Heat rash treatment in summer. How to treat prickly heat in children, causes, treatment and child care. Miliaria in children: treatment
If your baby suddenly develops a bright red rash on his neck, armpits, or under the elastic bands of diapers or panties, don’t be alarmed—it’s most likely prickly heat. Miliaria, also known as miliaria, is a red rash that forms when your baby overheats in hot, humid weather. Miliaria often forms in folds of the skin or in places where clothing touches the skin - the upper chest, neck, crotch and armpits. If your baby wears a hat, a rash may appear on his forehead or head.
Is heat rash something serious?
No, it's just a sign that your baby is too hot. If you do not cool your baby, the situation may worsen and he may suffer from heatstroke. At heatstroke your baby cannot control his body temperature, the temperature rises greatly and this can lead to dehydration.
What causes heat rash in children?
When it gets hot outside, the baby begins to sweat in order to somehow cool down. If your baby sweats too much, the pores on his skin become clogged and the sweat cannot escape. The result is prickly heat. Newborns and young children are particularly prone to heat rash because their sweat glands are not yet fully developed.
Tight or too tight clothing prevents the release of sweat and this causes irritation on the skin. Miliaria in infants. Literally anything can trigger it (not least hot weather), as they move actively and therefore sweat a lot.
Is heat rash hurting my baby?
No, heat rash does not cause pain to the baby. However, it can cause itching and burning or skin irritation, which deliver a lot discomfort. In some areas the irritation may be particularly sensitive.
How to treat prickly heat?
In most cases, prickly heat goes away within a few days. We invite you to familiarize yourself with our recommendations that will help relieve itching and discomfort in your baby:
- Avoid hot and humid environments. Move to a well-ventilated area and, if your baby moves around a lot, try to calm him down so that he sweats less. When it's hot, use a mini fan outside. If the heat doesn't subside at night, place a fan next to your baby's crib.
- Undress your baby or dress him only in cotton clothes. Do not wear clothing made from synthetic fabrics (nylon or polyester) as they retain heat. Use clothes made from natural fabrics. However, it is better to undress the baby and let him be without diapers for as long as possible.
- Let your baby's skin breathe. Wipe the areas of skin where there is a rash. Use washcloths dampened with cool water or wash your baby with cool water in the bath or shower. Let his skin air dry on its own. Do not dry your baby with a towel. The longer he walks naked, the sooner the rash will go away.
- If there are many skin rashes, consult a dermatologist. He will assess the baby's condition and may prescribe hydrocortisone cream (0.5%).
Carefully monitor your baby's condition during this period: when the temperature drops, he may become cold and will need to be warmed up again.
How to avoid heat rash in a child?
Dress your baby in loose, lightweight cotton clothing, especially hot weather. If you are not sure whether your baby is overheated or not, touch his skin. Wet and hot skin is a sign that the baby is hot. On hot days, stay home with your baby or look for a place in the shade outside. Make sure your baby drinks plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.
Should you take your baby to the doctor if prickly heat appears?
You should consult a doctor if:
- If the baby has a high temperature (above 39 degrees), which is not reduced by medications.
- The rash does not go away after 3–4 days.
- The rash spreads or suppurates.
Miliaria in young children is a common phenomenon. No matter how well the baby is cared for, characteristic rashes may appear on his skin from time to time. There is nothing wrong with prickly heat itself if parents know how to distinguish it from other skin and infectious diseases, and also how to help the little one. We will tell you how to recognize heat rash in this article.
Causes
If human body experiences overheating, the cooling mechanism starts. This function is performed by sweat. However, in young children, the sweat glands work under conditions physiological overload, because the sweat ducts through which sweat is removed out are narrow, and the skin itself is very delicate and thin.
In response to the heat, the glands begin to produce sweat, and its discharge is difficult. Blockage of the ducts may occur, and at this point the inflammatory process, which will involve both the gland and the outer layer of the epidermis.
Even an inflamed gland does not stop producing sweat, and this physiologically active liquid additionally irritates the inflamed skin.
