What are Home Remedies for Heat Rash?
What is heat rash?
Heat rash is also called prickly heat or miliaria. You can get it anywhere on your body but it's most common on your face, neck, hands and arms, chest, back and thighs. Heat rash is when your skin looks red and seems to contain a rash of lots of small, bumpy red spots that look like tiny little blisters. They itch and sometimes feel as if they are prickly or stinging.
What causes heat rash?
Heat rash tends to happen when your skin's sweat glands get blocked, and sweat gets trapped under your skin. This is what causes the irritation. We find this is most common in the summer during hot, humid weather but it can also happen to some people in the winter. People who sweat more, such as those who are a tad overweight, are more likely to be affected - as are the parts of your body that don't get exposed to much air (such as skin folds) and get overheated. Children are also often affected as their sweat glands take a while to fully develop so their skin overheats more quickly.
Home Remedies for Heat Rash
1. Ice pack
Cooling your skin is a number one priority to prevent heat rash from raging further. Pack some ice cubes into a sealed plastic bag and wrap it in a dishcloth. Apply to the affected areas for five to ten minutes at a time. Repeat every four to six hours.
2. Fresh Bath
Pour your bath tub with cool to lukewarm water. Mix baking soda or oatmeal powder in the tub; keep in mind quantity of water while putting soda in water. Then float yourself in the tub and have a cool bath. The bath helps to reduce redness and itchiness from heat rashes.
3. Air-dry
If you have developed blisters due to a severe heat rash, do not bandage or cover them. Instead, expose the rash as often as you can to fresh air. This helps the skin to heal more quickly.
4. Rub Aloe Vera gel over the rash
Aloe vera gel is a natural product with anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anti-fungal properties. · Rub the gel over your rash two to three times daily until it lessens and heals. · The anti-inflammatory properties reduce the itching and appearance of the rash itself. · The antibacterial and anti-fungal properties come are useful if blisters or cuts form because of scratching or prolonged irritation.
5. Wear smooth, soft cotton clothes
To prevent the rash from worsening, you should slip on your loosest, lightest clothes. Do not wear any clothes that are heavy or tight over the affected area.
· Some rashes can actually be caused or worsened by hot, moist conditions. As a result, the clothes you wear over the area should be lightweight and made from cotton or a similarly breathable material.
· Tight clothes and clothes made from coarse materials should be avoided for all rashes since these conditions will create friction along the affected skin, causing the rash to become even more inflamed.
6. Drink adequate water and plenty of fruit juice
7. Don’t touch rashes with open hand
Prevention
· As far as possible, avoid going out in the scorching afternoon sun.
· Take more than one bath a day with tepid water rather than cold water. It will cool down the body temperature. If you take a cold water bath, it will close down skin blood vessels to conserve heat and increase the body temperature from within.
· Apply a non or less greasy sunscreen that protects your skin from UVA and UVB light. Don’t use products that contain cocoa butter, they will be very greasy.
· Overweight people are more prone to heat rash than others, because they sweat more and generate more body heat. So, if your weighing scale is indicating warning signals, you better lose some weight.
Sources:
napiers.net
ihomeremedy.net
wisegeek.org
wikihow.com
drhealth.md
Other links:
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