What Is PUPPP?

PUPPP, Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy, is a common skin condition known as polymorphic eruption that occurs among pregnant women. It causes major discomfort for pregnant women during and after pregnancy. The symptoms of PUPPP include extreme itching, warp-like bumps/lesions (papules) that can cover the entire body, extreme irritation, and redness. These symptoms appear to be consistent among those who have experienced PUPPP.
The rash is said to occur during the first pregnancy of most pregnant women. It is also said that the rash occurs during the third trimester of most pregnancies. In some cases the rash will go away after the mother gives birth. In other cases, the mother can have PUPPP months after giving birth, even up to 4-5 months after giving birth. If PUPPP lingers after giving birth, it is said to be the related to lingering placental products.
The rash generally starts on the abdomen and can cover the entire body in some cases. The only parts of the body that are not plagued by the rash are the face, the palm of the hands, and the sole of the feet. Some women are lucky enough to only have the rash cover their abdomen. The majorities of the cases I have read about were extreme and completely covered everything but the face, hands, and feet.
Pregnant women who get PUPPP are not likely to have it occur more than once. So, future pregnancies should not be plagued by PUPPP. If it does occur during a future pregnancy, it should be much milder than the initial experience with PUPPP.
Fortunately, PUPPP is harmless to the mother and the baby; however, there have been reports of babies getting PUPPP as well. In those cases, the PUPPP is extremely mild and normally goes away quickly. It is rare for babies to get PUPPP.
While PUPPP may be harmless, it should be treated immediately to avoid prolonged discomfort and irritation. The intense irritation caused by PUPPP can wreak havoc on a mother who is already not getting much sleep as a result of tending to a newborn baby and as the result of the irritation caused by PUPPP. Some mothers have reported that the irritation alone is enough to make you lose your mind. Some have reported coming very close to losing their minds. Losing your mind or coming close to it, should make PUPPP very harmful. Those who have survived it deserve a badge of honor.

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PUPPP Treatments

While there is no known cure for PUPPP, there are numerous products on the market that are used to help relieve PUPPP symptoms. Those products range from topical solutions to oral treatments that can be found over the counter or prescribed by physicians. Because most women get PUPPP during pregnancy, they are limited on the treatments they can use to treat PUPPP. This article includes a list of both oral and topical solutions that have been used to provide PUPPP relief.
Topical solutions that have been noted as great PUPPP relievers include anti-itch lotions, essential oils, oatmeal baths, as well as soaps that contain menthol. Sarna Lotion is one of the anti-itch lotions that appears to wear the crown for PUPPP suffers. It has been mentioned on numerous blogs with rave reviews. Gold Bond 10 extreme itch has also been mentioned as a great option. The essential oils that have been used include tea tree oil and lavender oil. While tea tree has greater reviews in regards to providing PUPPP relief, some have noted that lavender oil works as well.
While researching products to use I stumbled upon Pine Tar Soap. This product is talked about on just about every blog that mentions PUPPP. Pine Tar Soap is said to be very soothing and just the relief you need before applying either Sarna Lotion or Gold Bond 10 extreme itch. You should feel some relief while using these products. Just note, there has been no mention of these products doing anything other than providing relief. There has been no mention of them curing PUPPP.
Oral solutions that have been noted as PUPPP relievers include anti-histamines, herbal teas, herbal supplements, and even steroids. Any anti-histamine should provide the same level of relief according to what has been noted. In regards to herbal teas, Milk Thistle and Dandelion Root seem to be the Holy Grail of teas that have provided relief in some cases as well as aided in helping others get rid of PUPPP. Dandelion Root can also be taken in a pill form.
The most popular treatment for PUPPP amongst those that are desperate is steroids. While pregnant women are unable to take steroids, the intense irritation of PUPPP causes some to request induction and steroids. It has been noted that some doctors have done that and others have not. Some PUPPP sufferers noted that steroids did not cure their PUPPP.
This article is only intended to provide information about PUPPP treatments that have either provided PUPPP relief or helped to get rid of PUPPP. You should speak with your physician before trying any of the products mentioned.

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A Redeemed Ghanaian Absconder In England

Kwame Mainu's partner, Afriyie, had carried on her dressmaking activities in Warwick and when business became successful she brought her niece, Elsie, from Ghana to help with the work. Dissatisfied with her salary, and jealous of other young girls' freedom to enjoy themselves, Elsie had run away. Kwame was afraid that because Elsie spoke little English she would fall into the hands of Kumasi-based drugs traders. He was relieved when Auntie Rose reported that Elsie had been found.
Auntie Rose explained how she had pursued her own enquiries and had traced Elsie to a house in Birmingham that was known to be a brothel. Through Leon, she had learned that the police were planning to raid the place to make arrests of suspected people traffickers. Auntie Rose had pleaded for the raid to be brought forward and Elsie had been released, but not before she had sustained a severe beating. 'She wants to come back when she is well but she is shy to face Afriyie,' said Auntie Rose. 'So I persuaded her to see you first.'
They drove to the hospital and found Elsie in a comfortable single room that Kwame guessed was private. He suspected that Leon had something to do with these arrangements. He couldn't help wondering whether if Akos Mary could have been brought to such a place she might have survived. From the look he exchanged with Auntie Rose he guessed the thought was shared.
Elsie lay sleeping with her head bandaged. Her arms, also wrapped in bandages, lay above the white sheets. A nurse who had been sitting by the bed offered her seat to Auntie Rose and told them, 'She will soon wake up. She was anaesthetised to reset some bones in her arm. Why don't you go to the restaurant for a cup of tea? I'll let you know when she's conscious.'
Kwame was only half way through his Danish pastry when the call came. Quickly wrapping the residue in a paper napkin, he followed his little companion back to Elsie's room. The bandaged patient seemed both pleased and startled to see him. 'Please, I want to come back?' she asked quietly. 'Yes, you can,' Kwame replied and wanted to hug the redeemed absconder, but fearing causing further harm to her frail frame he contented himself with a kiss on her cheek.
'Afriyie will be very angry.'
'No, she won't be angry, I'll explain everything. Try to get well quickly.'
They left Elsie to sleep some more, promising to come back soon. 'How do you think she came to be beaten so badly?' he asked Auntie Rose. 'She hasn't told us yet but we suspect that she refused to do what they wanted,' Auntie Rose replied. 'Will they need her to give evidence?'
'Yes, I expect so, but later when she is healed.'

John Powell
John Powell weaves a tale of tension and intrigue into the lives and loves of Kwame Mainu and his family and friends, against the rich social, cultural, economic and political background of the first four decades of Ghana's independence, in his two novels: The Colonial Gentleman's Son and Return to the Garden City.

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