One year ago today, I went to my regular prenatal appointment. I had been itchy and annoyed for about 3 days by that point. Let’s just say I was not a nice person to be around.
At the appointment, I was told the rash on my tummy was in fact PUPPP, my BP was elevated and I would be on bed rest for one week.
What’s that you say? You don’t know what PUPPP is? Well, let me enlighten you!
Approximately one percent of women will develop an itchy, raised rash in the last part of their pregnancy called PUPPP (pruritic uticarial pupules and placques of pregnancy), also known as polymorphic eruption of pregnancy. (Sounds awesome, right?) According to the American Academy of Dermatology it is the most common skin condition of pregnancy, usually appearing during the third trimester, and, although the discomfort and itching may keep you up at night, PUPPP is harmless to both you and your baby. (Comforting, but not enough to make me less violent.)
The cause of PUPPP is unknown. 70 percent of women with PUPPP give birth to boys. (Oh joy!) This correlation has given rise to the hypothesis that male fetal DNA acts as a skin irritant, but conclusive evidence is still needed. (Ha!)
There is no cure for PUPPP, but the irritation usually can be relieved with cortisone creams, (Umm, no.) high strength steroid creams (Not really), or oral steroids if the itching is severe. (Finally, relief!) The rash and the itching usually resolve a couple of days to a week after delivery. (Yes, yes, yes!!!)
Still can’t image PUPPP? Well, imagine that at 6.2 months pregnant someone forced you to roll around in poison ivy.
There you have it.
You now know what PUPPP is and you are better for knowing it. OK, so you’re not any better for knowing this, but you can be glad you didn’t have this when you were pregnant. If you didn’t have it…I hate you. No, it’s not a joke or me being witty. I really do hate you!
Interestingly enough, January 25, 2010 was only the start of the wild journey I was on to bring my Handsome into the world.
Stay tuned for more about my wild journey to give birth, in what I’m calling my “One Year Ago” series….it has more drama than an episode of Jersey Shore so I recommend you subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss out!!
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Twitter: Vanitacyril
January 26, 2011 at 3:38 am
OMG that sounds dreadful. oh wow. i’m so sorry you went through that.
vanita recently posted..My Name’s Vanita and I’m A Blogger
That is awful to go through while pregnant. I am sorry to hear this. This is the first time I heard something like this. I am happy it is all over for you. Same note I hope you don’t hate me as well… Enjoy your day…
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Twitter: apaprikao
February 20, 2012 at 3:00 pm
Yikes! That doesn’t sound like one bit of fun. I am no stranger to pregnancy complications either, but I never had anything like that! I’m glad everything worked out in the end however!!
Anjie recently posted..Ten Months
I’ve actually never heard of that – sounds positively annoying though, as if pregnancy isn’t tough enough.
barefoot_med_student recently posted..Mad Genius, or Simply Genius?
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