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
Tina Jennings
Hi I’m 36 weeks pregnant now, got diagnosed with PUPPS at 32 weeks, I’m so desperate to get rid of this horrible itching, crying every night coz of intense itching like there’s no tomorrow, I’m drinking nettle tea, dandelion tea, avoiding poultry products like egg chicken etc, also putting on creams E45 hydrocortisone, etc etc but those don’t seem to work at all, I can’t take oral steroids as I have gestational diabetes, prednisone steroid makes my sugar level very high, I have pupps rashes all over my body including my face ears neck etc, except my feet, it started in my belly though, I’m always taking cold showers, tomorrow I’ll definitely try the hot shower, what hurts more is that when you ask your ob what else you can do they’ll say it will go away after delivery but I have 4 more weeks to go 🙁 thanks for the advises here learned alot God bless you all
Jolene Liow
Hi Tina, sending big hugs your way. Please remember it’s not taking a hot shower, it will definitely make it worse. Do it as a patch-by-patch exercise – using warm water on the affected rashes, and slowly turning up the temperature until about ‘onsen’ temperature water, which will agitate the rashes as though you’ve scratched it without breaking your skin. Do not scald yourself and be very careful if you do try the hot water hack.
Melodie
Jolene, you say your rash comes back every now and again. I’m wondering, are you breastfeeding by any chance? Just wondering if there is a hormonal link… Wondering if stopping breastfeeding would help it go away. Also, thank you for sharing this. I may try the hot water on one arm and compare results to my other arm.
Jolene Liow
Hi Melodie, oh dear really really hope you manage to find something that helps. The purpose of the hot water hack is to take the edge off the insane itching, so you can probably get some sleep. Anyway, a word of caution, it’s not really taking a hot shower, as it’s impossible to stay under such hot water. If you’re taking a hot shower, I suspect it WILL make it much worse as the water will not be hot enough. It has to be a patch by patch focused spray, how the hot water works is mainly to agitate and release the histamine stores which are causing the crazy itch (antihistamines suppress the histamines). It will only work if the water is onsen-temperature water, i.e pretty darn hot but NOT scalding. You should only be able to tolerate a few rounds of the hot water patch-by-patch spray, and you should feel as though the hot water is “scratching” the rashes for you. The good thing is you don’t break your skin using hot water, but of course you should not be burning yourself, test with your hands first. The body will continue to build up the histamines but that takes many hours, that’s why I mention a 8-hour stretch where I could finally get some sleep because when the PUPPP first erupted, I was itching the entire night until 6am in the morning. After expending all the histamine stores from the PUPPP rashes, I no longer felt itchy and could finally get some rest. After 1-2 weeks, my body seemed to realize it shouldn’t be building up the histamine anymore and the rashes stopped spreading and no new patches were formed. Yes I always breastfeed my babies so there may be a link although we can never really know why our bodies build up histamines to this level and it could be anything really. Hope this helps and I really hope you get some relief soon!
Krish
I was on my 34th week when my stretch marks itched so badly. 1 week after, I am covered in rashes except my face, neck, breasts and butt. Good thinh my tummy doesnt itch anymore. My derma prescribed Suu balm which is very soothing because of its minty feel but I have to reapply every time I feel an itch. I started on prednisone (oral steroid) today (prescribed by my derma with the approval of my obgyn) and I was also prescribed cetirizine at night to help me sleep and tame down the itch a bit (still woke up midnight but i only itched on my arms unlike before where my legs, arms, back itched) I’m hoping these medications work after the 5day treatment period. If not, i’ll try your hot water hack. I’m desperate and really down with how terrible my rashes look plus I get looks from strangers when I’m out. The general public isn’t familiar with PUPPPS ?
Jolene Liow
Hi Krish, hugs. Hope you find something that relieves you of the itch. Perhaps try dandelion root / nettle tea / milk thistle as some others have suggested? I didn’t try those but no harm giving it a go? If you do try the hot water hack, don’t do it for too long, just enough to take the edge off the insane itch so you can get a good night’s rest. Hope this helps!