A child can overheat quite quickly, this is due to imperfect functioning of the thermoregulation center. Overheating is often caused by too warm clothes that caring parents dress the baby in, a large number of clothing, heat in the room where the baby sleeps, as well as diseases that occur with high temperature. During a fever, sweating increases, and taking antipyretic drugs only intensifies the process of sweating.
Children prone to allergic reactions, plump overweight toddlers, children suffering from rickets, premature babies and artificial babies are more susceptible to heat rash than others.
Types and signs
There are several types of miliaria, which differ from each other in appearance, but not in the mechanisms of development. Any of these types can be observed both in children under one year old and in babies after one year:
Crystal prickly heat
This type of disease is most often characteristic of children; crystalline miliaria is considered the simplest of all types. It can be recognized by small bubbles that appear in areas of increased sweating - on the neck, on the buttocks, inside the skin folds on the arms and legs. The rash is not accompanied by inflammation, there is no redness or erosion.
The bubbles themselves have a diameter of no more than 1 mm, they burst quite easily, can merge with neighboring bubbles and create rashes that are quite large in area. After the bubble bursts, a crust forms, which is very flaky.
Often such heat rash is observed in newborns on the face, especially between the eyebrows and on the nose.
Miliaria rubra
This type of prickly heat has a brighter color. It looks like red or dark pink bumps, which usually form in places of prolonged heat exposure where the evaporation of sweat is difficult, for example, on the bottom under a diaper. It may also be accompanied by the formation of bubbles, which, unlike the crystalline form, do not tend to merge.
Miliaria rubra is characterized by swelling of the skin that surrounds the bumps or blisters, severe redness, itching and even pain.
Miliaria alba
This type of skin rash is very similar to crystalline prickly heat, however, inside the blisters there is not a clear liquid, reminiscent of beads of sweat on the skin, but a white, almost milky liquid. This kind of prickly heat is quite common complicated by general inflammation of the affected skin. However, swelling of the outer layer of skin with miliaria alba is not extensive. After the white bubbles burst, a whitish or slightly yellowish crust remains, which quickly dries out and falls off.
Miliaria profuse
Miliaria profunda is also called papular rash due to the formation of characteristic papules. They are formed not superficially, but in deeper skin layers. This type of prickly heat is considered more severe than all of the above.
The papules are quite large in diameter - about 2 mm, the rash is accompanied by severe itching, pain. This kind of prickly heat forms in any part of the body; in children it can often be seen in the groin, on the back, on the stomach.
Intertrigo
It is not very difficult to recognize diaper rash, since they are weeping eczema, which used to be one of the types of prickly heat. Any type of miliaria turns into diaper rash if it is not noticed in time or the factors of overheating and sweating are not eliminated. “Advanced” heat rash on the body requires long-term treatment.
It manifests itself in large lesions, severe redness, a combination of superficial and deeper formations of rash elements, weeping surfaces. In a child, diaper rash causes pain, the baby's behavior changes, and he may even develop a fever.
Infected heat rash
Any heat rash can also become infected. If the integrity of the bubbles is violated, this creates the preconditions for bacteria and fungi to enter the body. Moreover, the danger is much closer than it seems to adults, because opportunistic microorganisms live on people’s skin all the time. As soon as such " entrance gate"like wounds, bacteria can cease to be a peaceful neighbor and turn into a dangerous and insidious enemy.
We can talk about infection when pustules begin to form in place of the heat rash. Any suppuration is a sure sign of the onset of bacterial inflammation. Most often, this effect is caused by Staphylococcus aureus.
If prickly heat not only does not go away, but also manifests itself in the formation of extensive flaky, whitish fragments of skin, we can talk about a fungal secondary infection.
Infected miliaria can be located on any part of the body; quite often it can be observed even in preschool and school age, for example, on the feet, if the feet sweat in poorly fitting shoes, in the space between the heel and metatarsal bones, in the arch of the foot and between the toes.
