NOT MEDICAL ADVICE – ALWAYS CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE TRYING ANYTHING!
When I was pregnant with Lauren, I suffered from Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy (PUPPP). It is a debilitating hormonal rash so itchy you’d think you had sand flies underneath your skin biting their way out. All day and night. You wouldn’t even wish it upon your worst enemies. So I’m going to share a simple PUPPP relief method, for the good of all womankind. NOT MEDICAL ADVICE! [space]
Table of Contents
What Is PUPPP?
PUPPP is uncommon, but not rare, and apparently has a reported rate of 0.5% in single pregnancies. In other words, 1 very unlucky woman out of 200 will get this. So 199 women can thank their lucky stars that I was the chosen one, 天煞孤星. How do you know if it’s PUPPP? It comes during the last trimester and spreads everywhere, excluding the face, palms and soles. That’s right, you’d even get the rash on your armpits and butt crack. Nasty right? For me, it started from my belly stretch marks. The rest is history. I was only 36 weeks and according to the doctor, the only PUPPP cure was to deliver the baby.
I know right, if men could get pregnant, I’m sure there would be a PUPPP cure. Heck, there may even be a vaccine to prevent it from happening. Just take a look at this monstrosity.
PUPPP Rashes and How It Looks
As you can tell, the rash is unlike any other rash. They are like college cheerleaders, forming cliques and all.
Another tell-tale sign that you have PUPPP, if it’s not obvious enough when you are losing your sanity from scratching, is the rash has a halo effect. Yea, nothing beats being mocked by an angelic rash from hell.
So, many women opt to induce birth so they can be freed by the shackles of this PUPPP rash. Others try oatmeal baths and pine tar soaps that make you smell like you were roasting boar at a campfire. Many others just scratched till they bled. It’s so tragic! So how did I manage to get through this without a single scar on my skin?
Hot Water or Hot Air
That’s right, I used hot water. *DISCLAMINER: This worked for me and does not necessarily mean it will work for you. Execution is key. Try at your own risk! AND BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO BURN YOURSELF!
As mentioned, execution is key. Hot water has a wide range and the hot water I’m talking about is like onsen temperature hot water. Almost as hot as you can accept and yet, not scald your skin. For me, I turned down the water outlet to the right temperature and used the shower head to focus on the PUPPP rashes.
I am not sure about the science behind it but in simple layman’s terms, the hot water actually manages to agitate the excessive histamines store (we don’t know why we suddenly produce so much!) all at once, i.e. getting to the root of the itch and it feels as though you scratched the crap out of it but you didn’t! So you are gratified without damaging your skin! And since it takes time for our bodies to build up the histamines store again, before we start itching like mad, it’s time for us to get some sleep! Finally! And this method is good for relief around 8 hours! Only issue is, the rash will look very freaky friday.
Recovery Phase
Oh yeah baby. That’s what I’m talking about. It looks horrendous but the hot water provided me relief of up to 8 hours at a go! In fact, the hot water felt so good, I recall looking forward to it every time! Hahaha! I kept it up for about 1 week or so and by then the rash had pretty much stopped itching and my skin was on its way to recovery. Isn’t that fast?
You have no idea how victorious I felt overcoming something that was told to me, “Sorry no cure”. Take that, b****! Self-censorship there.
Update 7 Feb 2019
I’m now pregnant with my 4th baby and getting rashes again at 22 weeks. The hair dryer works just as well and has less possibility of accidentally scalding yourself. You just have to be extra careful and hold it further away first to get a feel of it. You will feel as if you’re scratching but you’re not. Turn the hair-dryer away once you feel the itch has been “scratched” and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT burn yourself!
The rash was totally gone before Lauren was 1 month old. No scars, no sweat. Thank God! Well, if you are dealing with PUPPP and can’t even sleep, hope this helps. If you’ve had another way to deal with PUPPP, share with us!
