Severe itching when pregnant

kirstyor123

Hi all mums to be

Just have a quick question..
Has any ladies in there 3rd trimester got severe itching:rolleyes:

Its keeping me up all night:(..... I told the doc in thr hospital and she sent me for a blood test straight away.?? that sort of scared me

Has any other women got the same problem and been ok like can this be a serious matter??

crazy cat lady

Its usually just caused by the extreme stretching of the skin. Try getting a body lotion with aloe vera in to help relieve this.

Wait and see what the results of the blood test are. If there is anything 'wrong' you should be notified fairly quickly, probably within 24 hours.

Nevyn

Please do not make medical suggestions on this site, it breaks the site rules and the forums rules.

For me it was the skin on the bump stretching and it drove me bonkers, would be walking up at night between the heartburn and the itching all through my 3rd trimester.

If you aware worried it may be a symptom of something more serious say it to your dr/midwife.

cbyrd

A dry facecloth is great for scratching.. doesn't tear the the skin.. i swore by bio oil for the stretching and tightness. i had really itchy legs and had bloods done too for liver function but all was normal.. the hormones can play havoc with you skin.. something i don't miss if there was something really amiss they'd contact you quickly,

Skadi

kirstyor123 the blood tests are to test liver function and bile acids. They are just precautionary.

I currently have obstetrics cholestasis which is a liver problem caused by pregnancy. One of my sisters was tested for this too as she was itching really badly but her bloods returned back as normal.

For this pregnancy the hospital are just monitoring my bloods every few weeks to ensure that they stay in the normal level. I began itching at 11 wks (very rare) and the blood showed by bile acid level was high so I was put on medication to help the liver as well as antihistamines to ease the itching. Everything now is back (or nearly back) in the normal range.

kirstyor123

Thanks for the replies everyone

The itching is still there but i got my bloods done last week
and have heard nothing from the hospital so im assuming all is ok..:D

Went to the doc and asked if he could recommend anything
for the itch but he said nothing i get will really help so
looks like i have to put up with it for the next 3 weeks..:o

pollypocket10

Hi Kirsty,

I had this with my pregnancy and wasn't sent for any tests etc. Dr advised it was most likely to do with liver function but there is nothing that can be done anyways while pg. Also told me it would disappear after the birth... Thank God!!

I am now 8 month and has eased a lot only bothers me the odd time now and not nearly as severe. Based on DR recommendations I switched to non-bio washing powder & comfort pure softner (think fairy do one as well). I also moisturise loads with aqueous cream (it's very gentle and also what the midwives in my ante-natal class recommend for baby. And try to use shower gels etc with not scents or colourings etc, I found emulave good.

Your skin is extra sensitive in pregnancy anyways so I figure if you can at least rule out the itchyness caused by any irritants then it'll reduce it a good amount at least.

HTH and best of luck with the rest of your pregnancy