PUPP in second trimester and does it go away pre birth?

Hello lovely. I am so sorry that you are going through this, I developed PUPPS around a similar time to you and unfortunately it did not go before I gave birth, I was constantly on at the midwives about this and had to really persevere with them to get some help as they didn’t take it seriously to start with. I ended up being referred to a dermatologist and was given Epaderm cream and a steroid cream. I highly recommend the Epaderm cream as this was the only thing that took the rash down (although the itching did stay unfortunately) but you have to apply handfuls of this at a time and let it sit on your skin to soak in (I was going through a whole 500g tub per day). I also recommend getting a pet cooling pad and lying on this if your PUPPS is on your back, as this cools the area and gives some relief! I demanded to speak to a consultant and they finally agreed to induce me at 37 weeks due to the severity of the PUPPS and the impact it was having on me mentally and physically…

I’m sorry to tell you all of that but I just want to be honest with you as I know how frustrating it is when you’re given false hope instead of help or solutions!! I pray that you overcome the PUPPS before you give birth but I do recommend insisting on an induction if you want one as I found that having a rough end date for the PUPPS gave me a countdown which gave a little bit of hope as the end was in sight!! (He ended up coming naturally before my induction anyway luckily!) sorry again lovely! If you need to talk about what you’re going through feel free to message me! Xxx

So sorry to hear you have PUPPPS. It is such a physical and mental challenge. I only developed it at 38 weeks and went on till 9wks PP, so can't give you much insight on your second trimester PUPPPS, I did however find a Facebook group called PUPPP Support Group which has quite a large following and there are loads of helpful tips on there and plenty other mom's who had it in 2nd trimester. I hope you find some relief xx

Thank you all so much for honest responses, really appreciate it! Sorry for all the questions, but how did you actually get it diagnosed? I have all the symptoms and my skin looks just like photos, but going round in circles with GP of what it actually is. I think I'll try and get a referral to dermatologist asap by the sound of it! Thanks again x

So sorry to hear that you have the PUPP rush. I had it only in my post postpartum for about 3 weeks and they have been the worst weeks of my life. This is a list of what worked for me: pine tar soap!!! Ton of it! Black cherry juice, celery juice, turmeric, what worked for me was a deep clean from the inside. And as someone already said a large dog cooking pad to sleep on ♥️🥹

My GP practice has a GP who specialises in dermatology, I was really lucky that the nurse could call him across for his opinion and he diagnosed me after a few mins. Then in the postnatal ward two Drs came in to diagnose me again. Unfortunately no dermatology Dept in our hospital. Make sure to touch base with your antenatal team about it and if you can get a derm referral that would be great as lots of Drs haven't heard if it or are unsure of treatment options. Honestly the only thing that helped me was high dose oral steroids that I started a few days after giving birth. Otherwise running cold water over it/left my feet in a bath of cold water and used a cloth as a cold compress would help for a bit. Probably should have tried harder with the diet adjustments people recommend for it (Facebook group) so don't know if that would help or not. Xx

Thanks all that's really helpful. So far I've had zerobase cream, antihistamines and now steroid cream but nothing really working. I've found some areas get better but then it just flares up on another body part. I've heard that it can come and go, but from what I've read there's a good chance it could be with me for the next 16 weeks 😭 did anyone get prescribed oral steroids during pregnancy or just after? Unsure of risks of it. Thanks so much ladies for the advice x

Only a few days after when it didn't magically disappear like some thought it would 🙈 to be fair I managed mine at home for the 2 weeks as I really wanted to avoid induction (but was in crying at the pharmacy a few times!!) but got to the stage of sleep deprivation and misery that I had to ring the hospital for some help. Baby needed emergency C/S next day anyway, but the plan was to start induction, so oral steroids weren't given as an option. I have read of ladies having the oral steroids while pregnant though.

😭