Itchy Prickly Heat Rash

Other common skin disease during summer season is prickly heat rash.  My daughter wake up one morning and told me that her neck is very itchy, I check her neck and I notice some red skin rash. I think it is a prickly heat rash because of very hot weather. 

Prickly heat is an itchy, red skin rash that usually occurs when there is excessive sweating due to heat exposure of overheating.  It also called miliaria or uticaria (hives).  It is not a serious skin disease since it is usually self-limited and resolves in hours to a few days without treatment.  But, if it may be more severe, it requires professional medical care.


Miliaria or prickly heat is can be found any parts of the body area like face or neck where tiny, pinpoint and pick.  It is due to small sweat particles that are trapped in the skin.  It may cause inflammation and itching around the sweat pores.  It may look like small clear blisters or like gooseflesh.  It is often occurs during repeated episodes of sweating in a hot humid environment like summer season.  It is more common in infants but may also occur in adults. 

Prickly heat can be resolves without treatment, often within a day after changing to a cooler environment.  Some of the home remedies for prickly heat are to take cool showers or bath and avoid skin to skin contact by placing a clean cotton washcloth or material between skin folds. Also, drinking a lot of water is always helpful to maintain cooler body temperature and for overall hydration and body temperature regulation.