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Prickly heat is a disease characteristic of newborns. It occurs as a result of improper or insufficient hygiene of the baby’s body (most often – overheating due to tight swaddling). Increased sweating and slow evaporation of sweat lead to the appearance of a small red rash on the skin, which contributes to the penetration of infection under the skin.
Quite often, this disease manifests itself in newborn children, since they have not yet sufficiently established the process of thermoregulation. The sweat glands of the baby do not withstand a large load, for which the skin is not ready. In addition, this disease is also caused by the fact that the child is constantly wrapped up in warm weather, and the sweat does not evaporate to the extent it should be. The first areas that are affected are places that are hidden under clothes.
However, it is not exclusively a childhood disease. In infectious diseases, due to warm compresses in adults, profuse sweating, fever and rash can begin.
As mentioned earlier, the first symptoms of prickly heat are a rash and redness on the baby’s body. They occur due to a violation of thermoregulation in the body. In simpler terms, intense sweating begins and the sweat ducts become blocked. From everything, we can conclude and say that as a result of all the violations just listed, a small scattered rash appears on closed areas of the body, namely, on the legs and arms in the fold area, on the back, neck and pope. In some cases, the rash looks like blisters with a transparent liquid filled inside.
Diagnostics. If you notice a similar rash on your baby’s skin, it is recommended that you urgently seek advice from a dermatologist. The diagnosis of this childhood disease, as a rule, is established by the doctor himself on the basis of an examination of the affected areas of the skin. If a controversial situation arises, that is, when the diagnosis is not clear to the doctor, then he prescribes an additional examination. This is done to exclude other diseases with similar symptoms (shingles, chicken pox, atopic dermatitis and other similar diseases).
Signs and symptoms of prickly heat in children
In children, there are several types of prickly heat, each of which has its own symptoms.
1 crystal prickly heat
Crystal prickly heat is quite common in newborn babies. With this type of prickly heat, the rash looks like white or pearly bubbles with a diameter of about two millimeters. In this case, the rash can be quite abundant, and the bubbles can merge with each other, forming larger elements. The bubbles are easily damaged, and after that, after a couple of hours, a peeling area appears on the skin. In newborn babies, most often the rash appears on the face, upper half of the body and on the neck. But in adults, prickly heat can be observed on the entire body.
How is this type of rash treated?
For treatment, there is no need to use special products such as Bepanthen cream, zinc ointment and Sudocrem, since after a few days the rash should go away on its own. But if the rash brings discomfort and causes pain, and you notice that the rash looks different, then in this case it is recommended to consult a doctor who can prescribe the right treatment.
2 red prickly heat
The rash with this type of disease looks like homogeneous vesicles or small nodules, around which redness can be seen.. The elements of the rash do not merge. In the affected areas, as a rule, there is itching and pain can be felt when touched. In humid places or high ambient temperatures, discomfort may increase.
Red prickly heat treatment:
If the sick person goes to the doctor, then, as a rule, in addition to antihistamine preparations (suprastin, diphenhydramine), additional antiseptic solutions are prescribed, which wipe the areas affected by the rash (boric acid, salicylic acid, fukortsin, potassium permanganate or chlorophyllipt).
Doctors recommend taking a bath with medicinal herbs such as calendula, string or chamomile.
After taking a bath, products containing zinc oxide or dexpanthenol are applied – zinc ointment, sudocrem or bepanthen.
In addition to the above listed products for children, you can use talc or powders containing zinc oxide or dexpanthenol for rashes on the arms, legs and buttocks.
Probably everyone should know that preparations containing zinc oxide are very effective for the treatment of prickly heat. In addition, such drugs can help in the treatment of other skin diseases.
If you know all the effective drugs that will help get rid of prickly heat, then the disease can be defeated much faster.
3 deep prickly heat
Deep prickly heat appears as a rash on the skin that looks like flesh-colored bubbles with a diameter of about one to three millimeters. As a rule, in this case, a rash can appear not only on the skin of the body, but also on the legs and arms. The elements of the rash can both appear quickly and pass quickly. This type of disease can most often be found in an adult who lives in places with high humidity, and before that suffered several times red prickly heat. Sweat glands in severe cases are depleted in the areas of prickly heat, which leads to local dehydration and dryness of the skin, that is, to anhidrosis.
With this disease, against the background of a skin rash, an infection with the development of inflammation of the skin is possible. The main symptoms of microbial eczema that occur are an increase in body temperature, the appearance of redness and blisters with a cloudy liquid on the body.
Causes of sweating in children
As we said above, quite often this type of disease can be observed in children. If in an adult the causes that cause its manifestation can be attributed to external factors, then in babies, prickly heat is caused by the peculiarities of the development of the child’s body, that is, internal factors.
