Surviving PUPPPS

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was diagnosed with the dreaded PUPPPS pregnancy rash. PUPPPS stands for Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy. Also known as hell for those of us who get it during pregnancy. There is very little research done on the issue due to the fact that there is no known cause or health concern for mother or baby. Well, let me tell you that they are WRONG! It drives the mother insane. The itching is indescribable. Any bit of warmth makes the itching and burning worse. You lose all kinds of sleep because anything that touches your skin makes the rash come to life and it is just straight misery. The rash begins in your stretch marks. Even if you didn't know you had a stretch mark. They become dark red and purple, swell in size, and itch like crazy. It then quickly spreads like wildfire. Since there is very little research on the topic there is no treatment. The doctor gave me a steroid cream to apply 3 times a day. This provided about 15 minutes of relief. I tried every anti-itch cream, pills, and lotions out there. They only provided an hour or so of relief. I was up almost every night for about 14 days crying with cold washcloths and ice packs covering my body. I was taking cool showers about 5 times a day just to keep my body from feeling like my skin was going to just fall off.

The inside of my right leg. 

(left: day 1 of dandelion root pills)

(right: day 10 of dandelion root pills)

The top of my right leg.

(left: day 1 of dandelion root pills)

(right: day 10 dandelion root pills)

There are a few remedies online that I tried...I looked online so often that I'm fairly certain that I have all 20+ pages memorized. I wanted to share my remedies and what worked for me. I have been almost PUPPPS free for about 10 days. I still get a few spots here and there (mostly on my legs and belly), but I can pretty much rub them or just apply a moisturizing lotion and the itching subsides fairly quickly. Here is what I discovered...

1) Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap - This soap provided almost immediate relief while in the shower. However, once I got out of the shower it lasted about 2 hours and I was itching uncontrollably again.

2) Aveeno Oatmeal Bath - The worked just about the same as the Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap. I was immediately itching about 2 hours after the shower.

3) Cortizone For Eczema - This would take about 10 minutes to work and then would give me relief for a good 2-3 hours. But it can get costly to rub over your entire body about 10 times a day.

4) Steroid Cream from doctor - Provided as much relief as soap and Cortizone.

5) Dandelion Root Pills - After taking 3 pills 3 times a day there was a significant change within days! After 3 days of taking these pills the itching was nearly gone or at least manageable. After only a week my rash had nearly disappeared!! This really does help! If anyone is suffering go get these pills!!!!!

I hope this post will help some mom suffering out there. It really is a horrible experience and we should be enjoying the last few weeks of our pregnancy, not hating it. Do NOT hesitate to start these pills. There is NO reason to suffer!!!