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Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Itching without a rash, especially on the palms and soles, can signal cholestasis of pregnancy and always needs blood tests through your maternity unit.
- Swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or breathlessness with a rash, is an emergency: call 112.
- Keep taking asthma inhalers in pregnancy: poorly controlled asthma is a greater risk to you and your baby than the medicines.
- The commonest pregnancy-specific rash, polymorphic eruption of pregnancy, affects roughly 1 in 160 pregnancies and is harmless.
- A severe asthma attack, where you cannot finish a sentence in one breath, is also a 112 call, pregnant or not.
Itching without a rash, particularly on the palms of your hands and soles of your feet and often worse at night, needs same-day contact with your midwife or maternity unit for blood tests, not a cream. Swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or breathlessness with a rash, is an emergency: call 112. A severe asthma attack, where you cannot finish a sentence in one breath, is also a 112 call, pregnant or not.
Can an online doctor treat skin conditions and allergies in pregnancy?
An online doctor can assess most pregnancy skin conditions and allergies by photo and video: itching, new rashes, eczema flares, hives, hay fever and stable asthma. Treatment is chosen from options used in pregnancy, such as emollients, certain antihistamines and short courses of mild steroid creams. Itching of the palms and soles without a rash needs maternity-unit blood tests, and what may be prescribed varies by country.
Skin is one of the areas online care handles best, because diagnosis rests on appearance and history rather than physical examination. Pregnancy makes that assessment more valuable, not less: half the usual treatment list needs rechecking against your trimester, and a handful of itch patterns carry meaning for the pregnancy itself that a pharmacy shelf will never flag.
What we treat online in pregnancy skin conditions and allergies, and what needs in-person care
Usually handled online: the everyday skin and allergy problems of pregnancy, with every treatment checked against your trimester.
- Asthma in pregnancy: inhaler reviews and written flare plans
- Eczema in pregnancy: emollients and pregnancy-compatible steroid courses
- Hay fever in pregnancy: antihistamine and spray choices used in pregnancy
- Rashes in pregnancy: pattern named from photos, treatment matched
- Stretch marks: honest advice on what actually helps
Assessed online, but often needs in-person or urgent care: one itch pattern in this section always earns blood tests, which is why its page leads with triage. For scale, the commonest pregnancy-specific rash, polymorphic eruption of pregnancy, affects roughly 1 in 160 pregnancies and is harmless; the itch that matters is the one without a rash.[4]
- Itchy skin in pregnancy: most itch is assessed and treated online, but itching without a rash, especially of the palms and soles, needs same-day maternity blood tests for cholestasis
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Why does pregnancy change your skin?
Pregnancy hormones, stretching skin and a shifted immune system change how skin looks and behaves. Common and harmless changes include darkened patches on the face, a dark line down the abdomen, stretch marks, mild dryness and itching over the growing bump, and more visible veins. Some existing conditions change too: eczema often flares in pregnancy, while psoriasis frequently improves. None of these changes harm the baby.
A smaller group of conditions is specific to pregnancy. Polymorphic eruption of pregnancy is an itchy bumpy rash that typically starts in stretch marks on the abdomen late in pregnancy and, while miserable, is not dangerous; rarer blistering rashes such as pemphigoid gestationis need specialist review.[2] Distinguishing these from hives, scabies or a drug reaction is exactly what photos plus a structured history do well, and it changes both the treatment and who needs to see you. Our rashes in pregnancy guide walks through the patterns in detail.
One itch pattern outranks all others. Itching without any rash, classically of the palms of the hands and soles of the feet and worse at night, can be intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, a liver condition of pregnancy that raises bile acids and needs blood tests and maternity-team monitoring, because it can affect the baby and may change the plan for birth.[1] Do not treat that itch with creams and wait: contact your midwife or maternity unit the same day. If your itch comes with a visible rash confined to the bump, the odds are far friendlier, and our itchy skin in pregnancy page explains the difference.
