Wednesday, November 28, 2012

PUPPP--A Pregnancy Horror Story

As your skin stretches, everyone gets a little itchy in late pregnancy. But for a lucky 1% of pregnant ladies, this itching will surpass any discomfort they have henceforth experienced--they will develop PUPPP.

So how does PUPPP start? I'm not a doctor, but I can tell you how it happened to me. At 36 to 37 weeks with my twin boys, I started to develop a small, bumpy rash on my gigantic belly. It was itchy, and quickly became noticeably uncomfortable.

About 24-48 hours after the rash first appeared, it began to itch way more and it spread to my arms and legs.
 By the time I went in for my scheduled induction at 37 weeks, I was noticeably marred by the rash. It itched uncontrollably and had spread to my fingers, butt, feet and back. The bumps were quickly inflating with...there's no nice way to say this...puss.

During my induction and my entire hospitalization, they have me on benadryl to forestall some of the debilitating itch.
 After delivery, it almost got worse before it got better. In the few days after delivery it spread to my palms and the bridges of my feet. The itch caused me to break the pustules and make my legs and feet bleed quite a bit.


Now, 10 days postpartum, the pustules are gone and so is the rash, but it has left behind an incredibly dry, cracked, and scabby layer of skin, especially around my ankles, as well as on my feet, hands and tummy. It still itches a whole lot and I leave a pretty disgusting residue of dry skin wherever I sit and itch.


If you are pregnant with multiples, pregnant with a boy or boys, or your baby is of a larger size, you're more likely to develop PUPPP, but the "why" appears to be largely unknown, and there's of course no cure. Cortisone cream sort of helped me, but mostly I think it's just something you have to itch your way through. Hopefully you'll avoid developing this complication though, as I cannot possibly communicate how painful and distracting the itch is.

1 comment:

  1. I got the same thing but I was pregnant of a single baby. I did a lot of research about the subject and most of the time PUPP appears on the belly only. Some case like you and me PUPP spreads over your entire body! Unable to sleep. I didn't sleep the last week of pregnancy it was too itchy. Like you after delivery, it got worse before it got better.

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