Does skin disease affect pregnancy?

Skin diseases during pregnancy will not affect the development of the fetus and will not be transmitted to the baby. However, skin diseases can cause unbearable itching in pregnant women, so timely topical medication is still required. You cannot take medicine during pregnancy. It is best to use topical medication. Urticaria is especially common during pregnancy, and pregnant women should know its treatment method.

About 20% of pregnant women will experience skin problems during pregnancy. Some of them are similar to common skin diseases and are related to climate, living habits, and physical constitution, such as pityriasis, prickly heat, eczema, urticaria, etc., while others are related to pregnancy. "Endocrine changes in pregnant women, rapid weight gain or external stimulation during pregnancy may cause skin diseases."

Polymorphic eruption of pregnancy (pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy) is a common specific skin disease during pregnancy. It is characterized by urticaria-like or irregular papules. Patients will feel very itchy, even so severe that it affects their sleep. Its cause is unclear, but it may be related to excessive weight gain during pregnancy. Apart from the inconvenience in life that may be caused by itching, it will not have much impact on the health of pregnant women and fetuses. Usually it will gradually get better within a week after delivery.

In addition, prurigo during pregnancy, which may be caused by hormonal changes and external irritants during pregnancy, may also cause itching problems during pregnancy, but it has no obvious effect on the health of pregnant women and fetuses, so there is no need to worry too much.

It is worth noting that if the skin turns yellow, it may be intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy. Some pregnant women will experience itching, but others will not have itching symptoms. Intrahepatic cholestasis during pregnancy requires serious attention, as severe cases may lead to premature birth or even stillbirth. There is also pemphigoid gestationis, which is an autoimmune disease. Itchy red rashes or blisters will appear on the abdomen and then spread rapidly, which may lead to premature birth. There is also a chance of infection during scratching, which may eventually cause sepsis in pregnant women. Fortunately, the incidence of the above two skin diseases is not high.

Can I use medicine to treat skin diseases during pregnancy?

Clinically, many pregnant women only go to the hospital for treatment when their skin itching becomes unbearable. Most of them hold the mentality of not taking any medication if possible, as they are worried about adverse effects on the fetus, especially some drugs containing hormones. In fact, topical medications, even if they contain trace amounts of hormones, have very little effect on the fetus. For the sake of caution, oral antihistamines should not be used by pregnant women in the first three months of pregnancy. If the pregnancy period is more than three months, it can be used under the guidance of a doctor and generally has no obvious effect on the fetus, so it can be used with confidence.

"It is not uncommon to suffer from skin diseases during pregnancy. Expectant mothers should not just endure it because they ignore it or are afraid of taking medication. Severe itching often affects the normal life and rest of pregnant women, and the adverse effects on the fetus and pregnant women cannot be ignored." It is emphasized here that if skin problems occur during pregnancy, do not take medication on your own. On the one hand, you must rule out whether the skin problems are caused by other diseases; on the other hand, indiscriminate use of medication may cause other problems for pregnant women. For example, the incorrect use of fluoride-containing hormones may aggravate stretch marks. Therefore, if skin problems occur during pregnancy, treatment should be sought under the guidance of a doctor as soon as possible.