How to distinguish from disease
Any type of prickly heat, except the infected one, can be cured at home without much difficulty. However, first, parents must be able to distinguish it from an allergy or infectious disease, which require mandatory consultation with a doctor.
With allergies, the rashes are almost not prone to merging; they are characterized by increased itching and may be accompanied by eating disorders or allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis, deterioration of health. Miliaria does not cause such changes. Distinguish from allergic reaction It can also be done using the so-called air test. A child with heat rash should be stripped naked and leave to take air baths for a couple of hours.
During this time, the prickly heat will turn pale and visually decrease. On allergic rash the air will have no effect, the lesion will remain the same as it was originally. Miliaria can be distinguished from an infection by the accompanying symptoms.
The rash that covers the child’s body during an infectious disease appears in 99.9% of cases against the background high temperature, cough, sore throat, intoxication. Such symptoms are not characteristic of heat rash.
What to do if detected
First of all, parents should assess the area of distribution of prickly heat, its degree, and type. Then measures should be taken to eliminate overheating children's body factors. For this:
- The air temperature in the room where the child sleeps leads to optimal values- 18-21 degrees Celsius with relative humidity - 50-70%.
- The child is bathed warm, but not hot water without soap or other detergents. You can add a decoction to the bathing water. pharmaceutical chamomile, calendula, strings.
Miliaria in children is a skin irritation that manifests itself on the body as numerous small spots and blisters. This phenomenon occurs as a result of an imbalance in the body's natural chain, such as sweating-evaporation. The rash is localized in the groin, on the back, neck, facial area, as well as in the area of the folds of the arms and legs. How to get rid of heat rash in a child?
On a note. Miliaria is not transmitted from one baby to another, so parents should not worry about its contagiousness.
What does prickly heat look like in children? How to treat this phenomenon? What complications can there be? There are a lot of questions, and every mother tries to find Right way, aimed at preserving the health of her beloved child.
The disease is more common in newborn babies, whom parents always try to dress warmly. And since the process of thermoregulation in babies is in the formative stage, the evaporation of sweat occurs at a slower rate, which is reflected in a small rash on the child’s skin.
Signs of prickly heat
What does prickly heat look like in children? This phenomenon can be easily recognized by:
- small red rash, most often occurring in areas of contact with clothing;
- skin redness;
- increased sweating.
Note. If pustules appear on the baby’s body, you should immediately contact medical specialist without resorting to self-treatment.
The symptoms of prickly heat can be easily confused with symptoms of other diseases, such as atopic dermatitis, chicken pox, herpes zoster. If a rash appears against the background elevated temperature, lack of appetite, stomach upset, you should consult a doctor.
Causes of prickly heat
Miliaria in a child can be caused by:
- Rare bathing and insufficient hygiene, which causes the proliferation of pathogenic microflora.
- The use of fatty, poorly absorbed creams that reduce natural heat transfer due to the formation of a surface film.
- Small size of diapers or allergic reactions to the material from which they are made.
- Overheating, which occurs as a result of excessively wrapping the baby, rare changes of disposable diapers, and prolonged stay in a stuffy room. Under the influence of these factors, the heat transfer mechanism is disrupted and the greenhouse effect occurs.
- Infectious diseases accompanied by fever and, as a consequence, excessive sweating.
On a note. If you continue to diligently warm your baby with clothes and “soar” in diapers, then prickly heat will develop into diaper rash, and if an infection occurs, into diaper dermatitis.
Preventive measures
To prevent the development of prickly heat in a child, parents are advised to follow a number of simple recommendations:
- Maintain the correct temperature in the room. For a newborn baby, the indicator should be +20... +22 o C. It is necessary to ventilate the room in which the child sleeps as often as possible.
- You should always use “breathable” diapers, purchase them according to size, and remember to change them after each bowel movement (about 8 times a day). It is useful to leave the baby without diapers for several hours; in hot weather, it is advisable to completely abandon them, giving the skin the opportunity to fully “breathe.”
