Polymorphic dermatosis of pregnant women

Waiting for the baby for the woman is a period of testing, because with the future mother there is a lot of transformations: both good and not so. During pregnancy, chronic diseases can become aggravated or new problems can be actualized, which have never bothered the woman before. Polymorphic dermatosis of pregnant women, just, and is a malaise, which provokes only changes that occur in the body of a future mother.

The disease has other names - erythema of pregnant toxic, itchy urticaria-papular dermatosis, plaque dermatosis of pregnant women and belongs to the group of dermatoses that arise precisely in pregnant women. The frequency of his appearance is as follows: one case for two hundred and forty expectant mothers. Some experts believe that this kind of dermatosis occurs more often - one abnormal pregnancy with skin problems for one hundred and twenty healthy pregnancies.

The appearance of this type of problem is characteristic of the third trimester of expectation of the baby. In the overwhelming majority of cases, primiparous women suffer from polymorphic dermatosis and very rarely have a second pregnancy. Most often, these skin rashes appear on the thirty-sixth week of waiting for the baby or one to two weeks before the birth. In some cases, the appearance of dermatosis in the postpartum period, but such cases are quite rare.

It is important to note that such skin problems do not have any complications for the health of the mother and her future baby. Even toxic adverse effects are excluded, which gives the pregnant woman a reason for optimism and allows more easily psychologically to suffer the ailments of this period.

[1], [2], [3],

Causes of polymorphic dermatosis in pregnant women

In the overwhelming majority of all health problems in expectant mothers arise because of a sharp and rapid change in the hormonal background. Such metamorphosis affects all processes of the female body, and in the first place - on the metabolism. Changes in the metabolic processes of a pregnant woman affect some external and internal transformations, one of which is an increase in the mass of her body. This is quite normal for pregnancy because in the maternal body, not only the fetus, but also the uterus, placenta grows every day, the amount of amniotic fluid increases and so on.

But it happens that the maternal weight gets abnormal figures - it increases very much despite the normal parameters of weight gain during this period. This is due to the same disturbances in the metabolic processes of the pregnant woman, as well as due to the fact that her chronic diseases causing excessive body weight are exacerbated. In addition, one should not discount the good appetite of expectant mothers, many of whom eat during pregnancy so much that it begins to seriously damage not only their appearance but also their well-being.

Excessive amount of food, especially sweet and flour dishes, fatty and fried foods, as well as smoked products and so on, lead to the fact that not only a pregnant woman begins to gain extra pounds. This irrepressible food affects the weight of the fetus, leading to an abnormal increase in the weight of the fetus.

All of the above - excess maternal weight and high body mass of the fetus - is precisely the reason for the polymorphic dermatosis of pregnant women, which are known to specialists. It should be noted that a multiple pregnancy, in which the weight of a pregnant woman naturally increases, is a provoking factor for the onset of the disease.

[4], [5], [6], [7], [8],

Symptoms of Polymorphic Dermatosis in Pregnant Women

The signs of this skin disease are very bright and, most importantly, unpleasant for a future mother. That, first, facilitates the diagnosis of the disease, and secondly, it helps correctly and timely choose therapeutic agents.

Symptoms of polymorphic pregnancy dermatosis are as follows:

• The initial area of rashes is on the abdomen, with further spread to other parts of the skin.
• The navel area is not affected.
• Localization of skin problems on the skin of the abdomen, buttocks and thighs. Less often - on the upper and lower limbs, palms and feet, breasts, as well as the woman's face.
• The appearance of rashes in this area, which in appearance resemble hives. The data are called papules. By appearance, the papules formed are red, edematous and erythematous, and in size - from one to three millimeters.

After the appearance of a rash in a very short time, they merge and form plaques resembling large blisters. At the same time, plague polycyclic lesions are sometimes formed from plaques. In some cases, vesicles are formed on the affected areas of the skin - small vesicles with liquid.

• There are clear boundaries of rashes.
• The onset of severe itching of the affected area.
• Half of the cases of papules occur on striae, which are stretch marks after an increase in the volume of a pregnant woman.
• Absence of defeat of mucous membranes.

The nature of the course of the disease is as follows: rashes appear and progress for one or two weeks. There are sensations of itching in the abdominal region, often striae - skin stretch marks. The nature of the itching becomes so strong that it interferes with the night sleep of the pregnant woman, and also her normal state of health during the day.

The extinction, that is, the complete disappearance of the rash occurs immediately after birth and is observed for from one week to ten days.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis of polymorphic dermatosis in pregnant women is not difficult. The clinical picture is so clear that even when the patient is examined, the specialist can put the correct diagnosis.

In differential diagnosis it is important to distinguish polymorphic dermatosis from clinically similar other diseases of pregnant women:

• herpes pregnant,
• medicinal toxicoderma,
• diffuse neurodermatitis.

For this type of disease, laboratory tests may be required. Usually, the following tests are assigned:

• general blood analysis,
• serological analysis of blood,
• biochemical blood test,
• carrying out a biopsy of a site of the amazed tissues.