***Update: So although Lauren is already 20 months old, the rash still comes back, in small patches like under my belly button. So due to the “strategic location”, I can’t exactly scorch myself anymore. Sigh! Haha, so thankfully I’ve got the Baby Miracle Balm cos it stops the rash and dries it up overnight. Doesn’t have the ooomph factor but works.
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183 Comments
sarah
omg, i was going insane covering myself in pine tar soap every 3 hours. Then the rash would flare up worse when i wanted to sleep, my cold compresses only held for like an hour at a time and there was no sleep had.
then i read this 5 days into my puppp hell and… RELIEF. i wish i found this sooner, hope i didnt damage my skin too bad from the earlier itching episodes… im finally going to take an itch free nap, thankyou thankyou thankyou
*i still used cold water, aloe, and stuff for belly area, but scorched the heck out of my legs. i’m in heaven.
Jolene Liow
Hi Sarah! Great to have helped! All the best for your delivery!
Kimberly L Miller
Hi Jolene,
My mom and I found your blog as I am currently going through an unbelievably bad case of Pupps (from my toes to my neck). I am 34 +4 and am so miserable. I think the hot water really does “itch” it without actually itching. I’ve been using Pine Tar Soap as well and then Sesame Oil on my body after the shower which has a really soothing effect. Did you notice the itchiness go away earlier than the actual rash? I basically cry all day and while my doctors have talked induction that probably wouldn’t be for 3-4 more weeks 🙁
Jolene Liow
Hi Kimberly, yes. For me, after scorching, the itch went away totally after just a few days. The rash patch lingered on and only completely faded away 1-month postpartum. Don’t scratch or you’d leave scars~ All the best for your delivery, hang in there!
Courtney Kett
I ended up with a rash during my last trimester of pregnancy that would come and go and be extremely itchy and feel as though my skin was on fire. I ended up going to A and E as it was the wend and my doctor’s practice wasn’t open on the weekends. Unfortunately this was also over the Christmas break so he was away on holidays. By the time he was back and I had my next appointment with him the rash had nearly disappeared leaving only a few slight purplish scars. From the photos I took he was pretty certain it was PUPPS. He too informed me that it would come and go until I give birth and my hormones settled down. Unfortunately my doctor up and left due to personal reasons so I started seeing a different delivering doctor. She said it was just like an eczema rash and nothing to worry about. I delivered a healthy baby bot back in March and have still had the rash come and go. Definitely not as wide spread as before but its really bad around my knees and elbows. I was hoping that once I delivered it would bugga off, no such luck though. Even though I am exclusively Breast Feeding I have just got my period back and boy has the rash come back tenfold.
Just wondering if anyone notices any links with the rash appearing when they’d normally be due for a period or when they have it ??? My knees are so sore to the point that it hurts to kneel on them and to bend them. I need a cure or a second opinion for a proper diagnosis !
Jolene Liow
It may not be PUPPP rash as it does not come and go just like that. PUPPP is very intense and will spread to the entire body except for the face, palms and soles of feet. It may be another type of hormonal/postpartum rash you’re experiencing.
Natassa Kattou
Hi,
I had pulp rash during my pregnancy and it was horrendous! Honestly was worse than child birth!
Anyway my legs are now full of scars and I was wondering if you did anything to help remove any scarring you may had?
Jolene Liow
Hi Natassa, sorry I didn’t have any scarring as I didn’t scratch at all, so no broken skin. The dark patches faded away without any intervention on my part.
Courtney Kett
Hi Natassa,
The rash that I have had has left scaring – more like Purplish/whitish colouring of the skin.
Nicole
All I can say is wow! The hot water really did feel like I was scratching it! My question is, how long did you hold the hot water on your rash? And how many times a day/week did you do this? Thank you for the post, it was so encouraging to read something that didn’t seem like it was unreasonable or going to cost me tons of money!
Jolene Liow
Hi Nicole, usually just some splashes until I felt relieved. I didn’t overdo it. Initially, it was 2-3 showers a day, then 1 shower a day was enough. After the itching stopped, I stopped the hot showers too. I’m glad it helped!