- There is no need to insulate the child as much as possible and wrap him tightly in diapers, because overheating not only causes prickly heat, but also reduces protective forces body. Clothing should be made exclusively from natural materials.
- It is important to provide quality care for your baby's delicate skin.
Prevention of prickly heat in children also involves providing the baby with air baths (2-3 times during the day). The room must first be ventilated, then the child must be undressed and left naked for about 15 minutes. The time can be gradually increased to 30 minutes.
Remember. This procedure also aimed at hardening the growing body and strengthening the immune system.
Medical therapy
How to cure heat rash in a child? If signs of prickly heat are detected on the baby’s skin, it is recommended to use special ointments, disinfectant solutions and baths that help relieve the inflammatory process and reduce irritation.
How to apply heat rash to a child? Of the ointments and creams, the most popular are “Kalamin”, “Drapolen”, “Desitin”. These drugs dry out the baby's delicate skin, relieve rashes and diaper rash.
Miliaria in children, the symptoms of which are easily identified by vigilant parents, can be effectively treated with Bepanten, a popular drug. Main active substance pharmaceutical product is dexpanthenol (provitamin B5), which can quickly restore damaged skin areas.
"Sudocrem", the components of which are zinc ointment and zinc oxide, also used in the treatment of heat rash. The drug should be applied only to the damaged area of the body.
Zinc ointment will help
Zinc ointment with zinc oxide (which dries out the skin) and petroleum jelly (which creates a protective film) can help both a child and an adult. The pharmacy product has no contraindications and effectively cleanses the body of various types of rashes.
Advice. It is important to constantly carefully examine your baby’s skin for redness and use baby creams and oils at the slightest sign of a rash.
In terms of effectiveness, zinc ointment is not inferior to Sudocrem and Bepanten, although it costs several times less
Therapy with disinfectant solutions (1-2% salicylic or boric acid, chlorophyllipt 1%, methylene blue) is effective against prickly heat. Antibacterial and antifungal drugs should be used only as directed by a physician.
Benefits of herbal baths
What should I bathe my child in if he has heat rash? Effective way Treatments include baths with string, chamomile, and St. John's wort. Herbal infusion prepared half an hour before bath procedures: 3 tbsp. l. each herb needs to be brewed with 1 liter of boiling water, left for 30 minutes, filtered.
On a note. In order to prevent an allergic reaction and the appearance of skin irritations, it is recommended to wash your baby’s clothes with hypoallergenic powders with a low percentage (no more than 5-15) of aggressive anionic surfactants (surfactants). OCEAN BABY, Ecover, Nordland Eco, Frau Schmidt, Regent are considered safe for health.
It is useful for the baby to give the baths themselves twice a day in the hot season and once in the cold season.
On a note. At the end of the procedure, dousing with water with a temperature lowered by 1-3 o C will be useful. This action is aimed at hardening the body and is an excellent prevention of prickly heat.
Powder and potassium permanganate are mandatory attributes of baby hygiene
A phenomenon that almost all parents encounter is heat rash in children. Treatment at home is considered effective if you periodically dilute the bathing water with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, which helps relieve the skin of signs of irritation. After water procedures The body should be carefully blotted with a towel.
Baby powder contains starch, talc, panthenol (for healing) or anesthesin (for cooling), and zinc oxide.
It should be remembered. Baby powder should only be used on baby's dry skin.
Timely treatment and prevention of prickly heat in children are important factor compliance personal hygiene necessary for the full development of the baby and maintaining not only his health, but also the peace of mind of the parents.
Miliaria in newborns is a red rash on the skin of a child that looks like a rash. Miliaria is a fairly common phenomenon in newborns (especially in the summer, in the heat), because their skin covering very sensitive to temperature changes and any other irritants. Miliaria in a child can appear in the first days after birth. You must be able to recognize it and prevent it. (Besides, everything is not as scary as it may seem at first glance to young and inexperienced mothers)
What does prickly heat look like?
