Prickly Heat

Hello, I have what I think is prickly heat, I have had it for about 3-4 months now and I  started to notice it when it started to get really cold outside and I started taking hot long showers. When ever I work out or have to do some kind of physical activity at work that would cause me to sweat most of my body especially my chest stomach and back starts to itch really bad and little red bumps that look almost like red goose bumps show up, and it usually itches until I stop sweating and cool down. I did a good amount of research on it and found many things like stay out of hot humid situations take many showers apply aloe to the skin, and I have been doing all of these things including taking cool showers and using ati-bacti soaps and daily exfoliating cleanser to clean out the blocked sweat pores for the past week but nothing seems to be working yet. The main info that I am seeking is how can I stop prickly heat from occurring because I would love to get back to working out and I want to play basketball out side in the summer time without having excessive itching. Any information will be extremely helpful. Thank You.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

You may have cholinergic urticaria, non-allergic hives that occur after exposure to heat or after exercising.  Try taking an over-the-counter, non-sedating antihistamine like loratadine (Claritin) or cetirizine (Zyrtec) once a day for ten days to see if that works.  If not, or of unsure how to proceed, please see a doctor in person.  Photograph the bums when you go, or else exercise before the visit so the doctor can see the rash.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff