prickly heat!

[BRUCE BAXTER]

does anybody know the best way to get rid of it?

i had to much sun on saturday and now i am starting to feel it. i hardly slept last night and my back is constantly itchy and it feels like someone is poking a cocktail stick in it! I have applied after sun but it still kills! any advice?

[dot.hawkes]

take some piriton and drink plenty of water, u can take paracetamil aswell i think.

[PinkFizz]

sounds mad - but the best way I found was to buy a pot of natural live yoghurt and smear it on till it dries - it looks funny but if you're not going anywhere then it provides real relief.Then after a few hours take a cool shower.

[BRUCE BAXTER]

thanks people!

i will most probably try the piriton and water option only because my girlfriend may get other ideas if i start rubbing yoghurt on myself. Its itching now so i am off too the chemist! Cheers!

[chazza]

Try Aloe Vera gel - very soothing, especially if kept in the fridge

[dot.hawkes]

when we were in antuigua in march my daughter caught the sun too much because she used that stupid Johnsons tan stuff under sunprotection, anyway, we paid for a massage and the lady went out side and came back with part of an aloe vera leaf she had picked then and there and she chopped it up into a dish and then just squashed it wwith her hands and worked wioth it until it was pulp and them covered my daughter's back and legs with it, it was amazing how quickley it soothed her skin.!

[purpose]

I have an aloe plant in my kitchen and it is FAB for anything skin related.

Cut off a leaf and rub the juice on the affected part - i use mine mostly for burns - and it soothes very quickly, indeed.

[JudgeJ]

What you have is almost certainly not true �prickly heat� as you suspect. True prickly heat is a form of a disease known as miliaria. It is an inflammatory itchy skin condition associated with hot conditions and sweaty clothing. It is caused because the sweat gland ducts become obstructed by the presence in the ducts of normal skin microbes. As soon as the microbes enter the duct they are attacked by the body�s immune system and the duct becomes blocked. But even though the duct is blocked, the sweat gland continues to pump out sweat under pressure. Just below the duct blockage the duct is ruptured by the pressure and the sweat, instead of reaching the skin surface, spreads into the surrounding skin causing inflammation.

Prickly heat is not caused by simple exposure to the sun as you have suffered. Your back probably suffered from being sunburnt and the sensations you are now experiencing are probably the results of the outer layer of your damaged skin dying and becoming detached. Have a look in your bed and you will probably see the remains of the dead skin there each morning. The best remedy I have come across for sunburn is calamine lotion.

[joko]

get a spray bottle, set it to fine mist and fill with cold water

spray over your body a fine mist at regular intervals - you will love it!!

[saxobabe]

this is not a cure for now but a preventative for next time... use piz buin allergy sun cream next time you're goin in the sun. it stops sun allergies and really works. its quite expensive but well worth it!!

[BRUCE BAXTER]

Thankyou everyone!

your answers are all appreciated.

[johnizere]

prevention is better than the cure...?

For years I suffered with heat rashes, avoiding the sun like the plague, always used factor 15 or above, etc, etc....then I was advised to use a sun lotion that does NOT contain water, or aqua as it is described in the ingredients of the bottle. I took some to Rhodes last year, in July, not exactly the coolest time to got there, and used it for the first 2 days and had no problems at all...then I got a bit more confident and went for a half hour walk without a shirt on, midday in the blazing sun...and no burning at all!...I'm amazed how good this stuff is. The times I look back and remember the holidays abroad where I've spent days shut in my hotel room smothered in just about all the skin soothers under the sun (no pun intended) regretting ever going on holiday.....I bought this lotion at a local chemist, �1.99 a bottle....it's a spray on type, and after applying the skin feels quite dry (I think you could call it a dry spray)....I've also seen it in Instore (poundstretcher) for �2.99. I took it to Kos this year (end May) and had no problems at all, and guess what??...last week here at home in the heatwave..went outside in the garden for a few hours.....burnt like a lobster....didn't put on my magic potion!!.....hope this helps.

[lyndseylou86]

I suffer from prickly heat whenever i go on holiday and get too warm. Apparently this lotion works, although i havent tried it yet. it is a lotion used for eczma called cardiospermum gel. you can get this from www.skin-shop.co.uk. Im off to lanzarote in october so i will be buying some for then! it is about �15 a pot but im sure its worth it if it works.

Nothing worse than your holiday being ruined by prickly heat!

[jimmy654]

http://www.grannymed.com/meds/sunburn.aspx