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What Causes Itching All Over The Body During Pregnancy?

Posted on Sat, 30 Aug 2014

Question: Hello doctor,
i am 29 weeks and 4 days and i have itching all over my body since early morning today.
is it normal to have itching like this?
i never had itching since i became pregnant...
i just had a tetnus injection day before yesterday...can this be reason?
also i stopped taking progestrone from the last two days...

Answered by Dr. Aarti Abraham (6 hours later)

Brief Answer:
CHOLESTASIS OF PREGNANCY LIKELY

Detailed Answer:
Hello
It is good to hear from you again, hope everything is going well at your end.
It is not normal to have itching all over the body at this stage of pregnancy.
The tetanus injection or the progesterone cannot be the reason for this.
The commonest cause of such itching during pregnancy is cholestasis of pregnancy.
Due to the hormones of pregnancy, the liver does not work efficiently and leads to deposition of bile salts in the skin.
There maybe no features of jaundice, just severe itching all over the body.
This condition maybe dangerous to the baby and to the mother.
It is very easily treated with medications.
SO it is vital to diagnose it.
Please consult your obstetrician at the earliest and have the following tests done - Complete blood count, LFT ( liver function test ).
Then upload the reports to me.
Also, are you sure it is not just dryness of the skin, which is also very common in pregnancy ?
If the skin is dry, apply Palmer's cocoa butter or coconut oil as emollients.
If the skin is normal still itching, then apply Lacto Calamine lotion.
All the best
Please feel free to discuss further.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Bhagyalaxmi Nalaparaju

Follow up: Dr. Aarti Abraham (14 minutes later)

the itching happened in the morning but there is no itching now:)

i did not take any medicine...i just put some cream on my legs...

if there is no itching now...do i need to get LFT test?

Answered by Dr. Aarti Abraham (3 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
GET IT DONE ANYWAYS.

Detailed Answer:
Well if the itching has stopped, it is less likely to be due to cholestasis.
Must be just temporary skin dryness.
However, no harm in getting an LFT done at your next visit.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Ashwin Bhandari

Follow up: Dr. Aarti Abraham (29 hours later)

my liver function test is as follows

ASPARTATE AMINOTRANSFERASE SERUM 20 (14-36)
(AST/SGOT)

ALANINE AMINOTRANSFERASE SERUM 19 (9-52)
(ALT/SGPT)

gamma glutamyl transferase ,serum <10 LOW (12-43)
(GGT)

BILIRUBIN TOTAL SERUM 0.13 LOW (0.2-1.3)

BILIBURIN DIRECT SERUM 0.00 ADULT (0.0 − 0.3)
NEONATES 0.0-0.6

ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE SERUM 133 HIGH (39-117)

TOTAL PROTIEN SERUM 6.6 (6 −9)

ALBUMIN +GLOBULIN +A/G RATIO SERUM
ALBULIN 3.4
GLOBULIN 3.2
ALBALIN/GLOBULIN RATIO 1.1

AND
PROGESTRONE IS 78 WHICH IS HIGH

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF RESULTS ARE OK OR NOT

ALSO I DID NOT HAVE ANY ITCHING AFTER THAT

THANKS

Answered by Dr. Aarti Abraham (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
REPORTS ARE NORMAL

Detailed Answer:
Hello
The results are okay.
The itching is also relieved.
So there is nothing to worry on that score.
Just moisturize your skin well as advised.
Take care.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Aarti Abraham (6 minutes later)

i did not get serum bile acid test as some one told me thats the test to diagonose this problem...
do i need this test or is it done in the above mentioned report?

thanks and regards

Answered by Dr. Aarti Abraham (1 minute later)

Brief Answer:
NO NEED FOR ANY FURTHER TESTS

Detailed Answer:
You do not need any more tests to diagnose this problem.
All the tests are covered in the report you have typed earlier.
Relax and take care.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Aarti Abraham (4 days later)

I had my 30 weeks 2 days scan yesterday

My baby weight is 1.45 kg ..is it normal range ?

Baby is in extended breach position and again there is a single loose loop around neck...
I m feeling little less kick ( but normal range but less than before )
Does extended breach position cause less kicks ?Also I want to know what is the difference between hiccups and kicks?
I mean how should I differentiate between them ?
And hiccups should be counted in movements or not ?

Answered by Dr. Aarti Abraham (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
GOOD WEIGHT, BREECH PREVENTS MOVEMENTS

Detailed Answer:
Hello again.
Good to hear from you.
YEs, the baby weight is very good, it is in the normal range.
Do not worry about the loop of cord as discussed earlier.
Because of the extended breech position, movements are felt less vigorously, as the baby's legs are not very XXXXXXX
So do not worry.
Hiccups are sustained, occur in sporadic bursts, kicks are discrete single movements.
Hiccups are a series of small movements that occur clustered for a time and then stop.
Hiccups are not counted as movements.
Take care.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Aarti Abraham (55 minutes later)

What exactly is breech position with head up ?
Can baby change position till the delivery?

Answered by Dr. Aarti Abraham (6 hours later)

Brief Answer:
POSITION CAN CHANGE.

Detailed Answer:
Normally the baby is cephalic
THis means head is down towards the pelvis and legs are up near the stomach of the mother.
Breech means that the buttocks and legs are down in the pelvis of the mother and the head is up.
Yes, position can change upto 37 weeks of pregnancy.

Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar