Alternative Treatments on my list of things to try:

Chinese Medicine 7 Star Needle: Rating - 4, temporary & healing relief
This is a bizarre one! I recently found out about this treatment through puppps.org. It uses a Chinese medicine device designed to treat hives. Here's a pic...

Crazy looking, no? Apparently, you tap the hive until it starts to bleed, and then that hive NEVER itches again. The testimony on puppps.org is really compelling!!! Otherwise, I don't think I'd even consider this treatment! You can find videos on youtube if you want to see the treatment in action. I'm currently building up the courage to order one from amazon. I'll let you know! UPDATE: I tried it!! Click HERE for the review!

Black Cherry Juice: theoretical healing relief UPDATE: rating - 4, healing relief
Apparently this juice is supposed to heal the rash due to its anti-inflammatory properties. A little juice drinking in exchange for rash healing sounds awesome! I think I found this one on a babycenter forum. I'll keep you posted! UPDATE: see THIS POST for my experience trying the Black Cherry Juice remedy!

A Really Helpful Page

One of the sites I've found to be a great resource is Naomi Kritzer's page all about PUPPPs. She has listed every remedy she's heard of and talks about the effectiveness of each. She gave me the go ahead to post a link.

Here's the Link.

Hope it's helpful to someone out there!

Hot & Cold Shower Treatments

I'm pretty sure we're all familiar with the relief that a cold shower brings to PUPPPs, but I've found a twist that could actually help beat back the rash. 

Hot AND cold showers. Here's what I've gathered from my reading. It's all pretty common sense. 

A hot shower increases circulation in our skin. You know how your skin gets red under the hot water? That's the body bringing more blood to the surface and opening up those tiny blood vessels (capillaries) right beneath the top layers. 

Our blood is like a big bus. It carries everything our body needs and doesn't need to the various organs and cells. Good things and bad things hop on the bus and travel around. When you want healing to take place, you need that bus working efficiently and frequently. So how do you get it to take more trips to your rash?

After getting comfortably warm in a hot shower, turn the water as cold as you can stand! The hot water brought lots of blood to the surface, and the cold water does the opposite. It forces all that blood back to the center of your body, carrying with it toxins and junk from your skin. Your blood will take it to your various waste eliminating organs (so make sure those organs are functioning well! More on that to come in future posts!). 

According to the various sources I've read, one cycle with the hot and cold water is great, but six or seven cycles are even better. Wash that skin from the inside and out! 

Here's a quick recap on how to do it:

1) Get nice and toasty first in comfortably warm water. Make sure your whole body gets evenly warmed. 

2) Turn the water as cold as you can take it and stay in it until your skin is cooled down all over. 

3) Repeat this cycle 5-10 times, and always end on a cold cycle. 

Personally, if I didn't have PUPPPs, I wouldn't have the guts to do this. But my PUPPPs makes it feel SOOOO good. The hot water feels like it scratches the itch everywhere it touches. SO satisfying! And then the cold water chills it down and calms the itch. It's a huge improvement on the cold shower alone. I highly recommend it! Plus, it's one of those things that can't really hurt to try. But PLEASE PLEASE be sensible about the hot water temperature! NO overheating & hurting that little one inside you. Listen to your body about how hot to get the water, and switch to cold before you overheat. 

Happy showering, folks! 

Here are a few links in case you'd like to do further reading: 

Hydrotherapy

The James Bond Shower

Alternating hot and cold showers for health benefits

Hot & Cold Hydrotherapy Treatment

Once, again, please use good judgement on the water temp!!

PUPPPs Clothing Tips

I am a pretty modest person. But when it comes to PUPPPs, the less clothing the better. Unfortunately, life requires clothing. So, you've got to figure out what to wear that will be the least irritating on your skin. 

Through the FOUR times that I've had this rash, I've found a few things that help. 

