Heat Rash in Babies

Clusters of small red tiny bumps on your precious baby’s skin can be alarming to you. It is also called as prickly heat rash which occurs mainly in summer to almost all the babies who are more exposed to sun, heat, and sweat. It can appear anywhere on the body. They generally occur in the area where babies sweat a lot like the face, upper back, stomach, neck, chest, and thighs if the baby is wearing a diaper or tight clothing. They can be itchy and your baby might get irritated and try to rub that affected area. It will go away on its own within 2 to 3 days if you cool down the baby’s temperature.  If there are too many bumps in one specific area, it means the heat rash is severe. If it is mild, only 2 to 3 tiny red bumps will appear on your baby’s body.

Prickly heat rash also known as Miliaria can occur in people of all ages but babies are more susceptible to it because their Sweat glands are not fully developed like in adults hence they get overheated and sweat a lot whenever they do a little bit of activity like feeding, walking, playing, crawling, etc. This sweat clogs the pores of the baby’s skin and develops a rash in that area. If the bumps are mild you can treat them at home but if they are severe you need a doctor’s advice or else your baby may get a heatstroke which can be very dangerous.

• Clothe your baby in loose comfortable cotton shirts and shorts with half sleeves or sleeveless in summer. Tight and warm clothes will make the heat rash even worse.
• Keep the baby under a fan or AC.
• Bath your baby twice or thrice a day in the summer without applying soap to the rash area.
• If the baby is very irritable due to the rash apply an ice cube covered in a cloth gently on the affected area.
• Leave that affected area open to the air.
• You can apply pure aloe vera gel and coconut oil.
• There are some powders available in the market like shower-to-shower powder, Boro Plus, etc, and other lotions too. Take advice from your doctor before applying these powders and lotions because the baby’s skin is very sensitive and you may not know how will his skin react to them. I applied shower-to-shower powder to my baby when he developed a heat rash at 10 months of age during summer.
• Always keep the baby hydrated with water and fruit juices. Coconut water, buttermilk, sabudana kheer, barley water, lassi, watermelon, muskmelon, apple, and curd are great options to give during summer to your baby. If your baby is under 6 months of age breastfeed him every 2 hours to keep him hydrated.
• During peak summers, don’t take your baby outside from 10 am to 5 pm.
• Let your baby play with water or be in his bathtub for a little longer. They will enjoy it and water gives a cooling effect to your baby’s skin.
• Let your baby go nude during peak summers in the afternoon time. You can give him just a diaper or reusable diapers in summer.