Skin rash due to heat

Definition

A skin rash is a disease of the skin that can be accompanied by redness of various skin areas, small elevations, wheals, pustules, blisters and similar skin changes. A physician can determine many different forms depending on the appearance and appearance of the rash. A rash caused by heat may be called “miliaria”, “hives” or “dermatitis hidrotica”.

Also “heat pimples“, “heat blisters”, “sweat blisters” and “heat blisters” are common synonyms. Very often newborns are affected by a rash caused by heat. In adults, this skin disease occurs less frequently.

Causes

The cause of miliaria, a special form of skin rash caused by heat, is the accumulation of heat and sweat on the body surface. When the body heats up, it tries to balance the temperature by sweating. The drops of sweat reach the surface of the body through the ducts of the sweat glands, where they can evaporate and cool the body down.

Especially with very tight-fitting clothing, evaporation of sweat is no longer possible. In babies, the trunk and the area covered by the diaper are particularly affected. Bedridden patients can just as quickly develop a skin rash due to heat on the back and buttocks.

The ducts of the sweat glands become blocked and small inflammations of the skin and the typical “heat spots” occur. A rarer form of skin rash due to heat is physical hives, also called “urticaria“. These skin symptoms are caused by physical stimuli such as pressure, cold, wetness or heat, and in addition to a rash, very itchy wheals form.

The exact cause of this disease is not clear, it often runs chronically over years. A rash in adults is rarely caused by heat, but allergic or drug-related causes are much more common. A parallel between the skin rash and the intake of medication or the consumption of a certain food should always be ruled out before physical urticaria is suspected.