Your body can undergo a lot of changes when you’re pregnant. Sometimes, it makes existing conditions worse while at other times, you can develop new ones. This can be the case with eczema as it’s one of the most common skin conditions that affect pregnant women. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), up to 50 percent of those who are pregnant have eczema and only about 40 percent of those cases had a previous diagnosis.
If you have eczema, you’ll likely see dry skin that cracks easily even if you’ve applied your usual moisturizer.
Some areas of your skin may look swollen and tight without the appearance of anything else. You also might not see any signs of an infection or feel the pain associated with hurting the area.
Eczema can make the affected sections of your skin unbearably itchy. You may find that you’re scratching the same parts of your body to the point of breaking the skin. The itching also tends to be worse at night.
The bumps that come with eczema distinguish themselves from other skin conditions by being raised and not usually appearing in clusters. If you scratch them, they will likely bleed, crust over, or ooze. If left unattended, they can also get infected.
Eczema can also cause skin discoloration. In people with darker skin, these areas may look dark brown or purple. If you are light-skinned, they can also look pink or red.
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It can be easy to confuse eczema with other conditions if you’ve never had it before or if you get new symptoms. Some skin issues that people can mistake eczema for include heat rashes, pregnancy acne, stretch marks, and bumps that can appear along your thighs, arms, and stomach during pregnancy. With eczema, delaying treatment can give the symptoms time to worsen so it’s essential to see your doctor about any changes in your skin to be safe.
If you suspect you have eczema, the first thing you should do is consult your doctor. That’s because not everything will be safe to take during pregnancy. Typically, it only takes a physical exam to determine if you have eczema but your doctor may take a watch-and-see approach depending on your case.
Generally, doctors start with safe treatments like phototherapy and diluted topical steroids to treat eczema. The concern with steroids is that they can affect your baby’s development or even lead to addiction. To combat that, your doctor is likely to avoid using that unless you’re dealing with a severe case. For those who don’t respond to safe treatments, your doctor might explore other treatments such as corticosteroid injections and immunosuppressants.
When using those treatments, your doctor will keep an eye on your symptoms as well as discuss potential side effects for your baby. Since people with severe cases of eczema may still have the symptoms for a few weeks after giving birth you’ll need a treatment program for that as well. In that case, your doctor will talk to you about how the prescribed medications may affect your ability to breastfeed.
Overall, some pregnant women who have eczema have symptoms so terrible that their doctor would prefer they take medication than try to live without it.
The good news is that there are still things you can do to ease your symptoms at home – as long as you talk to your doctor about them first. One of the key things to managing eczema is avoiding your triggers. The list of triggers can be different for everyone but some options include dry skin, harsh laundry detergents, highly scented skin products, irritating materials like wool, and jewelry. Sometimes an eczema flare may be linked to other allergies so it’s best to avoid dust, pet dander, pollen, and certain plants that will make you sick.
You should also aim for short showers in warm water instead of taking baths and never swim for too long. When dealing with eczema, sweating isn’t just uncomfortable, it can irritate your skin. The best thing to do is keep as cool as possible and avoid any activity that causes excess sweating. A cold compress can do double duty to keep you cool while also soothing itchy skin so you don’t scratch.
Additionally, it’s important to keep your skin moisturized. Most doctors recommend applying a moisturizing cream liberally after you’ve had a shower in the morning. You can also reapply it during the day. This should help to reduce your likelihood of an eczema outbreak.
Eczema can affect up to half of all pregnant women. If you have the symptoms of this condition, it’s best to consult your doctor before trying any at-home treatments. Your doctor will then guide you on the best way to manage your eczema.
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