What should you know about feet itching at night during pregnancy?

Pregnancy can make skin feel dry, sensitive, or more reactive to heat, sweat, detergents, and footwear. An itchy rash may fit Atopic Dermatitis, Contact Dermatitis, Hives, or another inflammatory condition. Scaling between the toes can occur with a Skin Yeast Infection. Scabies often causes marked nighttime itch and may affect household contacts. Psoriasis, Lichen Planus, or Asteatotic Eczema are other possibilities. These conditions present with itching, but the pattern and examination determine the cause. Itching on the palms or soles without an obvious rash warrants particular attention during pregnancy.

Tell your midwife, obstetric clinician, or doctor about persistent or worsening itch before starting a medicine. Use a fragrance-free moisturiser, lukewarm bathing water, loose cotton socks, and cool compresses. Keep nails short and avoid scratching, which can break the skin and invite infection. Note whether the itch is on the soles, between toes, or elsewhere, and whether a rash, dark urine, pale stool, or yellowing appears. A maternity clinician can decide whether blood tests or pregnancy-safe treatment is needed.

Contact your maternity team promptly for intense or widespread itching, especially on the palms or soles without a rash, or itching that repeatedly disrupts sleep. Seek urgent help for yellow skin or eyes, dark urine, pale stools, severe abdominal pain, reduced fetal movement, facial swelling, breathing difficulty, or a rapidly spreading blistering rash.

Does the location and absence or presence of a rash change the evaluation? Do I need tests for pregnancy-related causes? Which moisturiser, antihistamine, or topical treatment is suitable at my stage of pregnancy?