Itchy - awful rash

[Babykingincoming]

Hi all! I'm 23 weeks with first baby and have developed terribly itchy skin around my thighs / back of knees / elbows. It started about three weeks ago but has just got worse, I can barely sleep!

Looking for advice / tips / support from anyone who has experienced the same or found a good way to manage it and reduce symptoms?

GP advised I speak to midwife, midwife not concerned 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thanks!

Hi @Babykingincoming, I have had similar the past 4-5 weeks (currently 19 weeks pregnant).

GP prescribed steroid creme and advised on OTC anti-histamines (He suggested Lotradine as being the most used anti-histamine in pregnancy. One of those situations where there isn't proven safety but they are heavily prescribed. I am mostly relying on the cream, which has helped a lot but hasn't touched that inner crawling feeling. And only taking the anti-histamine when I am really desperate and like you, it affected my sleep).

Did you mid-wife suggest doing bloods for your liver and kidney function? Mine did this as a precaution but this tends to be more likely to be an issue at 30+ weeks, so likely it's hormonal but worth ruling out.

Thank you! So sorry to hear you're suffering with the itch too :(

Nope midwife doesn't think we need to do any checks, but my hospital has just been rated "inadequate" by the cqc so perhaps I need a second opinion!

Obstetric cholestasis is an itch in pregnancy which can be serious but isn't usually accompanied by a rash. I was induced at 36 weeks due to it so keep an eye on it.

Yep I had the awful itching. Went to the doctors and they took bloods to rule out the serious condition pregnant people could get. When they knew it wasn't that they basically said there's nothing to be done. I got prescribed menthol cream but it didn't help, it was just a distraction. I think it just disappeared one night at about 28 weeks maybe.
If you're like me with no self control just be careful how much you're scratching as my legs have now got marks on which I'm not sure will disappear. I was scratching when I was sleeping and waking up with bleeding legs.

I'm suffering so badly 😢 my whole body hurts and itches, it's nearly 4am I can't sleep at all 😢😢

Does anything help?!

GP gave me a steroid cream which soothes during the day but at night doesn't week to to at all. I'm so sore and uncomfortable and just exhausted.

I feel like I'm not cut out for this and really helpless 😢😢

My friend had a condition in pregnancy that caused relentless itching and I think is was a problem with the pancreas and bile getting into the bloodstream. It can be dangerous for the baby, so if the cream isn't clearing it up I'd go back to your GP. She had to be induced a bit early and quite closely monitored.

I had PEP rash during pregnancy and it was unbearable, the only thing I found helped was coal tar soap. After a lot of google searches for help and suggestions I came across the suggestion and thought it was an old wives tale, but it cleared the itching up in a week.

So I had a cool shower than lathered coal tar soap all over and stood for 5 minutes before washing it off, it stung a little but when I rinsed with the cool shower the relief was instant. I did this 3 times a day for 2 days then went down to 2 times a day.

@Babykingincoming you should go back to your GP or try calling your midwife and explain how bad it is.

I have same and have had blood taken twice now and have another appointment in 2 weeks at the local neonatal assessment unit to definitely rule out the liver/bile issue with more bloods and this was referred by my midwife. You can just ask outright for bloods to rule this out (they ideally should repeat to be fully sure).

Did they tell you to try anti-histamines at all?

I feel your pain, it’s torturous! Hot showers seem to make mine worse.

@muffin21 thank you I will get some of that soap.

Thanks all!

They're sure it's not that condition because of the rash and itchy locations, I've seen the gp quite a few times and an out of hours gp arranged by 111 over the weekend. I have another appointment today but have lost all hope that they'll be able to help me.

They didn't think it was PEP with me to start with, it lasted from 18-25 weeks with my second baby so didn't fit with the usual first pregnancy, 3rd trimester. And it was on my thighs, chest, neck, shoulders and top of my arms...but in the end they decided it was PEP because they didn't have any other answers. Which is when I googled for ideas of relief and the coal tar soap was suggested, the creams and antihistamines the doctors gave me didn't offer any relief at all.

@muffin21 I hope the soap works for me! I'm the same the antihistamines do nothing at all and creams only help hydrate the damage I'm doing itching. It's awful 😢😢

Morning Morning,

Sorry to hear you are going through this.

I am currently 39+4 weeks and have itching on my feet, ankles, knees and shoulders. My GP and midwife aren't concerned, however, the itch does disrupt my sleep as well. I completely understand how frustrating it can be.

