Have You Experienced Itching During Pregnancy? In this this article, I’d like to talk about itching during pregnancythat occurs on the skin all over the body, with the most common locations being the skin of the arms, legs, or abdomen (the baby bump).
Many if not most pregnant women suffer from itching and irritation on their abdomen. What leads to this is the same thing that leads to stretch marks: the stretching of the skin of the baby bump while experiencing dry skin at the same time. This may seem like a small issue, but it's not. If you're itching, then that’s an early sign that you are heading for stretch marks, which are definitely to be avoided if possible.
But how do you know if it’s only normal itching from the stretching and dry skin and not something more serious? Look at other symptoms you might be experiencing. If it’s something more serious, then you’ll be feeling unwell, be suffering from your skin turn yellowish, or be having headaches. If it’s normal itching, you may see a pretty wicked looking rash, but other than that you should feel like you’re in generally good health.
But now that we've discussed the causes, how can you get rid of your itching? If you have the itch on your limbs, you should consider an over the counter itch relief lotion. Calamine lotion is good, as is hydrocortisone cream. All you have to do is rub it on the itchy region at least twice a day. If the itching is on your belly, you should also use an anti-itch remedy from the pharmacy at least twice daily, but you additionally need to use a separate ointment to assist in getting rid of the dry skin by allowing your baby bump skin to stretch comfortably.
So in addition to the anti-itch cream, try a good natural moisturizer like Cocoa butter. Don’t use it at the same time as the anti-itch cream, though. Instead, apply the itch cream in the morning and then again just before you go to bed. And then apply the Cocoa butter liberally several times (as often as you can really) during the day. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how fast the itching and dryness will go away. In all likelihood, the itch will subside within less than a week.
Finally, an additional solution that I discussed in a previous article for when your itching during pregnancy is acute and you need relief NOW is to run hot water on your itchy parts. Run water in the bath or shower as hot as you can stand it. Then, simply let the water shooting from the faucet land on your itchy skin directly. This makes your skin release histamines that will provide instant relief. At first, it will be the most marvelous sensation – like a million little fingers scratching your itch at the molecular level. Some individuals have been known to become weak in the knees when doing this because it feels so good! One caveat: Don't burn yourself!