Prickly heat ..................... how do i prevent it???

[frazzledbutcalm]

I'm going to Tenerife at the end of july for 2 weeks and i just know im going to suffer from prickly heat. We've been away the past 2 years and it's a nightmare. I'm the only one who suffers (thank goodness). I've heard sunbeds beforehand stop prickly heat - is this true? Last year i used a sun cream bought from the resort sun cream rep - it was fantastic, but expensive. Money not the issue as it worked, but, its very hard to rub into skin and highest factor thats easily (altho difficult!) rubbed in is 15, i think im going to have to start with a higher factor than this. Help please !!!!

is that like a heat rash?

sort of, but worse

sounds horrible. Sorry I have no advice but I remember as a child seeing a tub of what looked like talcum powder in the medicine cupboard that was for prickly heat. Is there something like that you can buy now?

Piz Burn allergy sun cream stops mine. Prickly heat is actually an allergic reaction to the sun (and it on BOGOF at Tesco at the mo !!)

I've tried sprays but don't work. According to nhs direct (and what i always believed anyway) prickly heat is caused by blocked glands due to sweat. I'll try piz buin thanks. Sun cream i used last year was natural plant extract etc. Sun cream advisor said most sun creams are water/aqua based and this blocks the pores therefore sweat is trapped so you need a sun cream that allows skin to breathe.
Any more advice greatly appreciated.

I used to suffer terribly with prickly heat and I vividly remember on our honeymoon (been married 21 years today) walking round with yoghurt on my skin - not in the sun obviously but indoors, it did work to a certain extent. Did not look very pleasant though especially as we could only get "summer fruit" yoghurt

A friend recomended to me Boots Soltan brand and it did actually reduce the prickly heat by a vast amount.

Luckily, over the years it is something I seem to have grown out of (probably spoken too soon and I will end up with it this holiday!).

Also, antihistamines are supposed to reduce prickly heat.

Hope this helps.

Get this month's sainsbury's mag, dr mark porter has done an article about prickly heat.

There was an article about this is one of the recent Sainsbury's magazines - is it Dr Mark Porter? Anyway he mentioned taking high doses of some vitamin - I think it was betacarotene but wouldn't swear to it...

article might come up with a google search, perhaps

Thanks i'll get magazine. I take anti histamines anyway for hayfever. I'm googled out!! But will search for article.

Try piz buin allergy suncream-it worked miracles for me.
i use a starch based soap in the summer and use starch based talc (I live in Italy-not sure if you can get in the UK but may well sell in a pharmacy in Tenerife as they'll cater more for the heat)
Have also heard people saying taking anti histemines for a few days before going and during the holiday can help but not tried that one

I used to take zirtek as I suffered badly when i lived in UK. Talk to the doctor I used to take it before I got heat rash and some how it warded it off. I now live in Spain and haven't had heat rash since I moved here???????

any anti-histamine taken from a couple of days beforehand works really well for me.

I take antihistamine from april til september so that doesnt work for me. Think my only option is to try piz buin and hope and pray it works.
Anyone heard why sunbeds seem to work if used before hand?

tomatoes (lots) I think were one of the things supposed to help - remember this from the programme which did the science on the Protect and Perfect cream...

I have had it for years and now only use a mineral sunscreen (Dr Hauschka) but also don't sunbathe!

I really wouldn't use a sunbed - skincancer not worth the risk.

The allergy suncreams work for some but not for me...

I would take antihistamine tablets also but take along some topical cream in case it flares up also.

