Already suffering from psoriasis and thinking about conceiving or wait a minute are you already pregnant?Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune skin disease. It is a condition in which the usual new skin cells (present underneath the old cells) are produced at a much faster rate while the shed of the old cells (present towards the surface) is relatively at normal rate. As more and more new skin cells are produced rapidly, the old skin cells are pushed to the surface forming the thick, red, itchy, flaky patches known as plaques. While the cause of it still remains unknown we here at least know that your concern is whether this condition during your pregnant stage can cause any snag.
Signs and symptoms
- Skin that is very dry and can bleed easily.
- Nails that turn thick, pitted or ridged.
- Red patches on your skin that have silvery scales.
- A burning sensation in the affected area.
- Itching sensation or soreness in the affected area.
- Swelling or stiffness in your joints.
To start with let me tell you that every lady’s body reacts to pregnancy in different and distinct ways. Similar is the situation here, in some women pregnancy worsen their psoriasis while in others the signs and symptoms of it actually subsides and it makes better prognosis. This probably happens due to all the raging hormones which suppress the immune response of the body, mostly due to progesterone. However worry less pals as experts suggest that mild to moderate psoriasis do not tend to produce any obstacles in pregnancy though birth defects like low body weight of the baby are common.
However the disease may actuate once again when the pregnancy period is complete.But it may not rebound with an intensity more than it was before getting pregnant. So it is recommended to go see a doctor before getting pregnant. Consult your gynecologist and dermatologist, discuss about both psoriasis and pregnancy to both of them. Few drugs to treat psoriasis can cause birth defects and may even lead to miscarriage. So proper circumspection is must. Consider the following points as serious signs along with their remedies:
7 serious signs of Psoriasis during pregnancy:
- There is nothing you can do much. Visiting your dermatologist is the best escape. Your doctor may add or withdraw some of the drugs according to their safety index as they can be deleterious to your coming child. Most drugs are safe though risk should particularly be avoided. If you are considering or taking systemic treatments be sure in advance of the length of time that you will need to be off treatment before it can be considered safe for you to conceive.
- Stick to topical medications like lotions and creams which would help give local effect and no systemic manifestations. Though these are of tremendous advantage though they should be carefully applied. For example, with application on breast it should be kept in mind that the drug is not coming in contact with the milk or is not absorbed by the nipples.
- Narrow and broad band ultraviolet light B phototherapy are helpful if your condition is severe and topical agents aren’t proving useful much. Although theories suggest that they may cause light sensitivity and DNA mutation in the baby.
- The situation can get real embarrassing especially with pregnant females with all the itching.The skin is mainly dry and scaly. It is recommended to use appropriate hydrating formulations to apply on the skin and keep it moisturized.
- Stockpiling sweat should be completely avoided as it can worsen the skin condition.Maintaining hygiene and cleanliness should be on top your priority list.
- Also hot water bathes should be avoided as the warmness too aggravates the flake formation and intensifies the diseased condition.
- Whilst the prevailing chances of your to-be-baby to inherit this disease from you are minimum still do not disregard the phrase “prevention is better than cure”. There may occur some genetic changes which may be responsible to cause the same disease in the child (rare case).
Since stress often increases psoriasis symptoms, it’s important that you lower your stress levels as best as you can. A healthy pregnancy lifestyle like eating well, getting enough rest, exercising and practicing relaxation can help. We completely understand that it’s going to be a rough time for you to deal with. But stay tough girl because the best and overwhelming part would happen when those two little glistening eyes will stare right back at you. Ultimately you will realize there are more important things to worry about.