📷 Before your appointment: take two or three photos in daylight: the affected area from about 30 cm away, a sharp close-up, and one wider shot showing how far the rash spreads, including whether it involves stretch marks, palms or soles. Good photos let the doctor tell an eczema flare from hives or a pregnancy-specific rash, which is the decision the treatment hangs on.
Can I keep taking my asthma and allergy medicines while pregnant?
Usually yes, and for asthma it is essential: keep taking your preventer and reliever inhalers, because poorly controlled asthma is a greater risk to you and your baby than the standard inhaled medicines used to treat it.[3] Stopping inhalers on discovering a pregnancy is one of the most common, and most reversible, mistakes doctors see. For hay fever and allergies, treatment is adjusted rather than abandoned.
For hay fever, doctors usually start with the options least absorbed into the body, such as saline rinses, certain steroid nasal sprays and eye drops, and where tablets are needed, loratadine and cetirizine are the antihistamines most often used in pregnancy; sedating antihistamines and most decongestant tablets are generally avoided unless specifically advised.[1] For eczema, emollients remain the foundation, and short courses of mild to moderate steroid creams are commonly used in pregnancy under medical guidance. Your doctor confirms what applies where you are, because availability differs by country. If your asthma is waking you at night, your reliever lasts less time than it used to, or a cold has set your chest off, book a review rather than riding it out: worsening asthma in pregnancy is treated actively, and a severe attack is always an emergency.
Online care or in-person care for pregnancy skin and allergy problems?
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| Situation | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | Where to go instead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Itchy bump, dry skin, eczema flare or stretch marks | Emollients plus a pregnancy-compatible treatment plan | Usually yes | In-person review if infection develops or nothing helps |
| New rash in pregnancy | Photo and video assessment to identify the pattern | Often yes | Specialist review for blistering, rapidly spreading or unclear rashes |
| Hay fever or mild allergy symptoms | Advice on the antihistamines and sprays used in pregnancy | Yes | In-person care if symptoms escalate beyond the everyday |
| Itching of palms and soles with no rash, worse at night | Same-day bile acid and liver blood tests | No | Your midwife or maternity unit today |
| Lip, tongue or throat swelling, breathless with a rash, or a severe asthma attack | Emergency treatment | No | Call 112 now |
Availability of individual medicines and who may prescribe them vary by country; your doctor confirms what applies where you are.
Not sure which row your skin is in? A doctor can tell you in one consultation.
See available times →What our doctors help with here
- Naming the rash: eczema, hives, polymorphic eruption of pregnancy, fungal infection or something else, assessed from your photos and history.
- The cholestasis check: every itch consultation asks about palms, soles and night-time itching, so the itch that needs blood tests is never treated as dry skin.
- Pregnancy-compatible treatment: emollients, suitable antihistamines, steroid cream courses and thrush-like fungal treatments, matched to your trimester.
- Keeping asthma controlled: inhaler technique, stepping treatment up or down, and a written plan for flares, with urgent-care thresholds spelled out.
- Honest cosmetic advice: what actually helps stretch marks and pigmentation, which is less than the cream aisle suggests, and which products to avoid in pregnancy, such as retinoid-containing creams.
When we send you to maternity services instead
We send you to your midwife or maternity unit the same day for itching of the palms and soles without a rash, any rash that arrives with fever, abdominal pain, bleeding or reduced fetal movements, and jaundice or dark urine with pale stools alongside itching. We refer to in-person or specialist care for blistering rashes, rashes we cannot identify confidently from photos, suspected chickenpox or shingles exposure in pregnancy, which needs prompt advice through your maternity team, and asthma that is deteriorating despite treatment. Emergencies go to 112, not to a booking page: throat swelling, anaphylaxis or a severe asthma attack. For everything else in this section, online assessment is usually a safe and fast first step.
When to get in-person care
Contact your midwife or maternity unit the same day if you itch without a rash, especially on your palms and soles, or if any skin problem comes with fever, pain, bleeding or a change in your baby's movements. Call 112 immediately for swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, difficulty breathing, an asthma attack that does not respond to your reliever, or feeling faint with a spreading rash.
