Prickly heat in infants - irritation on the skin, which causes increased sweating. It is a red rash that occurs on different parts of the body. How to properly treat prickly heat? This will be discussed in this article.
What is prickly heat?
The disease is specific, the nature of the rash resembles eczema or allergies. Prickly heat can occur both throughout the body and in separate places. The rash covers the body with whitish blisters.
This condition is not considered dangerous if parents take appropriate preventive and curative measures. If a child scratches the skin, then there is a high probability of infection.
Why prickly heat occurs in babies
Children's skin is very special and susceptible to negative environmental factors. What characteristics does it have:
- Sensitive - irritable and inflamed if rough touched or rubbed.
- Overheating occurs due to blood vessels located on the surface.
- Activethe activity of the sweat glands, which occurs on the 21st day of the life of the baby. This is accompanied by the formation of ducts, which contributes to the violation of sweating.
- Children's skin contains a lot of water.
The main causes of prickly heat in infants are not fully formed thermoregulation and overheating of the body.
Types of rashes
What does prickly heat look like in babies? Depending on various factors, the following types of condition exist:
- Red prickly heat. It is characterized by an area of redness around the blisters. Occurs on the neck, under the armpits and in the groin. This type of prickly heat in infants causes pain and severe itching when touched. May be observed on the skin for up to 2 weeks.
- Crystal. Rashes in this case are white or silvery bubbles. They appear on the face, body and neck. The bubbles coalesce and turn into large spots. This type of rash causes pain and discomfort to the baby for 2-3 days.
- Papular. Occurs with increased sweating in a child. It is observed on the body, arms and legs. It disappears completely after a few hours.
- Infected. It appears in a child if the therapy did not start on time, and the microbes got inside the bubbles. The result is skin infection. There are bubbles filled with a yellow-gray liquid. The newborn has a fever, which confirms the infection process.
Regardless of the type of prickly heat in infants, treatment should becorrect and timely. It should be prescribed by a specialist after examining the baby.
How to eliminate allergies?
The rash in the disease has similar symptoms with some pathologies. How to distinguish prickly heat from an allergy in a baby and determine the nature of the rash? An allergy is diagnosed if:
- itching on the skin worries the child;
- rashes do not decrease even after water procedures;
- with allergies, they most of all resemble scales and are located on the cheeks and limbs;
- rash decreases after taking antihistamines.
To clearly determine the correct diagnosis of the child, you need to show a specialist who will accurately establish the disease.
Causes of rash
Miliaria occurs in places where it is most difficult for air to reach. Tight and out-of-season clothes or tight swaddling are the main causes of rashes. The sweat glands produce a secret that does not evaporate without the participation of air. Its accumulation irritates the skin. The following causes of this condition are known:
- The likelihood of prickly heat increases if the room is stuffy and humid.
- Baby rarely takes water treatments.
- The skin is treated with an oily cream that clogs pores and reduces its ability to breathe.
- Rashes occur when diapers are of poor quality or too tight.
- Excessive sweating provokes a high temperature.
- Parents don't give newborn air baths.
- Clothesthe baby is tight or sewn from synthetic fabrics.
At risk are premature babies, as well as newborns with large body weight or diabetes. Most often, prickly heat occurs in the summer, so parents need to pay attention to hygiene procedures at this time.
Signs of disease
It can be located on the neck of the baby, and throughout the body. Often a rash is noticed in the groin. To this is added capriciousness and sleep disturbance in the newborn. In its manifestations, miliaria is similar to measles, rubella or allergies. Therefore, diseases are easy to confuse.
Distinguish prickly heat in infants photos allow, they are presented in the article. Frequent places of its accumulation include:
- when a rash occurs on the neck, poor hygiene and heat are to blame;
- if prickly heat is noticeable on the upper back - overheating and non-natural clothing materials;
- when using a fat cream, the rash is localized on the buttocks;
- the appearance of bubbles on the face indicates an allergy or the spread of prickly heat from the neck;
- when regularly wearing a headdress, the rash can be located on the head.
Miliary heat is treated quickly, but it takes a long time to treat an allergy or infection.
When to See a Doctor
If parents notice pustules and cracks on the child's body, as well as itching and high fever, then it is urgent to show himspecialist. And also in the event of such signs:
- Appearance of edema.
- Bad smell coming from bubbles.
- Itching and burning, pain when in contact with the skin.
- Increased body temperature.
