Postpartum Rash

I had the same thing after I gave birth in October. Has it been spreading and is it the most intense itching you've ever felt? I couldnt take it and nothing the doctors in the hospital gave me helped. I went to the dermatologist and he told me it was something called "pup". I had to take steroids and use steroid cream to get rid of it. Thankfully they said that the medications were fine for breastfeeding and after a few days, it went away. Please let me know if I can help you in any other way. I know how you feel-it was so awful, I thought I was going to rip my skin off.

Congrats on you little boy!
I did not have a c-section but I did have the rash after I came home from the hospital. The doctor gave me tylenol with codene. I found out the hard way that I am allergic to codene. He told me to stop the pills and take Benedryl. It cleared up right away. Hope this helps and you get better soon.

Do you still have any bandages on? You could be allergic to the latex in a bandage or as I found out after my episiotomy I was allergic to the stitches themselves! Not a good way to find out. They had to be removed early and the doctor had to give me a prescription cream (safe for breastfeeding). Sorry I don't remember what it was (it was over 5 years ago) Try calling your doctor and they might be able to prescribe something over the phone.

Hope this helps.

There are several rashes unique to pregnancy. They usually begin during pregnancy and resolve during the postpartum period. All the hormones raging back into place are usually the cause. Sometimes it could be the epidural. In my case it was the epidural and I itched for days on end. Some examples of rashes are Pruritus gravidarum, Papular eruptions, and Pruritic urticarial papules of pregnancy (PUPP). PUPP is characterized by intense itching, with lesions on the abdomen, thighs, arms, buttocks. They typically go away 1-4 weeks after delivery. If it is recurring and doesn't go away, I would recommend going to a dermatologist. If you are having significant itching, your dr. can help finding a medication that would not interfere with breast feeding and still provide relief. I'd ask your dr. about the benedryl and claritan and all that stuff because if it will knock you out, it will most certainly knock the baby out if you breast feed, and you certainly would not want that. Try old fashioned calomine lotion, ask your dr about over the counter cortisone (ie: Cortzone-10)it has 1% Hydrocortisone or as Donna Z suggested, the tree oil which is a great natural way to remedy the itch.Remember, NO BATHS, so don't even think of an oatmeal bath if someone suggests that. Good luck and I hope you get releif soon, I know how awful it is.

I had the same problem but mine was due to the kind of tape that they used. I am allergic to the adhesive on tape and bandaides. It will go away.

When I had my son my stretch marks became raised, red, and itchy. I went to the doctor whom sent me to a dermatoligest and he said it was a natural allergic reaction to giveing birth and that a lot of mothers get it. He gave me a cream to apply and it began to go away. I'd ask you doctor for something simialr.

C.-Mother of a 6yr old

Ooohhhhhh! I had that rash too! It came on so quickly after I was discharged from the hospital. My OB told me to take Bendryl and said that the rash was caused by fluctuating hormones. She sent me to a Derm who confirmed. The Benadryl helped but knocked me out.
Congrats on the new baby!

Aveno oatmeal bath wash & lotion. Eucrin (sp) lotion. except on your breasts.
Keep in mind your systems have just gone thru some drastic changes again...How did you solve it before or did you just waited it out? I'm sur eit wikk be gone soon again, they say it takes something like 3 months for your system too get back into a regular cycle after birthing.

Cheers, J.

My advice would be to call your doctor. They need to see the rash and then they could give you a recommendation. We are not doctors here and also can't look at your rash. I don't feel comfortable telling you how to treat it. You really should call your doctor.

Hi A.,

CONGRATS!!! I would reccommend Arbonne products as an all= natural treatmet you can buy online. All of the products do not contain any harsh chemical ingredients like cortisone or steroids, they are 100% pure, safe & beneficial. For your rash I would suggest trying the baby line's diaper rash cream, intelligence skin conditioning oil and rejuvenating cream. I would be more than happy to send you a sample of our baby line just email me your address :)

A.
____@____.com

www.TheSkinYourIn.myarbonne.com

A., My thoughts is you might be allergic to the tape they have on your incisions or to the dissolving sutures...I am allergic to the adhesive on surgical tape and get rashed from that and also I had a surgery in February and was getting hives and rash around my incision- my incision also opened up and had discharge coming out of it- Dr said my body was trying to reject the stitches. Ask Dr if you can use some benadryl cream or what might be safe for you while breastfeeding if allergy is a possibility for you with this. Also try some Aveeno oatmeal bath for you. Congrats on new baby and good luck:)

I also had 2 c sections, and after my last one, i had the same rash going on. I went to the OB, and they said it was a kind of yeast infection, and prescribed cream that I needed to put on several times a day. Call you doc. Congrats on your new addition to your family. God bless, and take it easy.