Krish
Hi jolene. I tried the hot water and it worked for me too. I’m 38weeks pregnant now and the rashes are gone. It looks really freaky at first but now its all flat. What’s left are the discoloration which lightens every week. I still use the SUU balm when an itch comes along. But the hot water trick definitely did the trick. Thank goodness I tried it and didn’t close my mind as most would say cold water is the way to go and that hot water is a no go. Plus the warm bath helps me sleep well at night as I stopped taking cetirizine already. I know, prednisone also helped me a lot but for those who are hesitant to use steroids, your hot water hack is a must try. Thanks! ?
Jolene Liow
Hi Krish! Great that it helped, don’t worry, the discolouration will be fully gone by the time your lil bub turns 1 month or so. And your skin will be back to normal! Yippie!
Amber Dunn
I got the rash at 37 weeks the rash was only on my stretch marks on my belly… I tried everything I could while being pregnant. Pine tar soap, creams, Benadryl… nothing worked… I was induced at 39 weeks, I am now 4 weeks postpartum and it’s not gone away, matter of fact it’s gotten worse and worse each week since my son was born. Hot showers, cold showers, aloe, cooling aloe, Benadryl, aveno lotion, oatmeal baths, nothing has worked…. so as I’ve read it has to do with liver and kidney issues as well as hormones I asked my husband to pick up dandilion tea, since the store didn’t carry capsules 🙁 witch hazel to dry out the skin and help with the itch, milk thistle to help liver function, Zyrtec since I can take that while breastfeeding (also a struggle you will come up against, things that might work… you can’t do while breastfeeding…. as if the rash wasn’t enough pain and agony, let’s add more frustration and complication to it right?!!) vitamin C chewables and coconut oil. So far I’ve started ALL of that tonight I pray something comes from it… I am covered head to toe and don’t want to stop breast feeding just to get a shot in the A$$ when the 5 days steroid treatment I was giving during pregnancy didn’t help one bit. This is by far the worst feeling on top of having to be 100% for my baby (first time mom as well) I don’t sleep already, now I really don’t sleep bc I’m up itching all night. My skin is swollen and feels like it’s melting off. I’d honestly rather be dipped in acid then feel like this another week… praying for all of us “lucky” women who can’t win the damn lottery but can get this rare rash… good luck ladies I hope something works for us.
Jolene Liow
Oh dear, this too shall pass and I hope it starts clearing away for you soon!
Melodie
Amber, your situation sounds like mine, except I’m now 6 weeks postpartum and my rash is still there! My rash actually started about a week PP, and got progressively worse. After the antihistamines and steroid Ointment did nothing, I opted for 5 days of oral steroid (I had to pump and dump, to keep my supply going, and gave my LO formula for a week). The steroids helped a bit, about 85%of the hives had gone, and the rest seemed less itchy…I was hopeful. But, another week passed and the hives started appearing in areas they never were before.
I have tried all the things you’ve listed, my rash is now mixed. Some parts are starting to look eczema-like as opposed to hives (and oddly enough feel like they itch even more).
I’m still breastfeeding, which is making me miserable, as the hives are still all over my breasts.
I just came across this page, I wish I would have tried hot showers… All I did was cold compress and cold showers for the first 4-5 weeks, because it seemed like the only thing that was helping. I figured since I felt worse when hot, hot showers would make it worse.
I honestly don’t know what to do anymore, I’ve tried so many things, my skin is so dry, I’m afraid it won’t be able to take hot showers. The summer heat aggravates it, the small eczema-like dots seem to be spreading to my back… All this and having to take care of a baby (and being a first time mom too…) -making me hate my life. Desperately looking for advice…
Meredy
Hi Jolene,
I’m currently 34 weeks pregnant. Going 35 this Saturday. I’m having this rash outbreak all of the sudden since last Sunday! It was madness! I can’t sleep for a few nights already! I’m a first time mum and I have lots of worries too! I’m still hesitating if I should just use hot water to bath on my arms and legs. I even bought an anti itch cream called suu balm and I hope it works for me especially at night and also cetaphil body wash for itchy skin!
Not sure if these 2 items and hot shower helps.. But I do hope to get back from you for the advise. Thank you!
Meredy
Jolene Liow
Hi Meredy
Oh dear! Sorry to hear that!
My advice would be to try everything you can possibly try before attempting the hot water and if you do resort to that, make sure you don’t scald yourself!
The hot water is really a last ditch attempt to stop the itching and get some quality sleep. Hope it goes away for you soon!