All these symptoms can characterize an infectious disease that has joined the primary condition. The main thing is a timely appeal to a pediatrician, who, after examination and additional tests, will be able to accurately diagnose.
Treatment of prickly heat
Initially, you need to get rid of the causes of the disease. How to treat prickly heat in infants? In the house you need to lower the temperature to 20-22 degrees. Use cotton or other natural materials instead of synthetic fabrics.
During the day, give the child air baths. At a comfortable air temperature, it will not freeze. Avoid oily creams and switch to powders.
Effective treatments for prickly heat include:
- In the bath for bathing a baby, you can add decoctions of medicinal herbs (string, chamomile, oak bark). They can be used individually or in combination. For cooking, use three tablespoons per liter of water. With this infusion, prickly heat is treated on the face of the baby, as well as on other parts of the body. In bathing water, you can add a previously diluted solution of potassium permanganate. Its drying properties have a positive effect on rashes.
- After water procedures, the baby's skin is easy to get wet, giving special attention to hard-to-reach places. After drying, apply powder. The best thingdo it with a cotton swab. It is not recommended to use powder on wet places, because there will be no tangible effect.
To treat prickly heat, a specialist may prescribe ointments that help reduce the rash. It is applied in a thin layer. And the diaper is put on when the product is absorbed into the skin.
Medications
For the treatment of prickly heat in infants (photo below), a specialist may prescribe the following ointments:
- "Bepanthen". The cream has regenerating properties and moisturizes the skin well. It does not have an anti-inflammatory effect, so it is rarely used to treat prickly heat.
- "Sudokrem". Able to dry the rash and has antibacterial properties. Effective in the treatment of prickly heat. Due to its oily consistency, the cream is best applied to the skin pointwise.
- "Zinc ointment" has increased efficiency and relieves prickly heat in a few days.
There are many traditional medicine recipes that reduce skin rashes in babies. For 200 ml of boiling water take 7 leaves of laurel. Let it brew and wipe the affected areas with the resulting remedy.
In some cases, there is no effect in the treatment of various drugs. Parents need to show the baby to a dermatologist to establish an accurate diagnosis. This is to rule out a bacterial infection.
Preventive measures
Sweatingoccurs for certain reasons. To avoid its occurrence, you need to take some actions. Preventive measures include:
- For newborns, it is necessary to purchase clothes that are sewn from natural fabrics and fit him in size. Parents should not forget about the quality of bed linen. It should be soft and pleasant to the touch.
- Diapers should be of high quality and made from natural materials.
- The air temperature in the room should not exceed 20-22 degrees. It must be constantly ventilated.
- Parents must strictly observe the rules of hygiene. This includes constant diaper changes, daily water treatments.
- Cosmetics should be chosen non-greasy so that they do not clog the pores of the skin.
- To prevent prickly heat on the baby's head, you should stop wearing hats in a stuffy room.
- Hypoallergenic powders should be used to wash newborn clothes.
All of the above recommendations will create comfortable conditions for the child and will avoid the occurrence of rashes on the skin.
Komarovsky about prickly heat
A well-known pediatrician talks about the need to establish the cause of the rashes, and then about their complete elimination. A rash can occur as a result of infectious diseases, mechanical damage, allergic reactions, and other conditions. It is important to establish exactly whether it is dangerous. In the absence of other symptoms, goodthe mood and sleep of the baby most likely speak of prickly heat or an insect bite. Mom should remember in detail the day before the rash appeared. What the baby ate, what clothes he wore, etc.
Dr. Komarovsky confirms that with the onset of the hot season, cases of prickly heat in infants increase. It can be localized in separate areas (neck, head, behind the ears, back) or throughout the body. He advises to undress the child often during the day. It must be freed from tight clothing and diapers. In this case, the skin will breathe.
Here are the main recommendations of the doctor:
- Excessive clothing should be avoided in hot weather. It is best for parents to avoid tight swaddling.
- Keep a comfortable room temperature (18-20 degrees).
- Soap should not be used frequently. Best used once a week.
Following the simple recommendations of a well-known pediatrician, you can prevent prickly heat.
Miliaria that occurs in infants is not a serious disease. Rather, it refers to the inaccuracies of caring for an infant. With the elimination of negative factors, prickly heat disappears on the skin in 2-3 days. The danger of the condition lies in the addition of a bacterial infection, which will require proper and timely treatment.
