This Publication Is Searchable The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy Section 18. Gynecology And Obstetrics Chapter 252. A common pruritic eruption of unknown etiology occurring during pregnancy. Often halos of blanching surround the papules.
Most patients have hundreds of lesions.
The eruption is sufficiently itchy to keep the patient awake, but excoriated lesions are rare. The eruption usually resolves promptly after delivery and does not usually recur in subsequent pregnancies. In some patients, the intensity of symptoms and lack of response to topical corticosteroids necessitate use of oral prednisone in divided daily doses totaling 30 to 40 mg. The dose can be reduced by 5 mg q 3 to 4 days. Systemic corticosteroids given late in pregnancy do not seem to harm the fetus.