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
N. Cummings
I started having PUPPPs around my 34th week of pregnancy (currently at 39 weeks). I spent endless hours googling and trying to find a remedy for this unbearable situation and came up with a combination concoction. Not sure which one actually helped as a I refuse to stop any of it out of fear it will come back with a vengeance….
Spot hot water treatment helped A LOT! I also took an Aveeno oatmeal bath in the morning and at night (not too hot and did not stay in for long), put in lavendar teabags in the water, and dissolved some pine tar soap in there. I also sudded on pine tar soap in each bath, let it stay for a few minutes and washed it off. I drank dandelion and nettle team in the mornings and at night I put calomine on so I wouldn’t itch. In 2 weeks the rash subsided and is now patchy areas.
I tried putting in some oil-based soaps and coconut oil in after some baths because my skin was dry but that would cause some outbreaks so I agree that there is a trade off but I would rather have dry skin and no rash!
I definitely have flare ups here and there but nothing compared to what it was a few weeks ago! I usually never post but I know how miserable this rash is so hopefully this helps moms to be out there!
Jolene Liow
That’s a lot of work! Hope it’s going away and you’re feeling better already!
Bec
You think your lucky being 1 out of 200 to get it while pregnant? I am part of 15% of that 1% who get it within weeks of labour.. that’s right 2 weeks after giving birth I have come down with this puppps rash all over my body so I don’t have the comfort of knowing it will stop once I give birth ? but I have found although heat irritates the rash and makes me more itchy, using the shower head with boiling hot water directed over the rash like you have mentioned has defiantly helped.. a lot more then the steroid cream the dr prescribed.. I’ve now had the rash for almost 2 weeks which seems to be going in some parts of my body (the parts it showed up in first) but seems to be spreading to new territory which is super annoying.. hope it goes away soon! My body is starting to bruise from all the scratching
Jolene Liow
Hi Bec, oh dear hope it has already gone away! It should! Hugs***
Joanna
My PUPPs started one week before birth around my tummy just like yours however the worst of it came after birth. The doctor at the hospital thought it was just ‘one of those things’. Then I went to my gp who (3 gps later) googled what it could be and diagnosed it as PUPPs: I took antihistamines once a day which although felt like they weren’t working, once I stopped taking them the itching became even worse! I also used pine tar soap and natural aloe vera gel. Like you hot baths seemed to help but the aloe vera gel was the biggest saviour! For any ladies that are going through this now, be strong and know that there’s a few of us out there who know exactly how you feel. You’re not alone. X
Jolene Liow
Thanks for sharing Joanna!
Selina
Hi, i happened to came across your blog entry on puppp. I have recently delivered and there are still brown tan patches over my legs and thighs. Do you have the same scenario? How long does it take for these brown tan patches to revert back to the normal skin color and is there any cream which you applied to lighten the brown tan patches?
Jolene Liow
Hi Selina, yes it takes time for the brown patches to fade away. As long it’s no longer itchy and you no longer agitate it, it will fade away completely, don’t worry about it. I did not apply any cream to lighten the patches. I believe it took some time though, can’t really remember but maybe few months after delivery. Hope this helps!
Catherine
Yes I spend less time in the shower. Now it takes like 8 minutes to focus the water on the patches left. Thank you again.