Prickly heat rash on chest not improving, any suggestions?

[DawnBreaks]

Oh someone help me out please!! I'm being driven mad by prickly heat rash right across my chest since about Monday. I've tried everything. I've bought medicated soap. Used the Snake brand prickly heat cooling powder. I've used the anti itch E45 lotion, Antihistamine cream, Hydrocortisone cream and even a antihistamine tablet. Its getting no better and I have a 'do' to go to tomorrow and of course I want to wear a dress that shows the lot! Its currently bright red, scaly and itchy and feels like really bad sunburn. I've had it covered with t shirts etc all over this heatwave so its only a sweat heat rash not a sunburn rash. It feels so rough and dry but if I try to moisturise it it seems to make it worse! I'll be going to this party in a polo neck at this rate!

Jeeze I swear I dont have that many creases in my chest normally either!
Edited to say - I had this last month in Lanzarote and also last summer during the heatwave so it does point to something that happens during high heat. It wasn't this bad before though!

I think you might just have to keep trying different things and hope for the best. Do you have anything floaty that you can put on over what you will be wearing, like a little crop top of some kind?

My suggestions of things to try as a very rash/psoriasis prone person are snail gel, aloe vera gel and Cicaplast by La Roche Posay plus a damp flannel left in the fridge or freezer and applied to the skin.

Ive just been doctors with a rash which they have said is more intense case of heat rash than normal. I have been prescribed a high dose of antihistamine to take every day and a steroid cream to apply twice a day for a week.

Does it still feel hot?. I'd try cold face cloths and ice to get the heat out. I wouldnt put any more moisturiser on it while it's still so red it will just trap the sweat on it and make it worse

Good news is it can sometimes go away very quickly so you might wake up tomorrow to find it gone. Anti histamines work for me but only if I take them as soon as the rash appears. Aloe gel is good too but only a really thin layer.

When I get a flare up I put a cold, damp flannel over it. Keep refreshing the flannel with cold water, Takes the heat right out of it.

I had creams from the doctor, took antihistamines (slight improvement), the cold damp flannel is the only thing that works for me. Cheap and cheerful 😂

Mine in on my neck so I sleep with it on as well.

It does take time to work say a few days.

Calamine lotion under thick layer of aloe gel, under a cold flannel.

Thank you for all those tips! I have 2 flannels in the freezer and one on my chest currently and it does feel better. Yes I think I will take antihistamines as soon as I feel the slightest tickle in future!
mrscotton - yes I think more intense than usual is a good way of putting it! I'll take a trip to the GP on Monday if its no better.
Tomorrow I will buy Aloe vera gel and calamine to start with. Never heard of snail gel!! My garden is full of the little blighters who are rapidly decimating my lupins and delphiniums! Good to know they have a useful side!

Every time I went on holiday abroad I always got a really bad rash after a few days in the sun. So much so I had to make sure I had “pre rash “ and “rash” clothes eg halter neck tops to cover my chest up! Eventually I realised that if I took an antihistamine daily, didn’t wear perfume on holiday and cooled down in the pool often I didn’t get the rash. Hope that helps anyone else who suffers from heat rash too.

I dose myself up on Piriton when I have a flare up. Not the one a day ones, but the original. They can make you a bit drowsy but it’s the only thing that works for me. Hope it abates soon.

I've found lots of cold compresses and taking antihistamines help. I've also found Snake Brand Prickly heat powder helps too. You can get it from Amazon or other online retailers.

Poor you, I get this and it's hideous. I find cold compresses really help, and strong steroid cream from the GP (you might have to argue).

Ultimately the only thing that really fixes it for me is time - your skin needs to heal and renew itself.

Just keeping out of the sun altogether is your best bet. My arms came up similar when I was out in the heat for a weekend over the last bank holiday weekend and it took a week for it to go down.

This is whats so annoying! That bit of my body has been covered the entire heatwave!

I've done a bit of research on the Cicaplast and it looks promising. Thank you! This is also on my list for my trip to Superdrug tomorrow!

Cool vinegar bath
Keep taking the antihistamine/piriton
It may take a few weeks to fully go by the way (from experience)

My DD used to suffer from this as a teen. Her GP told her to start taking a daily antihistamine from late spring onwards as this would build up her ‘immunity’ to the sun, and also keep exposure to sunlight as minimal as possible. In addition she had to wear a very high SPF daily, basically a sun block. She actually had an allergic reaction to UV as opposed to conventional prickly heat.

I don't think its a reaction to the sun as my chest has been covered over the recent heatwave. The rest of my body that has been exposed is absolutely fine! Its all very strange!

But antihistamine tablets seem to crop up a lot so I'll look at taking those when its warmer weather.

I take an antihistamine morning and night if I get a flare up, I’ve learned now to put on factor 50 and wear clothes

I'm currently looking for high necked vests and halter neck dresses! Like someone said earlier. Before rash and after rash clothes! 😁

What about oatmeal baths? 😊 They have anti‑inflammatory properties, so they can help soothe rashes.

The bath should be warm enough for the oats to dissolve, but not too hot, especially in your case.

Keep the oats whole, put them into a clean old sock, tie it off, and drop it into the bath.

Soak for 5 to 15 minutes 🤞

0.1% steroid cream you can buy from boots pharmacy over the counter. , the pharmacist actually suggested this yesterday when a rash to a cream reacted with the sun, worked within a couple of hours, a thin layer but dont expose treated skin in the sun.hope it gets sorted tomorrow rather than Monday I would seek advice from a pharmacist, if you live near one tomorrow.

I’ve had similar and done

1. the thai snake brand prickly heat powder
2. the roche possay cicaplast baume b5+
3. now downgraded to a thick eczema cream my son had - my skin is beginning to cool down and not look so inflamed. I am shcked at how quicly the thick eczema cream is being absorbed.

Yoghurt is surprisingly calming on prickly heat. No idea why. I discovered that when I tipped a pot of Yeo Valley on mine by accident.

Damn I’ve literally just chucked some out of date plain Greek yogurt!

Anyway I literally did nothing overnight, other than showering with dettol soap and cooling it with ice packs and cold flannels. I had a decent sleep, no waking up scratching and it looks way less inflamed this morning!

Thank you everyone for your words of wisdom! I’ll still buy a few suggested products to clear this up and hopefully prevent such a massive flare up in the future!

Anthisan cream from the chemist is actually for bites and stings but really helped with my prickly heat this week. I believe it has antihistamine and steroid in it. Also recommend piz buin allergy suncream to prevent rashes for anyone susceptible.