The same thing happened to me...14 years ago!!

It turned out that I am allergic to latex. It never affected me until giving birth (C-section). Now I'm fine, but I never use latex gloves or band-aids, and I always alert the hospital personnel when the need arises.

Good luck.

A.,
I developed the same rash on my abdomen, I wasn't sure what it was. . . however, I did have some speculations. I noticed that the rash bothered me more with my son breastfeeding and only wearing a certain type of sleeper (with flame retardency on it) - so I wasn't sure if I was allergic to it or not. When breastfeeding I put a pillow case underneath my son to prevent the itching during nursing. I also used Aveno anti-itch moisturizer which did help along with cold compresses. I was recently talking to someone about my rash who said baby powder works because it takes away the fungus. It's gross to think that it's a fungus but whatever works right? Good luck!

I had a similar reaction after having all three of my kids. My OB said he thought it was a reaction to the anestesia used in the epidural. I never breast fed, so I am not sure what meds are safe, but my OB told me to use either Benedry,Claritin or Zyrtec. Any antihistamine would help if it is an allergic reaction. Good Luck and congrats!!!

A.,

Congratulations on your new baby boy! I had three c-sections so I know what you are going through. Hopefully you are finding it is easier to recover from your second one...I know for me the second one was easier than the first.

I was allergic to the surgical staples so for my third one they used glue instead, and I was allergic to that too! I have dealt with rashes after a c-section, although the cause of yours may be different. My midwife recommended putting tea tree oil on my rashes, and this helped considerably. It is natural and safe for you and your baby. You could even put it on your breast with no worries. I found this especially helpful on the underside of my still large belly so that I didn't get rashes while the incision was healing. Give it a try!

All I can say is I feel for you!!! I went through the exact same thing!!! I went to see an alergist and my OB and neither could determine the cause. I took Claritan and Benedryl both OK'd by my OB and I was also breast feeding. They said the Benedryl may make the baby as well as you drousy but I didn't see the baby effected at all.

Good luck, it gets worse before it gets better, but it will go away. I chalked it up to either anesthesia or the pain meds they gave me post op.

K.

Here's a site created by a fellow sufferer:

http://www.tcinternet.net/users/kritzerburke/naomi/PUPPP.htm

Maybe a reaction to the medication given for the C as my daughter had that for her C but I would ask my ob/gyn to be sure and not treat myself especially if breast feeding.

During my second pregancy (baby girl) i developed a rash that i thought was poison ivy but since it lasted so long i went to a dermatologist who diagnosed me with P.U.P.P.S. you can start by asking your dermatologist or OB/GYN about this. i know there are various rashes like this. the only thing that made it better was ice packs all over my legs, etc. heat made it itch more. i was itchy all over but you could only see the rash on certain parts of my body. i had it for the last two months of my pregnancy and then about 2 months after. i took prednisone with the hope that it would speed up the recovery but it probably would have taken just as long and i missed out on breast feeding my baby because i opted for meds. the dr. said it would go away on it's own at some point. i think it was triggered by stress too.
Here is a link I found from Google...
Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy - PUPPPPruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP), also known as polymorphic eruption of pregnancy, is the most common rash in pregnant women.
dermatology.about.com/cs/pregnancy/a/puppp.htm - 24k - Cached - Similar pages

I hope i helped a little. Good luck and i hope you feel better soon!

I had the same thing happen about a week after my c-section. I went to my doctor and a dermatologist and they told me it was pupps. Something that women usually get right before they deliver, but for some reason I got it after. They gave me all sorts of cream, but the only thing that really seemed to work was Claritin (the over the counter allergy medication). I feel your pain, it was awful. I felt like I wanted to rip my skin off. Hope it goes away soon.

Honestly, it sounds like a reaction to the Anesthesia

because if the same thing happened and you obviously did not take penicillin, its has to be something else,

It could also be the staples,

NEXT time try using Glue.

if you did use glue it could be the glue, and a latex allergy

OR a stool softner.

Good luck and feel better, and CONGRATS!!!!

M

could you be allergic to the anestetic they used in a spinal have you had any other surgeries besides these 2 c sections better ask your doctor get tested cause this would be good to know for any future surgeries God forbid you ever need them

Hi A. congrat, on your baby i would consult the doctor , and tell him that you want them to give you blood work reg to see if your cell are working ok the white and red cell ( thats what happened to me)