Prickly Heat (Heat Rash) advice?

azzap

I suffer from what I guess is prickly heat. There is a wave of prevention and treatments online, some of it even conflicting so I thought I would explain my personal situation, maybe I could get some more trustworthy advice.

It comes every year on the back of my hands and lower arms. Always comes on a sunny hot day, typically in the early summer which makes me think it could be possible be a sun reaction than a heat rash. Tends to only come once a year also, however I'm heading to warmer climates next month on holiday and I can't bare to have an outbreak there. Treatment wise I just let it be, I don't put anything on it and it usually subdues after a painful few days.

I'm looking for advice on how to prevent it when abroad soon, and if I am unfortunate to get it, what would help treat the situation as it would ruin my holiday?

Many thanks

Mrs_Ryan

I've got it at the moment so I feel for you- I've just come back off holiday. Calamine lotion is the only thing I've found that helps but it needs to be ice cold, when I get it bad I soak cotton wool pads in it and bandage them on my arm. Some say anti histamines help but I can't take anything like that so I stick with the calamine.

KxMx

I suffered this quite badly a few years ago, just like you same places annually, although i'm convinced mine was more of a reaction to the heat as it'd be bad on a cloudy day when i'd been inside all day!

None of the online remedies worked in my case, tried calamine, HC45 & cooling spray, so in the end I went to the GP who gave a treatment- standard cetrizine anti-histamines - it worked in my case- I can now buy OTC myself.

Calmed down the redness, heat and prickling nicely although it was still very much there, it wasn't driving me mad!

pavlovs_dog

I got this badly in my early teens and have largely grown out of it. I tend to get it on my first real exposure to hot weather each year and then it eases off.

Aloe Vera gel stored in the fridge helps cool the skin. Beyond that, for me it is a case of following common sense for staying cool and practising sun safety. This helps avoid triggering my symptoms.

On particularly bad days when it gives me hives, a very cool shower or bath for as long as you can stand it brings great relief by lowering your temperature, which in turn helps lessen the desire to scratch/itch.

It is a joyless condition, I hope you find something that works for you

starrystarry

pavlovs_dog wrote: »

I got this badly in my early teens and have largely grown out of it. I tend to get it on my first real exposure to hot weather each year and then it eases off.

Same for me, I get a bout of it during the first hot spell each year then it's not so bad for the rest of the summer. Anthistamines help. Start taking them a couple of days before you go on your hols if you know it's going to be hot and take them each day while you're there. They don't stop it altogether but they certainly help.

missbiggles1

Get into somewhere cool and stay there for as long as possible - in the UK, supermarkets are good for this. In Portugal, I once spent 2 hours in an air conditioned bank - suspicious but it did the trick!

azzap

Thanks all, some very helpful advice. Interesting to hear others get it during the first spell of hot weather also. I'm hopefull it won't flare up on holiday, it will really hinder me, I can barely function with this cindition.

From your advice. I'll try and expose myself to the warmer weather over the coming weeks to acclimatise. I'll also start taking anti-histimines a few days before and during the holiday (any side effects?). Some advice said I should exfoliate my skin and use light moisturisers, others disagree. Also, is there a sunscreen that would help prevent it triggering? Other advice I've read is not apply a thick sun screen as it could block my pores triggering a reaction. Because it's on the exact same spots on each arms and hands,and comes at the exact same time, it makes me think that these things could be pointless and I'll either get it or I'll not. Here is hoping that's it's for the year...

sunfield91

I also take anti-histamines a few days before a holiday and it does seem to help, there are tablets out there that don't cause sleepiness, ask at the chemists or your GP. I couldn't imagine exfoliating my skin when I have it , it would be excruciating and I don't see how it would help to do it before you get it. We go away abroad more frequently now and it seems as my skin has got used to the heat over time and the rash is much less widespread now
You really have to experience prickly heat to understand how awful it is , best of luck

azzap

sunfield91 wrote: »

I also take anti-histamines a few days before a holiday and it does seem to help, there are tablets out there that don't cause sleepiness, ask at the chemists or your GP. I couldn't imagine exfoliating my skin when I have it , it would be excruciating and I don't see how it would help to do it before you get it. We go away abroad more frequently now and it seems as my skin has got used to the heat over time and the rash is much less widespread now
You really have to experience prickly heat to understand how awful it is , best of luck

Yes I would take regular old sunburn over it anyway. The exfoliation advice was before prickly heat sets in, apparently it helps to open up the pores of the skin which could be the cause. Apparently certain (Pin Buin for eg) sunscreens can help bring it on also and I should loose lighter sun creams? Maybe I should try and get out in the sun more before my holiday, that might help me acclimatise to the sun. Also, should I moisturise my skin. The trash seems to be dying down now from the most recent onslaught earlier this week. Do anti histimines make you tired? I'd be keen for brands that wouldn't though it's a side effect I'm happy to out up with if it helps.

Thanks for the advice and sorry for the many amateur questions...

Dizzy_Ditzy

I find that the only sun lotion I can use that I don't get prickly heat with is P20. Not cheap but it's usually on offer somewhere or other

AbbieCadabra

ladival sunscreen is supposed to be good if you suffer from prickly heat, it's half price at quite a few places at the moment.