37+ Week Pregnant and Itchy!!

My hands and feet were very itchy the last month with my second child. The only thing that seemed to work was to keep them cool. I used ice packs on my feet and hands especially at night and made sure I did not wear socks or cover them at night while I slept! It worked well for sleeping. During the day I would run around barefoot while not at work! Working I would put on a real light pair of socks and take my shoes off under my desk! Good luck!

if it comes and goes it could be hives of pregnancy. I had it (and am still having problems almost 6 months later) first they tried OTC benadryl but I ended up needing a prescription anti-histimine. I would call your dr. and see if you can try the benadryl. if it responds you will know it is an immune response.

Ask your doctor. I had the sme problem. I don't remember for sure but I think she told me it was ok to use hydrocortisone cream. I might have also had a prescription. I found an Aveeno body wash and lotion that really helped and also had a "belly bar" that was beeswax based. I found that if I kept my skin moist with lotion it really helped. I hope you find something that works! I remember just about going crazy!

Yes!!! I have this terrible!!! I'm currently 36 weeks and this started three weeks ago. They did the liver enzyme test on me twice and it came back negative twice for Cholistasis, but they had given me the oral medication for Cholistasis for the itching and it worked to take the itching away. Eventhough I technically don't have Cholistasis, the med for it does work to take the itching away. If I were you I'd ask the dr. for a dose of that. It took about three days to start working but now I'm much, much more comfortable. My itchiness was a lot worse at night too. I dreaded going to bed because I knew how miserable I'd be til I fell asleep. Good luck getting rid of it and good luck during labor!! :)

I had this the entire 3rd trimester...they just called it pregnancy excema. It should go away on delivery...

I posted about itchiness and pregnancy on my blog's Friday post. You should definitely see your doctor about this to see if it's Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP). You mentioned your liver enzymes are fine, so you may be somewhat aware of this condition. However, the only test to see if you have this is the bile acid blood test. You can have ICP and your liver tests can still come back absolutely fine. I recommend visiting www.itchymoms.com . That website has great info on ICP. Then you should go to the doctor pronto to get your bile acids tested. For more immediate relief (kinda, sort of), sarna lotion helps for a few minutes (if ICP, it may help longer if it's something else).

I had ICP with my pregnancy, and it does tend to come back with each pregnancy--oftentimes worse and it does go away immediately after delivery. You really sound like you may be a potential candidate for it. Read the itchy moms site, educate yourself on it, then head off to the doctor!

C.
www.littlebitquirky.blogspot.com

I have felt your pain! I itched with my last pregnancy so bad that my skin was RAW. I forced myself to not scratch when I was awake but I would do it while I was asleep.
Sarna lotion helped a bit, but the real reason I itched so badly was that I was PETRIFIED of labor and delivery. I had a traumatic birth with my first and the anticipation of all that pain made my skin itch terribly.

So, my advice is to sit quietly and see if you have any fears or anxiety. Talk about how you feel to someone that will just sit and listen and not offer advice. I did that with my hubby and it helped immensely.

It could be heat rash or skin dryness. You can try Aquaphor with cotton socks and cotton gloves on your hands. I've also used PUPPS soap to help with heat rash (red skin with bumps and itching) and it worked like magic.

http://www.rainiersoapworks.com/puppp_relief.htm

I use Pond's Cold Cream or Johnson & Johnson's baby lotion on my belly which tends to get very dry, itchy and red with warm weather.

HI A.,

Try Renew lotion. It has medicinal qualities that are safe for you and baby. It has been double blind tested against dermatologist recommend products and has healing qualities. There is a high grade tea tree oil as one of the ingredients but it is NOT caustic. The only problems ever reported with any tea tree oil is the caustic nature of those that are not pure or extracted in the best way.

Regards,

M.

I got something like this on my stomach when I had toxemia with my first pregnancy. It was so bad, I would lay under the ceiling fan with my belly exposed to get relief. When the doctor saw it, he ordered labor induced immediately, and then put me on Benadryl once the baby was born. It cleared up shortly thereafter. This is something your doctor needs to know about.

Totally! My shoulders were crazy itchy! My midwife called it a pregnancy rash and suggested cold water-- which was relieving. it did subside after delivery. Hang in there!

Aveeno or some other brand with oatmeal in it should help. I changed my body wash to Aveeno with oatmeal in it and also used their lotion. It helped much more than the Benadryl. Aveeno also has something called Soothing Bath Treatment for itchy, irritated skin.