Rash Spreading on Body

Hi Jen!!

I actually had the exact same problem when I was pregnant with my son. It literally made me crazy scratching all the time!! I tried lotion, oatmeal baths, creams, etc etc . Nothing Worked!!! until....I tried using a little baby oil and rubbing it in my damp skin after a shower/bath and then patting dry. This worked so well I only did it once a day and didn't itch at all. Hopefully it will help you too i know how irritating it is to itch everywhere.

Good luck!!!

Get a second opinion from a dermatologist. You may have a PUP rash that is very uncomfortable. It'shappens to some pregnant women. I developed it after my second child was born. The dermatologist can give you special cream for it.

You may have PUPPP. You can read about it and see a pictures here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PUPPP

and

http://dermnetnz.org/reactions/puppp.html

I had this when I was pregnant with my first DD. I was absolutely miserable. At that time (11 years ago), my doctor would only allow me to take baking soda baths. I hated taking baths and would be absolutely miserable all day and night so I would take a container of water and baking soda and use a wash cloth and apply it to my skin. There were times when I would wake up in the morning just covered in white from the baking soda.

I would check with your doctor to see if it is safe to take Benedryl (I believe I read on another board that a mother-to-be was able to take Benedryl to help relieve the itching).

If you do have PUPPP, I really sympathize with you. Delivering the baby is the only thing that will get rid of it. I remember being in labor and having my ankles itch really bad. I had an epidural and had no sensation in my legs so all the scratching did absolutely nothing for me because I couldn't even feel the scratching.

(ETA: Looks like Deb T and I were posting at the same time with the same answer.)

Oh that darn pregnancy rash! I never had it with my first, but I totally did with my second. Itchy Itchy Itchy!! I used the clear caladryl lotion and it really seemed to help me. One great thing is that it's more than likely temporary. I only remember really having it for a while, then it cleared up and didn't come back.

Good Morning Jen Believe me I know what you are going through. I was doing the same and my Dr. acted like I was silly for comeing to the Dr. Well I have had that I have had shingles poison ivy and the only thing that helped me in all three is Aloe Gel that is green in color. You will not believe the comfort it gives you. Good Luck and don't forget Aloe Gel Green K.

you could possibly try an anti-fungal cream, like for jock-itch/athlete's foot/ringworm. My husband just had this horribly itchy rash on his inner thighs, bottom, and lower abdomen and NOTHING helped (lotion, hydrocortizone, first aid ointments, antihistamines...) until he got the anti-fungal cream. If you're not sure about it being PUPPS, you could give it a try. You can pick it up over the counter at any pharmacy. Get the cream, not the spray, since it is easier to control how much goes where.
Hang in there!
J. B

have you began eating or ingesting something different than normal? in cases like that rashes and reactions often start off on the "trunk" of our bodies and then spread. just something else to think about in addition to other answers you have gotten. talk with an allergist. that's your best bet. good luck and i hope you find relief.

I'd try an allergist. Sorry I'm not more help:(

Dear Jen,

I'm not a doctor but it sounds like you have hives. It's an allergic reaction to something you ate or put on your skin and sometimes brought on by stress or weather change. It also does not mean that it is you who is allergic, it may be the baby! All the lotions you have tried in a desperate attempt to relieve the horrible itching associated with hives probably did more damage than help. The only thing I could ever use was Diphenhydramine in the pill form. A fancy word for Benadryl. Yes it's a medication and no I never took it while pregnant so you do need to call your OB first. I usually have to take it for three days in a row up to four times a day and I do NOTHING but sleep. There was one time I had to go to the emergency room to get a shot to relieve the itching and pain. Call your family physician and ask if it's ok to take this. Of course they will want to see you, it's safer this way. Good Luck! -H.-

Oh no! I think you have what is called PUPPP. It is horrible! I had it with my daughter. Unfortunately, the only way to get rid of it is to give birth. I know how you feel...miserable! Taking hot showers always helped me. And a lot of itch cream. My doctor ended up putting me on a mild steroid in the last couple weeks of my pregnancy. Good luck!

(info from http://dermatology.about.com/cs/pregnancy/a/puppp.htm):
Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP), also known as polymorphic eruption of pregnancy, is the most common rash in pregnant women. It normally occurs in first pregnancies during the third trimester with an average onset of 35 weeks. Thankfully, PUPPP does not usually affect subsequent pregnancies.

Appearance of PUPPP
The rash of PUPPP almost always begins in the stretch marks (striae) of the abdomen. It does not involve the belly button distinguishing it from other common rashes of pregnancy. The rash itself consists of small, red wheals in the stretch marks that grow together to form larger wheals on the abdomen. Sometimes the rash can include small vesicles. Over the next several days, the rash can spread over the thighs, buttocks, breasts, and arms......

Jen,
I had the same thing during the second trimester of my 2nd pregnancy. Mine wasn't PUPPS (not sure why, but I guess it didn't meet the criteria), but it was ALL OVER and horribly itchy. I was so miserable that I cried. My OB sent me to a dermatologist, and we tried lots of topical creams that didn't really work. He finally prescribed Prednisone, and it helped a lot. I was a bit hesitant to take such a strong medication while I was pregnant, but the docs assured me I was far enough along that it wouldn't be harmful. My daughter is now 6, and is perfectly healthy, so I guess they were right. Good luck. My heart goes out to you.

