Severe Itching Around belly button and rash ...

[YummyMummy1208]

Is this normal?

im nearly 30 weeks and for the last couple of weeks my belly button has been increasingly itching - a lot! once i start i cant stop itching.

I did think it may have been down to my belly bar but its now spreading to most of my belly - particularly above my belly button and this part is now covered in a red dotty rash?

If this is normal thats fine (apart from the fact its got so bad its actually disturbing my sleep now but cant expect pregnancy to be a walk in the park now can i!?) but wondered just how many people (if any!) are suffering the same thing?

Please go and see your GP. My sil has this and it can be just normal pregnancy signs but for her it was obstetric cholestasis which if untreated can cause still birth. Just ask your GP to check you out to rule this out.

she had itching on belly do you mean? I already had the itchy arms and legs bit a few months back but think that was due to heat but i ended up reading up on that obstetric cholestasis. I feel like im try8ing to invent problems keep ringing my midwife talking about all these serious things!

I've had some eczema round my belly button - could it be this? Was prescribed hydrocortisone cream which helps. And E45 can help when it's not so bad that it needs the hydrocortisone. Agree you should see your GP or MW about this though. Hope it gets better - the itching can drive you INSANE....

Itchy tummy drives me mad along with itchy breasts, camomile lotion helps a bit but stops working once it's dry so I'm forever reapplying it! Lots of moisturiser and I was perscribed piriton(antihistamine) which helps with itching and causes drowsiness so if it's really bad at night I take one.

It's worth going to pharmacy, mw or gp just to see what they can give you that might help

Thrush??? Belly button is a good place for that to start.Can spread once you get an itch-scratch cycle going. May need both thrush cream and hydrocortizone to settle it.

Contact dermatitis??? (ie caused by Nickle metal in belts/jean buttons or rivits), I get this with nickle - Very very itchy, raised red spots too. Spreads from the original site to cover larger areas even if no more exposure to the metal button/popper/zip etc, and scratching it sets off a worse reaction. Needs Hydrocortizone cream and also avoid nickel next to the skin.

Obstetric cholestasis???

Show the rash to your GP!

It is normal, but as dott said, it could be obstetric cholestasis, so you do need to get to the docs to rule it out (it's usually all over though, rather than just the bump). Do you have any other symptoms?

Its just on my belly, and its absolutely driving me crazy. Im having to get up half way through the night to go to the bathroom just to itch it and slap some more cream on it!I never had this first time around.

Are you bigger this time round? I was huge in my pregnancy, thanks to monster fibroid + big baby, and suffered terribly with this, which turned out to be PUPPP and seems to be more common when the tummy is particularly big, so with twins, fibroids in my case etc. It's not harmful as such, but it nearly drove me out of my skin with the itching.

It eventually subsided... unusually before the baby was born, but the only thing I found really helped was Piriton (the old fashioned one containing chlorpheniramine) which my GP prescribed, which at least meant I could get a little sleep... The other thing which helped a bit was a cold damp flannel laid over the itchy bit. It's awful, I do sympathise.

Like everyone else says, get to the GP and they can check it's not anything more serious & advise on what you can do.

Thanks for all your advice ladies, rash got much worse towards the end of last week and so i ended up having bloods taken which came back fine - but doctor diagnosed me with PUPPP - great! im in my second pregnancy with a girl - PUPPP is most common in first pregnancy with boys or multiples! Not quite sure how i drew the short straw on this one but thankfully after taking pyratin(no idea how to spell!) for a good 4 days now its calmed down quite a lot.

However - the thought of 10 more weeks of this is unbearable. :(