Itchy stretch marks and dry skin

[Keiki]

I'm nearly 28 weeks, my numb is as big as I was at full term last time and the stretch marks are horrendous. They get really itchy, and now my bump feels really dry and sore too, despite using bio oil and e45 several times a day. Driving me mad! Any suggestions to stop the itching/stretch marks/good moisturisers?

I liked Palmers cocoa butter whey my bump itched!
The bio oil was nice, although obviously greasy. Whereas the cocoa butter felt rich.

I had this with my first pregnancy and my gp prescribed steroid cream which I liberally applied. I didn’t realise til much later in that steroid creams thin the skin and probably made my stretch marks much worse than they would have been (and mine are truly terrible, deep and up to my rib cage). I haven’t developed any more in subsequent pregnancies though. I’d just keep mousturising and really really try not to scratch. If you can bear it, putting ice or a very very cold flannel on the skin should help when it gets unbearable.

I have eczema so I've dealt with itchiness and dry skin my whole life. The best thing I've found for itchy, dry skin is to focus on shower/bath time. Some ideas from 30 years of experimentation..

(1) stop using soaps - anything with sodium laureth sulphate or similar is going to dry out your skin
(2) use a really thick moisturiser (I use Eumovate ointment) or coconut oil instead of soap on your skin before a shower or bath. coat yourself in it, then wash it off.
(3) moisturise within 3 minutes of having your shower - you want to lock in the moisture before your skin feels dry. I find Aveeno cream is brilliant for this.
(4) for a quick end to itchy skin, put some porridge oats in a bath. you can add them to a sock and tie the top, or pour them straight in. add to a warm (not hot) bath until the oats have dissolved to make the water opaque. spend about 10 minutes relaxing in the bath and hopefully your skin will calm down naturally.

You can get Eumovate and Aveeno cream on prescription so during pregnancy it should be free.

Also, drink lots of water (which I'm sure you've heard a million times since getting pregnant...!)

Good luck and I hope this helps!

Agree with PP based on my eczema too. Also I use Lush Dream Cream which is about the only thing I've found that works for my dry skin. It's been a miracle find for me.

This is where someone tells me I can't use it when I'm pregnant....

@Keiki has your itching spread anywhere else? At 32 weeks my stretch marks became really itchy and inflamed and sore. It quickly spread to the rest of my body- turns out I have PEP/PUPPS.... if yours does spread I highly recommend grandpas pinetar soap from amazon. It's the ONLY thing that gave me relief! It's pretty much cleared it for me now too! Hope you find some relief... and it doesn't end up being PEP! X

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

@KB07 It hasn't spread but I'll keep an eye on it, thanks for the reminder.

@vodka Mmm, body butter, I haven't used any in years, might have to treat myself!

@Awkward totally get what you are saying about applying cold compresses - getting in a warm shower definitely makes the itching worse as it gets the blood going!

@user thanks for the really comprehensive reply! I actually have some coconut oil I use for my hair, will definitely give that a try, and make sure I have my moisturiser in the bathroom ready for a quick application afterwards. Fingers crossed I can control this!

I personally found oils did nothing - bio oil for example is recommended for reducing the appearance of stretch marks after you have the baby but is a rubbish moisturiser!

Any nice rich moisturiser is good. I really like aveeno and also lush dream cream and personally find them most in effective applied while the skin is still damp from the shower

I've been using sudocrem for mine which calms the itching for a while. Also some aloe Vera gel (I happened to have some aftersun) is good for cooling the itch. I had my baby a week ago and mine still itch  can anyone tell me when that will stop??