Skin changes that are normal in pregnancy, and ones that are not
Most pregnancy skin changes are cosmetic and harmless: darkening of the midline, deeper pigment in the face, spider veins, mild acne and dry, stretched skin over the bump. They need moisturiser and patience more than medicine, and most fade after birth.
Two patterns deserve real attention. Intense itching without much rash, especially of the palms and soles and worse at night, needs a same-day blood test to check for obstetric cholestasis. And any new blistering rash, a rash that is spreading fast, or a rash with fever belongs in front of a doctor promptly rather than on a waiting list.
Everything in between, the eczema flares, hives and itchy bumps that make late pregnancy miserable, sits well online: these are diagnoses made largely by sight and story, and treatment is about choosing the creams and tablets with the strongest pregnancy record rather than the strongest label.
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: open daily 7am–11pm. Most patients speak to a doctor within about 15 minutes of their booked time. no subscription, exact price up front.
- Upload photos of your skin, then speak to a licensed doctor: a private video call: you describe what you feel, the doctor asks what matters, and you agree the right plan together.
- Leave with your plan: everything agreed before you hang up: any prescription reaches a pharmacy near you in most EU countries, or a full refund.
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Frequently asked questions about allergies and skin conditions in pregnancy
Can an online doctor prescribe antihistamines or steroid creams during pregnancy?
Yes, an online doctor can prescribe antihistamines or steroid creams in pregnancy after a consultation, when treatment is right for you. Loratadine and cetirizine are the antihistamines most often used in pregnancy, and short courses of mild to moderate steroid creams are commonly used under medical guidance. A prescription is never issued without a consultation, and prescribing rules vary by country.
How much does a skin or allergy consultation cost while pregnant?
The exact price of a video consultation is shown before payment, and there is no subscription. If the doctor can’t treat you online, you get a full refund and clear directions to the right care.
Why is itching on my palms and soles urgent in pregnancy?
Because it is the classic pattern of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, a liver condition that raises bile acids and can affect your baby. It is diagnosed with blood tests and monitored by your maternity team, so contact your midwife or maternity unit the same day rather than treating the itch with creams.
Is it safe to keep using my asthma inhalers while pregnant?
Yes, it is safe: keep taking your preventer and reliever inhalers as prescribed, because poorly controlled asthma is a greater risk to you and your baby than the standard inhaled medicines used to treat it. If your asthma is getting worse, book a review promptly, and treat a severe attack as an emergency.
Do creams prevent stretch marks?
No cream is proven to prevent them. Stretch marks reflect skin stretching and genetics; moisturising eases the itch and dryness, and marks usually fade from red or purple to pale silvery lines after birth. Avoid retinoid-containing products in pregnancy, and ask the doctor before using prescription-strength creams.
Do I need to avoid peanuts or other foods in pregnancy to prevent allergies in my baby?
No: avoiding peanuts or other common allergens during pregnancy is not recommended and does not prevent allergy in your baby; eat a normal balanced diet unless you are allergic to a food yourself. Keeping your own asthma, eczema and hay fever well controlled matters far more, so ask the doctor if a family history of allergy worries you.
Which allergy tablets are commonly considered suitable in pregnancy?
Loratadine and cetirizine are the antihistamines doctors most often turn to in pregnancy, because they have the longest reassuring track record and do not usually cause drowsiness. Older sedating antihistamines are sometimes used for specific reasons, while decongestant tablets are generally avoided. None of this is a decision to make alone at the pharmacy shelf: the right choice depends on your stage of pregnancy and your other medicines, which is exactly what a short consultation settles.
- Itch in pregnancy, NICE CKS, Clinical Knowledge Summaries, reviewed 2024.
- Dermatoses of pregnancy, DermNet New Zealand Trust, reviewed 2023.
- Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention (GINA report), GINA, Global Initiative for Asthma, 2025.
- Polymorphic eruption of pregnancy, DermNet, DermNet New Zealand Trust, 2024.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
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