Heat Rash Facts and Myths

Heat Rash Facts and Myths There are several heat rash facts that can help you understand and avoid heat rash, a skin condition that can result to a lot of discomforts. It will also help if you are aware of the heat rash myths also circulating in the internet and by word of mouth *phopho kay totkay* so that you don’t confuse yourself when dealing with prickly heat.

More than a few things that people believe about heat rash, its causes, cures and treatments are either true or false. It depends on the supporting facts or the lack of it. That is why it is important that you know which ones to believe in and which ones to ignore.  There are also effects of some beliefs that if you come to think of will not really cause any harm or help.

Read some information about the skin condition to aid you in untangling the confusion and better equip you with the right knowledge.

Heat Rash Facts and Myths You Need to Be Aware Of:

Myth:

All rashes are signs of an allergic reaction to food or some chemical contents found in lotion and other body rubs. While it’s true that food and other stuff can cause allergies that often result to rashes on the skin, that is not the case with rashes caused by prickly heat. Therefore, immediately taking anti-allergy medication upon seeing rashes on your skin may not be the right thing to do. Heat rash or prickly heat happens when sweat gets trapped under the skin due to blocked sweat glands. This often leads to skin irritation that results to red rashes showing on the surface.

Fact: 

Baking soda could help relieve heat rash because its sodium bicarbonate content works as a gentle anti-inflammation. A little baking soda powder added to daily soak bath will shorten the duration of the condition and will also relieve the itch.

Fact: 

This certainly cannot belong to heat rash myths because it is for certain that heat rash is a common occurrence during hot and humid season such as summer.  It is also common in tropical countries where the temperature is almost always warm. That is why the condition generally affects children who are quite impossible to stop being active at any given time. Hence, they are often feeling hot and perspire a lot making them prone to developing prickly heat.

Myth: 

Eating ripe mangoes will worsen prickly heat. Some consider ripe mangoes as hot food, green mangoes cold. There is no scientific basis proving that ripe mangoes can indeed make the condition worse and make the rashes itchier.

Myth: 

Rain cures prickly heat. This is a common belief in many tropical countries although admittedly, there is a certain degree of truth to it.

Fact: 

A cool shower relieves the discomfort brought about by the rashes. A bath in the rain definitely cools the skin thus it relieves (not cures) the nasty feelings associated with heat rash. In some tropical regions, summer, when prickly heat becomes a common occurrence, is followed by the rainy season where most children enjoy frolicking in the cool showers of rain. And because heat rash goes away on its own if there are no complications, this probably lead to the idea that rain can cure it.

Whatever heat rash myths or facts you hear, so long as you know how to deal with it the right way, it can be easy to overcome. Make sure you reduce sweating, which is the best treatment for the condition, stay neat and wear light clothing in hot environments, then you are likely to keep prickly heat away.