Best thing that I have found is using a cooling/ice towel. Just put it under a tap and shake it out, the towel will start to go very cold then put it on the area that itches. It completely takes away the itching that I get, and also reduces any swollen ankles that pop up too.

Hope this helps you, and you feel better soon 🙂

@Purrsephone sorry you are suffering too! And thank you for the tip I will try it!

GP ended up calling maternity advice line and they asked that I come to triage at the ward 🤞 they can give me something to help I'm literally covered from my knees to my neck now in the painful rash 😢

I’m another one who has had a full body rash on and off since about week 3 of pregnancy (yup before I even knew I was pregnant my skin erupted!). Currently week 25 and I’ve had good weeks and bad weeks but can’t really seem to shake the rash. At its worst it’s head to ankles, for some reason my feet seem to be the only part of me spared 😅

I’ve been prescribed Betnovate (0.025% which is the usual dose dilute 1/4) which does help a lot but I hate using so much steroid cream during pregnancy (I’ve been through 4 tubes now and the GP is getting tetchy about continuing to prescribe it).

Midwife not concerned or too helpful. I’ve spent hundreds on creams/washes/shampoos at this point but really only steroids take the edge off. I use Epaderm emollient ointment every night which is a bit messy but sometimes helps. T-gel shampoo and Nizoral has helped my scalp massively so maybe I should try coal tar soap for the rest of my body too.
@muffin21 can you post a link to the soap you used? Did it just help with itching or also help with the rash?

@CityKity

www.boots.com/wrights-traditional-coal-tar-soap-125g-10096654

Here's the soap, it helped massively with the itching, it was the only thing that helped. I hope it helps you too!

I also wonder if 'poxclin' would help, it's primarily marketed at chicken pox but the instructions say it's for itch relief, both my daughters have recently had chicken pox and it offered instant relief to them, so could also be worth a try?

Apparently the Coal Tar soap you can buy OTC isn't 'real' Real CTSoap is only available on prescription

Hi there, I couldn't read your message and not reply. I had similar, like you a lot of difficulty especially trying to sleep. I was prescribed a steroid cream which helped but then when I stopped using it the itch came back. My GP wasn't keen on me using the steroid for a long time as it thins the skin over time. My solution is a natural one and really works. I got Vitamin E capsules that are in any health shop, instead of taking them orally I cut them in half and squeezed out the oil and rubbed it on my skin (for me it was my lower legs) - almost instantly it relieved the itch. I rubbed some on every day for a few days and because there was no itch then my skin healed quickly. I think the fact it's pure oil it's very concentrated but very soothing and calming. I highly recommend you give it a try and best of luck x

I second the advice for coal tar soap (I had the grandpas one you buy from Ray Mears website)
but also want to caution people to ask for blood tests if they are experiencing itching during pregnancy (esp the person above who mentioned itchy feet).

Another thing that is useful is Eurax lotion (though some drs will like to prescribe this to pregnant women, some won’t 😒)

I, unluckily, managed to get both PUPPPS and obstetric cholestasis at the same time - the OC wasn’t picked up for ages because everyone kept telling me that OC doesn’t present with a rash!

Ooh. And use a baby hairbrush or a nail brush on your skin instead of scratching with your fingernails. This will stop you breaking the skin

I had a short course of prednisone (corticosteroid) when the itching was unbearable from PUPP (not sure if this is the same as PEP.) The other remedies didn't work and prednisone is thought to be safe later in pregnancy. I was about 20 weeks when the rash started. The prednisone cleared it up in a few days.

@muffin21 @ShabbyChic999 @Icannoteven thank you ladies for your recommendations. Have just ordered them all from Amazon to add to the growing skincare panic buys 😅. I’ll report back if anything jumps out as making a huge difference!

Thank you all for your recommendations! Nothing is soothing me yet, now covered pretty much from my neck to my knees in the rash 😢 feeling really hopeless!

Oh no, my heart goes out to you....it's probably worth giving each option a go for a few days (though the vitamin E capsule idea I recommended, I found instant relief) but I have another suggestion for you which might help if you have exhausted options - try a face cloth soaked with cold water and a few drops of lavender oil on and press it to your skin - the cold is very soothing to the itch and the lavender oil adds to stop it coming back. Keep repeating twice a day.

You have my sympathies. I had similar, although only on my legs thank goodness. The consultant gave me steroid cream but it didn't really help. Unfortunately it didn't go away until I gave birth (but disappeared very quickly thereafter).