It is the most common dermatosis (skin disease) of pregnancy.
Its cause is unknown.
This condition usually appears in primigravida (women in their first pregnancy) during the last trimester (preferably in the last month) with small, raised, reddish lesions, causing much itching. The first signs are abdominal stretch marks and later extend to the rest of the abdomen and even to the limbs. Occasionally, raised patches appear in the form of a welt or vesicles that may coexist with the lesions described above. The rash is self-limiting, does not recur in later deliveries or with the use of oral contraceptives.
The diagnosis is made through the clinical history and physical examination.
The treatment is symptomatic and involves using high potency topical corticosteroids applied several times a day, as well as emollients and sedating antihistamines.
- Miriam Keltz Pomeranz, MD. Dermatoses of pregnancy. Uptodate. Jun 26, 2017.
- Vaughan Jones S, Ambros-Rudolph C, Nelson-Piercy C. Skin disease in pregnancy. BMJ 2014; 348:g3489.
- Massone C, Cerroni L, Heidrun N, et al. Histopathological diagnosis of atopic eruption of pregnancy and polymorphic eruption of pregnancy: a study on 41 cases. Am J Dermatopathol 2014; 36:812.
- Lehrhoff S, Pomeranz MK. Specific dermatoses of pregnancy and their treatment. Dermatol Ther 2013; 26:274.
- Ambros-Rudolph CM. Dermatoses of pregnancy - clues to diagnosis, fetal risk and therapy. Ann Dermatol 2011; 23:265.
