Dandelions were my first herbal remedy encounter. I was almost 5 months pregnant when I began getting itchy. At first I thought it was because my stomach was growing super fast. We did confirm there was only one, normal sized baby in there. I was monitored for majority of my pregnancy due to having some stubborn kidneys. So when all my bloodwork came back clear they then diagnosed me with P.U.P.P.P.
It's important to note that there is also a skin condition that happens during pregnancy that is caused by high liver levels so please make sure that you do the appropriate testing.
If you've never heard of that, you're not alone. I never did either, and I have a really big family. When I say big think about it like this. My mom has 6 brothers, my father has 8 siblings. So there's a lot of personalities and chances where I could've heard of this and never did. I regress, so what's P.U.P.P.P.?
The most annoying rash you could ever get, and I've gotten poison ivy plenty times in my life. It stands for Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy. Many times it's caused by multiple or large babies and comes on right towards the end of the pregnancy. The hormone levels are super high and at that time it somehow effects the liver causing the rash. Now that's just a gist of it. Do your research to figure the rest out. There is no cure except to give birth. In about 15 days after birth it should be clear.
It's important to note that there is also a skin condition that happens during pregnancy that is caused by dangerous liver levels so please make sure that you do the appropriate testing.
Did I mention I was only about 5 months pregnant? I could not live like for another 5 months. I was prescribed certain soaps, steroid creams and cold showers. But it did nothing at all. It spread from the top of my ears all the way down to my knees. I was itchy everywhere, all the time. So much so they took me out of work early to help relieve some of the stress. I was losing it. I couldn't take the lack of sleep and the bleeding from the uncontrollable scratching. When I did go to sleep I would wake up with bloodspots everywhere. I'm sure somewhere, someone is using itching and unsubstantial scratching to be a form of torture. That was the end of it I couldn't take it anymore so I took matters into my own hands.
So I researched. I read a ton of articles trying to link things back and forth and found one blog post. A husband of a pregnant woman who was also suffering towards the end of her pregnancy. Now remember I was still only 5 months pregnant so I would have had to push through until the very end plus 15 days give or take.
He said she began taking dandelion root tea and it helped her tremendously. I never ran to the pharmacy so quickly. It wasn't there but it was at my local Vitamin Shoppe and so I purchased it in capsule form. The next day I already had a doctors appointment so I brought them with me to ask my doctor if they were safe enough.
When I brought it to my doctor's attention he mentioned that he categorized it as safe as milk thistle, so I had the go ahead to start taking it. Always make sure to talk to your physician to make sure it is safe. I was being very closely monitored the whole time because of kidney issues and so he knew I already had him on speed dial if anything worsened.
I hated tea then, so I knew I couldn't take that and so I bought all organic capsules. Once I had the green light I started taking it. 2 capsules 3x a day. To say that I was mind blown is an understatement.
3 days, that's it. In 3 days I began to see improvement and found relief. The itching stopped completely. By day 4 all the red raised bumps were dry and light pink. By day 7, I only had the minimal scarring from all the scratching.
After that, I started this journey. To research it all. There is just so much and yet not enough information out there. I took herbalism courses. Received certificates for them. There truly isn't a masters in herbalism so to speak because the learning just never stops. I keep a notebook around all the time. I experiment. I see results.
I hope you enjoyed this little excerpt into my life and the power of dandelions. If you or someone you know is facing the PUPPP rash , tell them to ask their doctor if they think they can use it. As long as it doesn't hurt you, you're almost willing to try anything to find relief. Hope you find some.
-AGS
