hives in early pregnancy?

[andresgirl]

Hi ladies,

I believe i have a bad case of the hives.   i'm in my sixth week of pregnancy and my sister told me this is normal...she had it too.  However, when she had her rash it was late in her pregnancy.  Is it normal to have hives this early in pregnancy?  I called my doctor and she told me not to worry and to take benadryl.  did anyone else have hives this early?

[NiaMomma]

Just adding more voice to this discussion.  I had never had hives before in my life, but suddenly came down with them when I was about 6 or 7 weeks pregnant.  This is my second pregnancy and I didn't experience hives with the first. I don't respond well to Benadryl, but what did work wonders for me was taking one Zyrtec at night.  Only needed the Zyrtec for two night.  An added benefit is that as an antihistamine the Zyrtec also made my nausea/morning sickness go away for those two days!  Too bad it hasn't been proven safe to use long-term in pregnancy.  It's the ONLY thing that I have ever found that actually provided relief from the morning sickness, and I have truly tried every suggestion out there!

[Wanderingcarma]

Hives were my first symptom of pregnancy! I had never had hives before and my face was swollen and I was red and itchy all over, I was less than 2 weeks pregnant ... It lasted about 3-4 days and never happened again! As it turned out I was pregnant with my first baby girl! Now I wonder if I get pregnant again if the hives will return... I'm hoping they won't but I'm definitely on guard because I've never itched like that before! My OBGYN acted like she hadn't heard of this as an early symptom of pregnancy, but online it appears to be quite common!

[staceface40]

I'm 6 weeks and just broke out in terrible itchy hives all over my body, face arms and legs while i was trying to go to sleep! I jumped in the bath and it helped somewhat.
I'm relieved to read that this is fairly common, but boy, this stinks!

[slomo_13]

I am 11 weeks pregnant and I started having hives a month ago.  My OBGYN sent me to see a dermatologist that specializes in pregnancy and she said that there is not much they can do for hives since they usually go away on their own.  She did say that hives can be caused by an underlying infection so if anyone has been sick I would suggest having lab done to look at your white blood cell count.  The dermatologist also suggested taking a total of 20 mg of Clariton a day and 25 mg of Benadryl at night since these are the only OTC drugs safe during pregnancy.  She also said not to use topical creams because they are not safe.  I hope this helps anyone with hives!

[seattlepreggers]

I am seven weeks pregnant and just started getting hives last night. I had never been allergic to anything before, so this seemed strange. I told my mom about it and she said that while pregnant, she got rashes from a face wash she used that contained alcohol. I thought that maybe the hives were being caused by a hand sanitizer I recently started using (with high alcohol content), but the hives are all over my body. I no longer think it's an allergy to topical alcohol.
They spread to my neck today and soon after, I felt my throat tightening. I did some quick research that told me if I was having an allergic reaction and my throat was closing up to seek emergency help because it wouldn't reopen by itself and I would die (which was some extreme wording, and not true, clearly). So, of course, I panicked and my fiance called 911. The EMTs evaluated me and told me I should be okay and to take Benadryl gelcaps. However, I've been wary of taking anything during the pregnancy, and my pharmacist and my medical insurance's nurse helpline both told me NOT to take Benadryl-- it is harmful to the baby. I wanted to pass this information along because I saw others talking about taking it. I'm sure that a topical cream would be fine, but not anything that would be ingested. The nurse from the hotline recommended taking a warm bath with oatmeal or baking soda to relieve the itching...but nothing more. I hope it helps. Right now I am miserable. Good luck to the rest of you ladies out there with the same problem. And be very cautious of the medications you take while pregnant!

[Samcsisson]

I am 25 weeks pregnant and my hives are localized on my womenly parts, and is slowly spreading up on to my stomache. My OBGYN is "to busy" to see me so I went to a different clinic entirely. I was told it's one of three things...... I'm having a boy so I could be allergic to the babys testosterone. 2. Its PUPPS due to a hormonal inbalance, or 3. It's a normal pregnancy thing that is just another thing I have to live with. Once you have the hives there is no real treatment or anything you can do until your delivary, then it generally goes away, from what the doctor has told me. He subscribed Benadryl, cold showers, gentle soaps, and a cream. I won't lie.... it's not helping! Good luck!