When processing the results of a blood test, no abnormalities are detected. The results of biopsy are the detection of perivascular lymphohistiocytic infiltration, which is localized in the upper layers of the dermis. Also, with biopsy of tissues, the presence of parakeratosis is established - a violation of the horny formation of cells due to their loss of the function of keratin production. And the last thing that a biopsy can be useful is in revealing spongiosis, which is an exudative inflammatory process in the epidermis. In this case, serous fluid begins to accumulate in the intercellular space of the spiky skin layer, which leads to an increase in intercellular lacunae.

[9], [10], [11], [12], [13],

Treatment of polymorphic dermatosis in pregnant women

Among the medicines that are prescribed for future mothers, the following medicines can be distinguished:

• Taking sedatives (or soothing) drugs.

To the permitted medicines during pregnancy is the motherwort, valerian and other sedatives, which are not infused with alcohol.

• Use of antihistamines.

The above medicines are administered orally. They stabilize the nervous system of a pregnant woman, and also help minimize allergic reactions of the body. Soothing drugs allow you to relieve tension accumulated during the day by unpleasant sensations in the abdominal region, and to feel a strong and healthy sleep at night.

Their external means, which are recommended for use, should be distinguished as follows:

• Mixtures with antipruritic effect, which must be shaken.
• Creams, which include a calamine, which is zinc sulfide ore.
• Corticosteroid ointments and creams.

Sometimes, when the case of polymorphic dermatosis is especially strong, a specialist can prescribe oral administration of Prednisone in the amount of forty grams per day.

Prevention

Not all diseases are susceptible to one hundred percent preventive measures. Preventive maintenance of polymorphic dermatosis of pregnant women concerns to the same difficult problems. Of course, a pregnant woman needs to take certain steps to avoid provoking such an unpleasant skin disease. But, nevertheless, one can not give a guarantee that if all the rules and regulations are observed, in the last trimester of pregnancy the future mother will avoid skin problems.

So, in order to reduce the risk of disease, a woman needs to monitor her weight, and also lead a healthy lifestyle. Preventive procedures related to nutrition are as follows:

• Exclude their menu of sweets, flour and confectionery, white bread and pasta.
• Stop eating fatty foods, as well as dishes with lots of vegetable oils and animal fats.
• Change the technology of cooking. Instead of frying it is best to cook food for a couple, cook or simmer.
• Get rid of canned and pickled food.
• For a while stop eating too salty foods, as well as spicy dishes.
• Introduce a large amount of plant food in the diet, preferably fresh in season. It is important to eat as many different vegetables, fruits, berries and greens as possible. At the same time, one should pay attention to one's own state of health in order to avoid allergic reactions to this food.
• Drink enough pure water.
• Exclude from use coffee, black and strong tea, carbonated drinks.
• Try not to eat two hours before going to bed.

Measures that help to stabilize obesity include physical exercise:

• Walking in the open air - in squares and parks, near water bodies.
• Evening half-hour walk before going to bed.
• Easy gymnastic exercises that can be performed during pregnancy.

It is also important to provide the skin with sufficient breathing and purity. Therefore, it is important to follow the following rules:

• Wear clothes only from natural materials.
• Do not dress too warmly to avoid provoking the skin.
• Every day take a hygienic shower.
• To prevent skin stretch marks, use oils and body products that are recommended for pregnant women.

Forecast

Many diseases that occur during pregnancy, occur immediately after childbirth. No exception is polymorphic dermatosis: within ten days after the appearance of the baby, a young mother notices the disappearance of all unpleasant skin symptoms.

Most often, there is no recurrence of the disease. But if, nevertheless, the skin problems have returned, their symptoms are much less pronounced, which indicates an easier course of the disease. Although most women note that after the birth of problems with the skin does not arise, even when taking oral contraceptives. And subsequent pregnancies also pass without dermatoses, which tormented a woman in the period of waiting for the first-born. Therefore, we can say that the prognosis of polymorphic dermatosis is positive in almost a hundred percent of cases.

Specialists conducted studies that examined the effect of this disease on the quality of the course of pregnancy. As a result of work on this topic, it was revealed that polymorphic dermatosis does not affect in any way the overemphasis or miscarriage of the fetus, as well as the occurrence of spontaneous abortions. In addition, there are no congenital anomalies in children of women who have had the disease during pregnancy. Therefore, the skin problem of expectant mothers is not considered dangerous for the future child, or for the woman herself. In obstetric practice, only one case of the birth of a dead baby is described - from a pair of twins, but the causes of stillbirth are in a completely different plane, not from the area of skin diseases of the mother.

Polymorphic dermatosis of pregnant women is an unpleasant skin disease that can cause a woman a lot of anxiety. But do not worry about the fact that now such problems will be with the woman all the time. The time of delivery will pass, and after such an exciting event the body of a young mother will naturally cope with a skin problem that will disappear forever.

[14], [15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20]