Cotton and Silk

When possible, go natural. Simple cotton T-shirts. Not too tight. Not too loose. Loose clothing tickles your skin and just adds to the problem, in my opinion. Tight clothing creates irritation points. Irritation points = rash. Jeans are not your friend. They are a bad combination of lots of seams and tight spots. My current rash started 6 weeks ago. I think I've worn jeans twice since then and regretted both times. Skirts like this one from Old Navy are my super-duper faves. I wear them with leggings so that the bottom hem of the skirt doesn't tickle my legs. (These leggings are my current favorites. Very smooth.) Any skirt with that soft, fold-over, t-shirt material top is good. I have half a dozen of them. 

Shun tags!

If possible, find clothing that has no tag built in. You know, the ones where they just print on the brand, size, etc. Cut out your other tags! I find that my skin flares up with a big patch of rash anywhere there is an irritation. My rash usually starts at my underwear and bra lines. Speaking of bras...

Undergarments

I stop wearing all underwear with seams. (Actually, I shun seams whenever possible too.) I look for this kind kind instead. I found mine at Target. Seamless undies rock.

As for bras, I used to wear those heavy duty, underwire, have-their-own-zip-code-monstrosities specifically for maternity use. I'm pregnant, I need to wear maternity stuff, right? Eh. No. During my 3rd pregnancy, I switched over to a super comfortable bra made by a company called Coobie. (Find them here.)

Aren't they pretty? They are lightyears more comfortable than my old underwire medieval torture devices. Very few seams. Things blossom rather abundantly when I'm pregnant, and they do the job. Not quite as uplifting, but WELL worth the comfort. They even make a "full size" version for the extra well-endowed among us. Normally, my worst patch of rash is under my bra line, but now that I'm wearing this kind, the rash is pretty minimal there. There are also knock-offs of this bra. I have one by a company called Anemone. Looks like it was made in the same factory. I'm pretty sure you can find similar products at your local big box store too. Remember, the fewer seams against your skin, the better! And not too tight!

Ladies, I hope this helps y'all be more comfortable!

Note: I'm not getting any kickbacks from these companies. They are truly just products I've found really helpful! 

My other friend...

This is my hairbrush. 

Like the ice packs from a previous post, it also adds to my sanity. AND protects my skin. It is much kinder to my skin than itch-enraged fingernails. I've tried other hairbrushes (plastic with little nubbins on the ends, plastic without the nubbins, 50% boar bristle). Only this one will do. Not too soft. Not too rough. It's 100% boar bristle. Something about thousands of tiny bristles all working together to scratch that unbearable itch makes me sigh with relief. 

I highly recommend PUPPPs sufferers find themselves a good boar bristle brush to save their skin. Spring for it. You'll see what I mean. 

Relief!

See my poll over on the right?

Well, if you answered "other" and have some helpful tips to share, please do!

This post is all about the comments. Feel free to share remedies or treatments that worked the BEST for you! 

Fire away!

Ice packs are your friend...

One thing I started with the first round of PUPPPs was keeping a small cooler of ice packs by my bed at night. It was the only thing that would calm the itch when it woke me up. This way I'd be able to go back to sleep faster and get longer chunks of sleep at night. I slept with it there long after the itch was bearable at night, like a security blanket. I recommend at least 5 ice packs to make it through the night. 

Here are a few that I really liked. 

This one is made of clay and had a nice elastic strap to keep it in place after you fall asleep with it on. It stays cold reasonably well.

(Click here for the Amazon link.)

This guy isn't the longest lasting, but I liked that you didn't need to wrap it in a towel. It is also very flexible. 

(Click here for the Amazon link.)

Now, this sucker lasts a LONG time. Rock hard after hours. But it isn't flexible like the others, and you will need to have something between it and your skin, so keep that in mind. Even if you don't use in on your rash, it will keep your cooler super chilly so that your other ice packs are plenty cold in the wee hours of the morning. 

(Click here for the Amazon page.)

I can't over-emphasize what a difference this method made for my sleep! No getting out of bed to take cold showers. No getting out of bed at all! I'd only wake up long enough to crack the cooler lid and slap on an ice pack. Having nursed 3 babies through the night til 10 months old, I can say it's a rather similar amount of sleep. (Not that you need practice at sleep deprivation!!) But sleep equals sanity, and sanity is something all PUPPPs sufferers need in giant helpings! Wishing you all better sleep!