[Samcsisson]

I am 25 weeks pregnant and my hives are localized on my womenly parts, and is slowly spreading up on to my stomache. My OBGYN is "to busy" to see me so I went to a different clinic entirely. I was told it's one of three things...... I'm having a boy so I could be allergic to the babys testosterone. 2. Its PUPPS due to a hormonal inbalance, or 3. It's a normal pregnancy thing that is just another thing I have to live with. Once you have the hives there is no real treatment or anything you can do until your delivary, then it generally goes away, from what the doctor has told me. He subscribed Benadryl, cold showers, gentle soaps, and a cream. I won't lie.... it's not helping! Good luck!

[LIZARDF]

I just found out I was pregnant and I have been incredibly itchy ever since.  I just noticed some bumps on my legs in different spots and they look like mosquito bites, but aren't.  All parts of my body itch and especially the bottom of my feet, my wrists, and my breasts.  
When I was pregnant with my daughter 7 years ago, I did not develop the itchyness until the end of the work day and towards the 7th month; I am only about 5 weeks along tops, but every pregnancy is different.  
I am glad to see that this is common but the woman whose doctor is an A$$, you need to switch because that makes no sense to me that you are not a patient of hers until after the first trimester.  What a load of crap, get a new ob/gyn because she is not the doctor for you.  No compassion from her is not good in a Dr.

[tarrah87]

i had hives early with my last pregnancy and right now i'm 24 wks and have developed them as well

[hives123]

I am 7 weeks pregnant and have had hives everywhere for 4 days now.  I have taken benadryl, Zrtec and even got a steriod shot at the ER on saturday, which helped for about 7 hours.  nothing else has helped and they are so itchy.  I went to an allergist this morning and she said to take 1 zrtec and 2 ranitidine for the next few days, plus a very bland diet, with no nuts, fruit and no pre natal viatmin.  I have never been allergic to anything before.  has anyone had any success with getting rid of the hives.  I am losing it!

[Ameina]

Hello, I am 7 weeks pregnant and this is my first pregnancy.  I recently developed hives right after Thanksgiving.  At first I kept trying to figure out what I changed since before Thanksgiving but from reading the community discussions, it seems that this is sometimes "normal" in some pregnancies.  I used to get hives to certain cheap products and have since stayed away.

My hives are localized only to my arms and the legs below my knees only.  Strange, eh?  I found that of all the topical items I've purchased, Benadryl Spray Extra Strength Itch Relief is the fastest relief - I may not last but a couple of hours but it has stopped the itching immediately.  Also, staying cool and wearing light clothing helps tremendously.  I know it's winter right now but I wore a long sleeve shirt w/a short sleeve sweater vest and because it made the back of my arms hot, the itching got worse.  So i have Benadryl at home AND at work.  

I have an OBGYN appointment tomorrow, my first and I will let you know what they say about having Hives and being pregnant.

Good Luck to everyone going through this - I can relate and it's driving me CRAZY!

[emilyanne88]

i had hives along with severe sickess, itching, dizziness, fever at about 6 weeks pregnant and also in my first pregnancy at about 7 weeks.  The doctor told me it was simply an allergic reaction to something that i become allergic to only in pregnancy. I was given some antihistamines and it was gone with in a couple of days. :-) try not to worry x

[Skyfoxglitter]

The rash developed later in pregnancy is called "pups" and is very itchy and very common and due to hormone changes. It is possible to get this in early pregnancy and yes taking benadryl should help. But take changes into consideration like did you recently change any type of soap? laundry, face, body etc... If not than I would attribute the rash to changing hormones and try the Benadryl. However if you do not get any relief I would go in and see your OB doctor. Best of luck to you...