Oh my gosh! I started @ about 6mo, but the same thing! I 'dealt' with it as best as I could until after the birth, but it only got worse! I ended up being VERY allergic to almost all evironmental allergens. The pregnancy changed my body chemistry. I have to take zyrtec at least once a day, and also must stay away from anything with mineral oil in it. I would put 'good' moisturizers on and then take a towel and rub as hard as I could to get it off! It just seemed like it was laying on the suface causing more itching...as I've learned now, it was! I don't know the safety of zyrtec while preggo, but a call to the OB could tell you. Also, take cool showers, keep the air on, & windows closed(lots of pollens right now). keep cold packs available for really bad itching. Heat will make it itch worse. I tried the allergy lotions, anti-itch ltions, etc. none of those helped, but they might for you, if you haven't tried them already. If you want a sample of some body lotion without mineral oil, let me know, I'll send you some to try. Good luck! I feel for you!

Yikes! I feel sorry for you. It sounds EXACTLY like PUPPPs. I did TONS of research on this 6 years ago when I was pregnant with my son. It SUCKS. The only cure is giving birth and it'll magically clear up within hours. The only way to take care of the symptoms (itchy red rash) is to take predizone. Trust me, I tried everything -- baths, lotions, creams, strong prescription cortizone, aloe, etc. It's an oral dose you take daily. I had head-to-toe rash and it cleared it within 4 hours of the first dose! That was after a couple weeks of dying... I was begging the doc to have a c-section to deliver the baby at only 31 weeks. That's how desparate, sleep-deprived and crazy it was. :-(

You can research PUPPPs online but basically it's one of many "pregnancy rashes". Many rashes are mis-diagnosed because they act the same as PUPPPs but are not PUPPPs. PUPPPs starts as a few itchy bumps on the belly and then spreads -- often to the entire body. The only way to know for CERTAIN that it's PUPPPs is to get a biopsey done and you'll know in a couple days. If it's not PUPPPs there are other altenatives to take care of the itchy rash. If it is PUPPPs, the only solution is predizone. Don't worry... it's safe for the baby. It's teh same stuff they give moms who are in danger of premature births to help the baby's lungs develop faster. PUPPPs is most common when carrying boys, btw. :-)

(homeopathy) it sounds like the psoric miasm, maybe from the baby the he/she got from dad. I dose of the right remedy will take care of it safely with no drugs and quickly.

are you sweating a lot?? if you are and it started anywhere near your breast area, and you mentioned little red bumps, it sounds like possibly yeast infection in sweaty areas.
I had miserable itchy huge red patches and bumps all under my breasts and it spread and grew and all of a sudden it hit me that it was yeast, and sure enough the nurse comfirmed it.
No matter what it is, it won't hurt you to use a cortisone cream, or get some external vaginal yeast cream and it will at least help with the itching.

Ask the doc to check you for little burrowing critters. I can not for the life of my menopause remember the name of them, but my doc wrote a script for Quell Lotion. Oh yea, scabies are what they are called. I got them from my nieces who spent the night after being exposed to them. I also later had an allergy to something I was using in my laundry, that I had never had problems with before. Hope this helps, I nearly went bonkers both times, so you have my sympathy.

That happened to me once-- I was allergic to my laundry detergent. It started in my underwear area as well because that's the tightest piece of clothing I wear, but then it spread.

You also may want to try changing your soap or any lotion you use if changing detergent doesn't work.

I had this rash 15 yrs. ago. It is extrememly itchy. I thought I had gotten into something. My OB diagnosed it as PUPPs, gave me prednisone which seemed to help a little, and also sent me to a dermatologist who prescribed an ointment that had to be specially made by the pharmacy. It had something in it that made my skin tingle and made me feel like I was freezing everytime I put it on which was as soon as I got out of the shower, before drying off. The derm called it a contact rash. The creme did seem to help, but now that you mention it, I had some form of it until delivery. But not near as itchy as before the treatments. Good luck!
R.

It may be PUPPPs as someone else mentioned. Or you may have become allergic to the skin products you use. You may try changing the products (soap, lotion, etc.) that you use. I started to develop such a rash and the doc I saw (not my normal one) said it was PUPPPs. I decided to change the lotion I was using on my belly and it went away. I guess it was actually hives from a "developed" allergy to the lotion. Switching helped for a while, then I became allergic to that one so had to switch to a third.

I developed something similar but closer to the end of my pregnancy called PUPPS. It is not at all harmful to the fetus, just really...REALLY itchy to the mom to be. Ask you doc if it could be PUPPS. She can give you an ointment to help stop the itching...unfortunately, if it is PUPPS it doesn't go away until after you deliver the placenta. Do you know if you are having a girl or a boy??? It happens more frequently in first time pregnancies with boys - they think it is due to the testosterone....
Good luck!! Congrats!

I noticed you were a teacher so you get exposed to all kinds of wonderful stuff and the Cincinnati area is the third most bed-bug infested city in the nation...

You might want to check your home for bedbugs... a lot of the time their bites are small, red, itchy, and tend to be in clusters, looking like a rash. Look online for pics of them so you know what you're looking for....there are several sites with more info as well.

I hope this isn't it but it's better to examine the possibly now and not have to deal with a bigger infestation of them down the line.