Speaking about prickly heat in babies, it should be noted that the thermoregulation of the child’s body is imperfect. At first, it remains adapted to the aquatic environment. If the sweat glands of an adult, when overheated, react with sweating, normalizing body temperature, then the children’s body does not have such functions. When the baby is hot, the skin produces a special secret. But if the baby is too tightly wrapped in blankets or clothes, or a thick layer of cream is applied to his body, then the secret does not stand out on the surface of the skin, but accumulates in the glands. As a result, metabolism is disturbed and irritation appears on the skin in the form of a rash.
The second thing I want to say is that the skin of babies is much thinner than that of an adult. On the back, arms, tummy, the surface of the epithelium in children is thin, the pH level is neutral, while an acidic environment is necessary for normal thermoregulation.
The skin of children absorbs sweat, which, as many people know, consists of a salt solution, a large number of substances and external secretion products. It causes irritation and a rash due to a violation of thermoregulation, that is, the main symptoms of this disease appear.
Prickly heat can also appear during the illness of the baby. When a child has a high temperature, he sweats. Then, in areas of the body that are less accessible for ventilation (behind the ears, in the folds of the skin on the neck and legs, on the elbows, on the ass under diapers), you can notice a small pink rash.
How to distinguish prickly heat from allergies?
Allergic dermatitis, or as it is popularly called, allergy, occurs if the baby’s skin has come into contact with allergens and toxins. Allergy outwardly manifests itself as follows: redness, itching and inflamed pimples appear on the skin, which heal for a very long time.
How to distinguish prickly heat from allergies? So, first you need to carefully examine the skin of the child. If red pimples appeared on it, then this, in all likelihood, is an allergic rash. The rash also appears as rough red spots on the body, around the eyes and cheeks. A rash caused by an allergy can grow in size and become inflamed. In some cases, a clear liquid appears in the pimples. This kind of inflammation stays on the child’s body for a very long time. Allergy, which is typical, can occur, as a rule, under the armpits, on the tummy, on the hips, on the folds of the arms, on the hands and on the head.
An allergic rash of a newborn baby, and even older children, is very disturbing, as the child constantly experiences itching in the affected areas. The skin itches especially strongly when the child sweats or at night.
Treatment of sweating in a newborn baby
Moms should know a few simple rules in order to rid their baby of prickly heat as soon as possible:
Adjust the temperature in the children’s room. Know that for a newborn, a comfortable temperature is 20-22 degrees. In addition, it is recommended to ventilate the room in which the child sleeps as often as possible.
Always use well-breathable diapers, remember to change them in a timely manner and buy by size.
Never dress your baby too warmly. It is also not recommended to tightly wrap the baby in diapers.
Bathe the baby twice a day, while you can use plain boiled water. Once every two days, use a solution of potassium permanganate, which will help kill all the germs on the body. In order not to overdo it with potassium permanganate, we suggest that you write down the recipe for preparing the solution: in a small container, make a concentrated brownish solution of potassium permanganate, wait a bit, that is, until the crystals are completely dissolved. Next, gently add the solution to the bath of water. So you get a pink healing water that will not burn the baby’s skin.
A very good remedy for prickly heat: a solution of string and chamomile. Everyone knows the healing effects of these herbs and their effectiveness. However, do not forget that some children are allergic to herbs.
For the treatment of childhood diseases, cosmetic children’s products are also used. But before running to the pharmacy, it is best to first consult with a pediatrician.
Please note that if your baby has pustules on the body, then in this case you should immediately consult a doctor and not resort to self-medication.
Other recommendations for the treatment of prickly heat in children
If you want to cure sweating in your baby, then you need to know a few ways that, believe me, will help to greatly alleviate the course of the disease and lead to a quick recovery.
Be sure to breastfeed your children, because this is the only way to increase their immunity, which will help defeat the disease.
Do not lubricate the affected areas with cream, as you will only aggravate the situation. The areas affected by the disease will be wet, and as a result, foci of decay may appear. The ideal option is to apply a powder that will dry the rash.
The room where the baby is located is recommended to be regularly ventilated, but without drafts.
If you notice that your baby has prickly heat, then try to bathe him at least three times a day. So the skin secretions are washed off. When bathing, use soap only once a day.
Never swaddle your baby tightly, that is, the fabric should not fit tightly to the body. Otherwise, the child’s skin will overheat, he will start to sweat, and the baby is guaranteed prickly heat.
In the event that you notice that prickly heat on the baby’s body lasts for several days, and abscesses begin to appear on the skin, it means that infection has begun. In order not to aggravate the situation, it is recommended to urgently contact a pediatrician or dermatologist, since these specialists will be able to prescribe the correct treatment for the infection.
In the event that the symptoms do not go away during treatment, the baby’s temperature rises, itching begins, then in this case, urgently go to the doctor for an examination, as only he can make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe antimicrobial treatment if necessary.