Baby Dumpling's Poppa

Skin rash and Pregnancy

This past month has been full of events.  We finally got the hardwood floor installed, purchased a bunch of baby stuff, took things from the garage to a storage unit then filled the space with baby more baby stuff, built storage racks for the extra wipes and diapers, did the baby shower.  If that wasn't enough for a month my wife also had a skin rash.  It wasn't the pregnancy skin rash called PUPPS, blood test ruled that out, it was actually 2 different problems.  The first was more like the rash you get during the summer.  The moisture under the breasts and where the tummy meets the thighs caused a rash.  That was treated with some cream the dermatologist prescribed.  The other is a little bit more complexed, it's not really a rash or an allergy.  My wife's skin just itches.  At first we tried Benedril but that put the baby to sleep and my wife wasn't able to feel the baby move so she stopped taking it.  The only thing I can come up with that is causing it is just nerves, anxiety or something.  Finally after a month of suffering the doctor suggested Clariton, not the Clariton D, and some skin cream.  That has made a big improvement.  It doesn't put the baby to sleep and it controls the itching.  I would recommend that any itching be checked out.  My wife let the rash and itching go for 2 weeks before she said anything and now it will take her skin about 2 months to fully heal.  Waiting for it to go away doesn't work.

Update:  After Baby Dumpling arrived the rash and itching went away.  The doctor was correct about this being pregnancy related.

Check your health

Staying healthy is always a good idea, and getting regular checkups is one of the ways to do it.  If you're a father already or one that is going to be it's especially important.  You know getting your cholesterol checked routinely is important.  It becomes more important once you reach 40 or more.  Another thing that needs to be checked are the triglycerides.  Studies indicate that high triglycerides does cause heartdease.  I usually have all my blood work done at the same time.  I hate needles so it just makes sense to only get stabbed once.  Once your doctor gets the results you should ask what the numbers are, some doctors don't feel it's that important.  It's your body, do some research and decide for yourself.  If you feel it's a good idea then tell your doctor to run the test and give you the results.  If it's high, see americanheart.org for the chart,  your doctor may or may not prescribe something for it.  If he does give you a prescription for it you might want to ask if it's o.k. to take the OMEGA fish oil vitamin as well.  There was a study done back in the 90's for patients that took just the medicine, just the vitamin and both.  The ones who took both had much better and faster results.  Nothing can replace a good diet, but there are things you can do that don't hurt that much.  I try to avoid fast food, I consider buying a meal from a fast-food place is just making a down payment on a heart attack.  But I can't live on rabbit food like salads, celery and carrots.  It's not a matter of making drastic changes all at once, make small changes over time and eventually you'll be eating better and having the test results coming back good.