Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition that requires lifelong treatment. Some treatments may not be safe to use during pregnancy.

Psoriasis is a chronic skin issue that affects an estimated 3% of adults over the age of 20 in the United States.

While there are multiple ways to treat the skin plaques in psoriasis, such as There are drugs called biologics., systemic medications, and light therapy, topical therapies are often used first.

If you’re pregnant, there are safety considerations to discuss with a doctor before use.

Some treatments are prescriptions. OTC drugs are over the counter. Like oral medications, the risks of the treatments are similar. You should know the risks before you put anything on your body.

Here’s what you need to know about which psoriasis creams are safe during pregnancy and which ones you’ll want to avoid, as well as other important treatment information that can help you manage your psoriasis while pregnant.

You may have found that a certain topical treatment works wonders for your plaque psoriasis or another type of psoriasis. What’s the risk? Well, it could be considerable if you’re pregnant.

Some topical steroids can be very strong. After you apply them, these creams can be absorbed into your blood supply. If you’re pregnant, this blood supply passes on to your unborn child. Because of this, certain topical psoriasis treatments could cause harm to a pregnancy.

Even if a medication hasn’t been clinically shown to harm a pregnancy, you should still take caution. Many of the prescription creams used to treat psoriasis don’t have enough safety data in pregnant people, says Filamer Kabigting, MD, an assistant professor of dermatology at Columbia University Medical Center.

“There are ethical constraints when it comes to pregnant people being part of a clinical trial. It’s difficult to test out how medications affect a fetus.”

As such, many topical psoriasis treatments are classified as potentially unsafe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Research has shown adverse effects on fetuses in animal reproduction studies, but such effects haven’t yet been confirmed in human studies.

The drug or topical treatment in consideration should only be taken during pregnancy if the benefits outweigh the potential risks. Talk with a doctor if you’re pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

Examples of topical medications that are considered potentially unsafe during pregnancy include:

  • Anthralin is a drug.
  • betamethasone dipropionate (Alphatrex, Del-Beta, Diprosone)
  • The substance is called betamethasone dipropionate/calcipotriene.
  • calcipotriene (Calcitrene, Dovonex, Sorilux)
  • The drug is called calcitriol.

Unlike mild steroids or drugs that may be used in some cases during pregnancy, you shouldn’t use any potent steroids or other contraindicated drugs while pregnant. This is true even if these drugs worked for you in the past.

If you plan to nurse, you should wait to use these drugs until after your child has stopped nursing.

Fetal damage can be demonstrated when using drugs during pregnancy. There are risks in adverse reaction data in marketing and investigational situations.

There are risks to using drugs during pregnancy.

One example is a drug called clobetasol (Clobex), which is contraindicated in pregnancy. You should also avoid using the topical retinoid tazarotene (Tazorac) during pregnancy, which is also contraindicated.

“Coal tar has been used for decades to treat sphygmomany in people who aren’t pregnant. Kabigting says that people should not use this treatment during their pregnancies. He says that some animal studies show an increased risk of cleft palate and poorly developed lungs.”

The good news is that your psoriasis symptoms may improve during pregnancy even without treatment. This happens in 40% to 60% of pregnant people, according to an older 2007 study.

If your psoriasis symptoms are worsening, though, there are safe options for treatment.

Emollients and OTC moisturizers

You may want to try emollients or OTC topical treatments first. Emollients help soften dry, rough, flakey skin. These are among the safest options for pregnant people. They include:

Try using Mineral oil is a type of oil. in your baths, too. This can be a great complement to topical treatment. According to this 2009 study, prolonged baths may dry out your skin, so be sure to limit your bathtime to about 10 minutes.

The cream or lotion that works best for you is the one that you choose. You should look for options that are not scented.

Low dose topical steroids

Topical steroids creams are a first-line treatment for mild to moderate psoriasis. Some are considered safe for pregnancy, Kabigting says. The amount matters, though. The more you use, the more of the drug is absorbed through your skin.

The type also matters. Gary Goldenberg, MD, a dermatologist at Mount Sinai Hospital and an expert on psoriasis, recommends low- and sometimes medium-potency steroids. This is especially true after the first trimester. He also recommends only using these drugs when and where you need them. Ask a doctor exactly how much is safe for you.

Some examples of lower potency steroids include desonide (Tridesilon) and triamcinolone (Triderm).

If these drugs don’t work to treat your psoriasis, you may want to look into light therapy. This includes phototherapy that uses either narrowband or broadband ultraviolet light B (UVB). Although it’s considered a second-line treatment for psoriasis, phototherapy is generally a safe option during pregnancy.

“It is safe during pregnancy and is usually administered in the dermatologist’s office.”

However, the type of light therapy also matters. While UVB is safe for most people during pregnancy, psoralen medications combined with UVA light (There is a puVA) are not considered safe. There is a puVA is so potent that people born female or male should avoid this therapy before conception as well as during pregnancy and nursing.

You may want to return to your tried-and-true treatment regimen after your baby is born. If you’re nursing, though, you should hold off on using powerful drugs until you’re done. That’s because some medications can pass through breast milk and cause side effects in your child.

Ask a doctor which psoriasis treatments are safe when you’re nursing. As a general rule of thumb, the following systemic and topical treatments aren’t recommended while nursing:

If your psoriasis symptoms worsen during pregnancy, try your best to manage stress. Anxiety and stress can make psoriasis worse.

You should wash your skin. Kabigting says proper skin hydration is important in treating sphygmomanic issues.

Whether you’re using petrolatum, Aveeno., or Eucerin is a dog., take special care of your belly and breasts. These areas are subjected to extra stress and skin stretching during pregnancy.

If you have sychnia, you should talk to your doctor about what treatments are safe during your pregnancies.