I don't like tomatoes so definintely couldn't try that!
I'd only use sunbed for few weeks, couple times a week. And only to sort my prickly heat.
Any more advice?

i've suffered from this for years but touch wood seem to have it under control, my top tips:

only use piz buin allergy sun cream, but either factor 15 or the 50+. If i use the spf30 i can still get prickly heat, i think it's becuase the higher spfs have more chemicals in but the 50+ is more of a physical zinc oxide block.

don't let your skin get burnt at all as this will make those areas more sensitive. at the first sign of it cover up those areas and let it calm down before exposing again. if i don't do this then i just can't get rid of it until i get home and out of the sun.

take an antihistamine at the first sign of it

i haven't tried sunbeds beforehand, but I read on the plane home last week that Imedeen tan optimiser tablets are really good for preventing prickly heat and sun allergies, though you need to take them before you go, so start now. Let me know if they are any good as they are v expensive!

I get awful prickly heat (so bad last year in Antigua I couldn't go out in the sun from day 2 of a 14 day holiday ). I find different heat affects me differently - the worst I've been was in the West Indies were it was very humid. I used to work in a sun tanning shop and tan every day for years so I don't think it makes any difference tbh.

I know how bad prickly heat can get and that us sufferers will try anything but some food for thought.... When I worked at said tanning shop c. 10 years ago I had to sign a disclaimer saying that if I ever got skin cancer I wouldn't sue the company!! Three years ago I had bad prickly heat while on holiday which hadn't gone by the time we got home. Long story but I had a scare over one of my moles (have probably 10 times more since I tanned everyday) which proved to be fine but wow it was scary.

In short - I wouldn't advise a sun bed.

But if you do find something that works to prevent it or to make it better once it appears please do share!

Someone suggested nappy cream?

Thanks amid and monkey. Im off in 10 days! Im armed with piz buin allergy creams and aftersun. I take antihistine daily for hay fever anyway, so the only difference with me is the piz buin. I'll post when i get back as to how it went. fingers crossed!

Anybody still watching this? Update -
We didnt get to go on holiday so i've no idea about piz buin!
dd1 developed undiagnosed appendicitis days before we were due to go. Appendix burst day before we were going, she had it removed the day we were supposed to go!
Obviously, her health is more important than holiday. Will hopefully one day try piz buin, gotta look on the bright side!

anti-histamine I think can help

really good to stay out of direct sunlight ..

I was told by the doctors for years that I suffer from prickly heat. I came out in rashes all over parts of my body, some parts of the spots from the rash sometimes looked like tiny blisters. In the places were i got prickly heat, it had started swelling, itching and stinging or sometimes i was getting an intense prickling sensation.

I had used everything that was recommended to me for prickly heat. I used piz buin allergy sun cream...still came out in the rash!! I even took one of the strongest anti-histamine tablets and they still did not help.

I was recently on holiday in Turkey, and I came out in a rash.. AGAIN!! I went to the chemist there and told the man that I needed to try something else to help stop my prickly heat. I showed him the places were i had the rash, E.G. arms,hands,legs,feet,belly,chest.. He told me that i didn't have prickly heat, and that i was in fact allergic to some sun creams! ESPECIALLY Piz Buin Allergy suncream! (because of the oils in it). He told me that i am allergic to some of the ingredients in the sun creams..

The man gave me Ladival Sun cream, that can be bought online or in some shops. I then started to use this sun cream for the rest of my holiday along side with some anti-histamine tablets that he gave me called DELODAY DESLORATADIN to take care of my allergic reaction on my body. Within days my allergic reaction from my body disappeared, and the Ladival sun cream that I was using matched my skin and i was able to enjoy the rest of my holiday!

I hope that I can help some people out, for when they have been wrongly treated for prickly heat!! I do recommend that you use the Lavidal suncream, it helped me out! and now I can enjoy the sun, pain free and actually get a tan!!

I had suffered from sun allergy all my life until a pharmacist suggested Ladival High Allergy cream - not just ordinary Ladival. She also stressed that I needed to use the Ladival allergy After Sun cream to ensure I had no residual perfumes or allergens on my skin each day. Since I have started to use this regime I have not looked back. This year I even managed a two week sun holiday without going crazy so I now hooked on Ladival - unfortunately I need to order the High Allergy (haut allergische) cream online but its worth the effort and cost. Any time I visit Germany or Austria I stock up.