Miliaria looks like small rash(pimples) red or Pink colour, appears on areas of the skin that sweat the most (mainly in all folds on the baby’s skin), also on the buttocks, back, elbows and under the knees, in the area between the legs, on the neck and even on the cheeks. This pink spots or small bubbles with liquid. Often occurs after sleep or a walk. Usually, prickly heat does not cause the child much discomfort, does not cause fever or pain, and the baby remains active and mobile. (except in some cases)
Causes
The main reason is sweat. The child sweats = clogging of skin cells occurs = prickly heat appears.
Don't CUTE your child too much! When a child is hot, his sweat glands produce a special secretion that prevents the body from overheating. It happens that, taking care of the baby’s health, they dress him too warmly, swaddle him tightly, or cover his skin with a large amount of cream. Then the secretion cannot be released normally through the pores and accumulates in the glands. The baby sweats and heat rash appears.
Watch the video (What causes prickly heat in infants and what it looks like)
Kinds
- Miliaria rubra: similar to hives - single blisters or nodules with redness of the skin around it. May occur painful sensations, itching.
- Miliaria crystalline: manifests itself differently - small bubbles are located close, scattered, do not cause trouble for the child, disappear in 2-3 days. In difficult cases, if an infection has been introduced under the skin, the following types of disease may develop:
- Miliaria alba – instead clear liquid White liquid is observed in the bubbles.
- Miliaria yellows - the water in the bubbles will be yellowish.
Prevention
It is easier to prevent a disease than to think about how to treat it - advises folk wisdom. Indeed, it is worth paying more attention to the prevention of prickly heat, thereby reducing the likelihood of its occurrence.
- Don't keep your baby in diapers. Despite what the advertisements say, diapers make it difficult for air to reach the skin and make them very hot. It is better to use diapers only for walks and for nighttime sleep. Use ;
- Wash after every bowel movement. Use regular water or baby water wet wipes, then treat the folds with talcum powder;
- Maintain 20-22 degrees in the room. It is quite enough for the baby to feel normal, the main thing is to avoid drafts;
- Dress for the weather. Do not wrap your baby indoors or when going for a walk. It’s easy to determine if a child is cold or if he has enough warmth - just touch his nose. A cool nose means the baby is cold, a warm nose means the baby is comfortable, a hot nose means it’s hot;
- Clothes and bed sheets baby - only cotton and natural fabrics. Synthetics are not suitable for newborns; they make you sweat;
- Bathe your baby every day. You shouldn’t use soap for every bath, it washes off the protective film, but use as many herbal decoctions as you like.
- Arrange it. This is a wonderful hardening procedure, but also an excellent prevention of prickly heat.
Treatment
Treatment of prickly heat does not require special specific methods. The main thing is to organize. It is very important to prevent your baby from scratching the rash, otherwise infection will get into the wounds and complications will arise. So:
- Bathe your child correctly. If your child suffers from prickly heat, bathe him in boiled water. Add a little manganese, herbal decoctions (See article). Chamomile and string relieve irritation. A decoction of thin blackcurrant branches is also good. Itching can be easily relieved by washing the affected areas with boiled water and a light soda solution.
- Do not dress your baby immediately after bathing. It is better to wait until the skin dries and the moisture is absorbed, then treat the sweat patch with powder and let the baby lie naked.
- Avoid baby creams. It’s hard for a child’s delicate skin, covered with cream, to breathe, and sweat accumulates in the glands. Replace the cream with powder, talc quickly absorbs moisture, the skin will sweat less. You can even apply the powder on a child’s cheeks, but be careful to avoid getting it in the eyes.
- Protect areas affected by miliaria from damage. Trim your baby's nails regularly to prevent scratching of the skin. You can wear scratch gloves.
Watch the video (How to treat heat rash in an infant)
Do I need to see a doctor?
If you use all methods of treatment and prevention, but the rash does not go away, the size of the spots has increased, the liquid has changed color, it means that the disease has become more complicated and you should definitely consult a doctor. He will select for your newborn baby special medications and prescribe treatment. Also, if you cannot distinguish miliaria from other similar diseases yourself, consulting a doctor is absolutely necessary.