DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I would like some information on PUPP and gestational herpes. My daughter had gestational herpes. Four months after she gave birth, she is still being treated for it. Do you have any suggestions? – J.E.

ANSWER: “PUPP” is pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy. The translation goes like this: “pruritic,” itchy; “urticarial,” hive-like; “papules,” tiny skin bumps; “plaques,” larger skin bumps. It’s an itchy rash that usually begins in the last three months of pregnancy. It first appears on the abdomen and spreads, in a few days, to the buttocks and thighs and sometimes to the arms and legs. It’s not rare. It happens in about one in every 100 pregnancies. It’s treated with cortisone creams and ointments along with antihistamines. The rash predictably disappears after pregnancy and does not usually occur with future pregnancies.

Gestational herpes suffers from its name. It is not a herpes infection. It is not an infection of any kind. It’s an autoimmune disease. This pregnancy rash is a more serious condition than PUPP, and it’s much more uncommon, occurring in only one out of 50,000 pregnancies. It begins as an outbreak of hives around the navel, usually in the fifth month of pregnancy. It then spreads over the back, chest, arms, legs, palms and soles. In a short time, small and large blisters appear within individual hives. The itching is maddening.

Cortisone creams and ointments are used for this rash, too, but often oral cortisone drugs must be employed.

Most often, gestational herpes subsides after delivery, but it can recur when a woman’s periods resume or if she takes birth control pills. It can also appear in subsequent pregnancies.

There is light at the end of the tunnel for your daughter, even though she is having an unusually protracted course. A dermatologist can almost always, in time, bring the rash under control.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: How does one cure jock itch? I keep my groin dusted with powder, but only get six to 10 hours of relief if I am lucky. – T.Y.

ANSWER: Jock itch – tinea cruris – is a fungal infection that can be cured with antifungal medicines. They abound: Naftin, Nizoral, Spectazole, Micatin, Lotrimin, Lamisil, Mycostatin and Tinactin. They come in creams, ointments and sometimes powders, and many are available without prescription. They have to be applied carefully, in exact compliance with the directions, and applications should continue for two weeks after all signs of infection have gone.

If you are not making headway on your own, you have to see a doctor for prescription medicines – sometimes oral medicine. The doctor not only can give you more powerful drugs but can make sure that what you have truly is jock itch.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.