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Heat Rashes/Prickly Heat Rashes/ /Miliaria :- Symptom, Cause, Diagnosis, Prevention, Treatment, Cure, Home Remedy for Heat Rashes/ Prickly Heat Rashes/ Miliaria

Heat rash occurs in babies when the pores of the sweat glands become blocked. This generally happens when the weather is hot or humid. As the infant sweats, little red bumps and, possibly, tiny blisters form because the blocked glands cannot clear the sweat.

The skin contains two types of glands: one produces oil and the other produces sweat. Sweat glands are coil-shaped and extend deep into the skin. They are capable of plugging up at several different depths, producing four distinct skin rashes.

Miliaria crystallina is the most superficial of the occlusions. At this level, only the thin upper layer of skin is affected. Little blisters of sweat that cannot escape to the surface form. A bad sunburn as it just starts to blister can look exactly like this.

Deeper plugging causes miliaria rubra as the sweat seeps into the living layers of skin, where it irritates and itches.

Miliaria pustulosais (a complication of miliaria rubra) occurs when the sweat is infected with pyogenic bacteria and turns to pus.

Deeper still is miliaria profunda. The skin is dry, and goose bumps may or may not appear.

There are two requirements for each of these phases of sweat retention: hot enough weather to induce sweating, and failure of the sweat to reach the surface.

Heat Rash / Prickly Heat Rashes / Miliaria Symptom

Usually, heat rash (known medically as miliaria) appears on moist parts of the body where skin surfaces can touch, such as on the neck, under the arms, and between the legs. An infant can have the rash from a tight-fitting diaper. The rash looks like tiny, pinhead-sized red pimples, and it can cause itching and a prickling or burning sensation. Under extreme conditions, the warm, moist areas where heat rash develops can become breeding grounds for microorganisms that cause a secondary fungus infection.

Heat rash is sometimes confused with chafing because the symptoms are similar. However, chafing is caused by friction between two skin surfaces rubbing together and not by obstructed sweat ducts.

Heat Rash / Prickly Heat Rashes / Miliaria Cause

Prickly heat is due the sweat glands becoming blocked when the weather is hot and humid. Dead skin cells and bacteria may block the sweat glands, leading to sweat being retained and building up on the skin leading to inflammation, which causes the rash

Heat Rash / Prickly Heat Rashes / Miliaria Diagnosis

Rash and dry skin in hot weather are usually sufficient to diagnose these conditions.

Heat Rash / Prickly Heat Rashes / Miliaria Prevention

Because the body cannot cool itself adequately without sweating, careful monitoring for symptoms of heat exhaustion is important, especially in infants or the elderly. If the symptoms of heat exhaustion do appear, the person should move into the shade or take a cool bath or shower. Clinical studies have found that application of topical antiseptics like hexachlorophene almost completely prevented these rashes. General measures to prevent prickly heat include:

Wearing loose-fitting clothing

Removing sweat-soaked clothing

Taking a cool shower or bath after sweating

Limiting outdoor activities to the mornings and evenings during hot weather

Staying in an air-conditioned environment during hot weather.

Heat Rash / Prickly Heat Rashes / Miliaria Treatment / Cure

The rash itself may be treated with topical antipruritics (itch relievers). Preparations containing aloe, menthol, camphor, eucalyptus oil, and similar ingredients are available commercially. Even more effective, particularly for widespread itching in hot weather, are cool baths with cornstarch and/or oatmeal (about 0.5 lb [224 g] of each per bathtub-full).

Dermatologists can peel off the upper layers of skin using a special ultraviolet light. This will remove the plugs and restore sweating, but is not necessary in most cases.

Much more important, however, is to realize that the body cannot cool itself adequately without sweating. Careful monitoring for symptoms of heat disease is important. If they appear, some decrease in the ambient temperature must be achieved by moving to the shade, taking a cool bath or shower, or turning up the air conditioner

Home Remedy for Heat Rash / Prickly Heat Rash / Miliaria

To avoid heat rash, keep your baby cool and dry during warm weather.

Some helpful suggestions:

During the hot season dress your baby in lightweight soft cotton clothing. Cotton is very absorbent and keeps moisture away from the baby's skin.

If air conditioning is not available a fan may help by evaporating moisture and cooling the infant. Place the fan far enough away that there is only a gentle breeze drifting over the infant.

Avoid the use of powders, creams, and ointments. Baby powders don't improve or prevent heat rash. Creams and ointments tend to keep the skin warmer and block the pores.

Call The Doctor Now

A doctor should be called when an infant's temperature rises above 100°F (37.8°C) and cannot be brought down within a few minutes. Infants whose temperatures exceed 102°F (38.9°: C) should be immersed in tepid or lukewarm water to reduce body temperature slowly.

A physician should be notified if a baby becomes dehydrated. Signs of dehydration include lethargy, poor skin tone, generalized weakness, and reduced urination.