Eczema Question

Did any of you ladies develop this while you were pregnant? I used to have it as a kid but not for years have I had any but in the past week I have had patches of it come up on my arms and across the middle of my belly. If you have what did you use to stop the itching as it is driving me crazy in this heat. Am seeing midwife tomorrow and will ask her as well what I can use as the itching keeps me up at nite

It might be PUPPP, which is pregnancy hormone related. Definitely mention it to your midwife, because it can sometimes be an indication of impaired liver function and require professional treatment.

Edited by pixeldust

I have had eczema all my life but at beginning of pregnancy had it quite bad on my legs and tummy, my midwife sid she couldn't help me (mind u she was useless)so i went to dr like four times and got given different stuff each time. But one of the best things was the hydraquartizone(sp?) cream she prescribed. Also Keri oil for the bath, soak in it for at least 10min then only pat yourself dry, it helps with the itching and keeps your skin moisturised.

Just a warning about using hydrocortisone - it's not recommended during pregnancy because it contains steroids. There are other prescription and non prescription ointments which are as helpful and not dangerous to your baby.

Personally when I started itching a few weeks ago, I tried a number of things - the things that helped me the most:

- Frozen veges wrapped in a teatowel on the affected area
- Paraderm Plus (you can get this from your chemist)
- Cold flannels
- Aloe vera based moisturiser
- Not scratching. I know this one is hard, but if you can distract yourself from the itching for a few minutes, you might find that it goes away by itself

Xandersmum - PUPPP (Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy) usually affects women in their first pregnancy only, after 35 weeks, and should disappear 1 -2 weeks after birth. It appears as a rash, usually on the stomach at first, then may spread to the thighs, arms, breasts and buttocks.

Generally, the things I mentioned above can help with the itching, but in some cases, it is so severe that your midwife will recommend a course of oral steroids to resolve the rash. There is also a really helpful site here which has a bunch of remedies that people have tried for PUPPP.

Hope that helps :)

what about calamine lotion?

Pinetarsol is like Keri oil, it stops the itching and moisturises your skin, my mum use to use it with me when i was little until she discovered Keri oil which doesn't smell or look as bad in the bath. She had real problems trying to get me into a bath filled with yellow water.

thats scary.... i have had bad excema myself recently and my sister gave me some hydrocortisone for it and said that she used it while pregnant and it was fine! argh! i was a bit skeptical but trusted my sis..... i think i will make sure with a doc or midwife before using ANYTHING in future.... argh... i didnt use much, i just hope that it hasnt affected bubs. :-(

It depends who you talk to, I think. My GP, midwife and pharmacist all advised against using it because of the steroids. I guess if it's the only thing that works, then you should go ahead and use it, but I think there are alternative products which are just as good - Paraderm Plus has been a lifesaver for me as it has a numbing agent in it also.

Lol Lena... sounds like you're working for the company!

Yeah, Emma: Nikki for practically every drug company!