Puppp

Hi K.,
I am so sorry to hear of this. Is this disorder a skin thing? If so I can totally refer you to a great product.
Let me know k?
L.

I feel for her...my first child, I developed PUPPP post-partum and had it for 5 weeks. It is miserable. With my second, I developed it 3 weeks before delivery. There are topical cartosteriod creams that can be applied rather than taking steriods orally. What helped alot for me is taking a warm bath in collodial oatmeal - like Aveeno. It comes in packets and can be found at drugstores or Meijer. She should also steer clear of soap and instead use a cleanser like Cetaphil which has no perfumes or irritants. I hope she feels better.

I had this with my first baby and they ended up inducing labor (on my due date) because it spread everywhere! It was like I couldn't stop scratching, but that just made it worse. My doctor told me to rub the affected area with a dry towel. That was less irritating to my skin but helped take the itch away. Also, cold compresses helped too, for a bit. The only thing that really took the itch away completely was delivering the baby though. And even then it was about a week before it was completely gone. I wish I had better news. Tell her that I'm feeling for her! :)

Sorry i am late in responding but i did have PUPP when pregnant with my twin boys. I found a retailer that sells a soap and cream (all natural) that really helped relieve my itching. I did not use any steroids, just these products and I also used an oral antihistimine when i was really itchy. The company is Rainier Soapworks and the products are called PUPP relief soap and PUPP relief cream. Website is www.rainiersoapworks.com
Their products are so great!!!

I developed PUPPP with my twin pregnancy and I'm sorry to say it was AWFUL. The itching would keep me up at night and it was pretty much impossible to get relief. The rash was worst under my belly, behind my knees, and all over my ankles -- although the first itchiness developed on the palms of my hands and soles of my feet. Benedryl was of no help. I received minimal relief when my husband would massage my legs with Aveeno oatmeal body lotion -- but other than that, I just learned to live with it. Delivery is the cure, but even then it didn't go away until about a week after my sons were born. I wish I could be of more help! Hopefully someone else here will have more ideas.

As a side note, there's an old wives tale that says PUPPP means you're having a boy. It hasn't been scientifically proven, but I did end up having two boys! : )

Oh God, I had PUPPS when pregnanct with my twin boys. It is so awful (and yes I too have read it is more common with boys and with twins too). My husband would wake me up because I was scratching in my sleep. I tried everything possible, but did end up using a topical steroid cream, which helped a little. I used bendryl to help me sleep. I used aveeno baths and tried every moisturizer, especially the ones that said "calming". I cut my nails to the quick and wore socks over my hands at night. My doctor said we might have to induce early if it got worse, but luckly we didn't have to do that. Tell your sister that it does get better after delivery. But I wouldn't shy away from using the steroid if she is miserable.

I had a friend who just went through this. The doctors prescribed what I felt like were obscene amounts of steriods along with Benadryl (neither really worked well). Benadryl is a "class B" drug, which means that while there haven't been any intense studies about its safety and use with pregnant women, all animal studies (and anecdotal evidence) shows that it's safe for pregnant animals... Personally, that doesn't really ease my mind since we're biologically different than animals. So I did some research online and many midwives will suggest trying some of the following natural remedies: Nettles tea - you can get this probably at any health food store or somewhere like Whole Foods. It's really the only thing I've heard of working for people. Also, dandelion root has been shown to help. Many think PUPPS is related to an overtaxed liver during pregnancy and dandelion helps this. Also Flax Seed Oil capsules.

Best of luck because I've heard this is NOT a fun thing to deal with :(

i am 40 weeks preg, my due date was saturday and just started suffering from pupps about 3 days ago. i am quite miserable. i did start taking dandylion root and nettles capsules 2 days ago but still waiting for relief, it has helped a little, my friend also made me a bottle odf dandylion and nettles lotion. since taking both, i belief i have a clogged milk duct. i have an appt with my midife tommorrow and hope to find out if the nettles is the cause of the clogged duct since it is suppose to help with producing milk. anyway, good luck and i feel your pain.

While I have never had (or heard of) Puppp, I do have Multiple Sclerosis and in my second pregancy I had a flair up. MS flair-ups are treated with steroids, first an IV round and then oral pills to taper off the massive initial dose. My flair up was such that they actually did two rounds of massive IV almost back to back and one round of the oral pill tapers. I finished the oral pill tapers just in time for them to decide that the baby had to come four weeks early. The baby went through all of this just fine and is perfectly today, four years later. While there are typically some side effects from the pills, they are no different than being pregnant(emotional,eating, cravings). They don't hurt the baby, although will help some development (lung). It might make the baby a little big. However, the one draw back that she should be aware of, is that it will suppress her body's immunity and some strength and she may need additional steroids during the delivery process (IV) and then every so many hours after the delivery until she goes home. While I'm not trying to change her mind about the steroids, I did think that if I shared an experience and she had to take the steroids she would maybe feel a little more comfortable with the decision.