Zuleika noticed an itchy, burning rash in her 20th week of pregnancy. After the examination, the doctor diagnosed her with scabies. The pregnant woman started taking medications, but they did not work. Only after giving birth, specialists realized that Zuleika developed a rare autoimmune disease – pregnant pemphigoid.
At first it felt like something was crawling on my skin, but then the feeling became unbearable. At first the rash looked like hives, but then it spread very quickly and turned a dark red color, says Zuleika Closs.
When antibiotics and zinc ointment did not help, the doctor ruled that it might be a severe case of scabies and prescribed further medications for the expectant mother. He also recommended disinfecting the apartment, clothes and shoes. However, the measures taken did not bring any results.
The itching was so severe that I scratched myself in my sleep. I was exhausted and I couldn’t cope – remembers Zuleika. I remember standing in the waiting room in tears and wanting someone to help me. Since nothing improved, I felt like I was banging my head against the wall.
When Zuleika finally gave birth to a healthy baby girl, she was afraid to hug the baby for fear that she might infect it. After the birth, the rash suddenly disappeared but reappeared a few days later. This time, Zuleika went to another doctor, who said her ailments were related to a rare condition – gestational pemphigoid.
Pemphigoid most often occurs in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, and sometimes also during the puerperium. The main symptom of this condition is an itchy rash. For this reason, the condition is sometimes called gestational herpes, but the disease has nothing to do with the herpes virus. It is suspected that an unidentified placental antigen triggers the immune response to the disease.
After the diagnosis, the young mother was given a strong dose of antihistamines. I couldn’t believe what the doctor was saying. I was ‘allergic’ to my own pregnancy. It sounded strange, says the woman.
Four months after starting treatment, the rash is gone, but Zuleika will be scarred for the rest of her life. The woman and her daughter, Emmanuele, were extremely lucky – pemphigoid increases the risk of miscarriage and stunted fetal growth.
The woman has a terrible recollection of her pregnancy, but when she looks at her baby, she knows it was worth the trouble. Today it does not exclude another pregnancy. She would like her daughter to have siblings.