Tetracycline, heat rash?

I was taking tetracycline and within the past two weeks (the first of those I was ending my scrip) I found that I ended up with a rash (itchy, small spots that looks like chicken pox, not painful) on my torso if I got extremely hot while at the gym.  Also - I had previously been tanning, which I learned was a bad idea.
Can Tetracycline cause you to be more susceptible to getting heat rash? (and will it go away on it's own within anoter couple of weeks or so as the antibiotic is out of my system?)
Or is this a more serious problem and I need to see a doctor?

[DrBhumikaMD]

Hi,
Tetracyclines are known to cause skin photosensitivity as a side effect. Exposure to sun or intense light is to be avoided. This must have already been explained to you before the medication was prescribed.
Why are you taking the tetracyclines?
Now that you have a skin rash, it would be advisable to stop taking the medication. If you still need to take an antibiotic, ask your doctor to change the medication. The rash will gradually subside on its own. But if it severe, you could try application of calamine lotion which acts as a soothing agent and also use a medicated sunscreen at all times.
If the rash still persists, you would need to consult your dermatologist.
Hope this helps.
Good luck.

[ecegautam]

Hi!
I am also getting these heat rashes in the manner similar to the post of the gentleman above. I would like to add some more details to my situation so that you could narrow down your diagnosis.
I understand that heat rashes come as small boils as the sweat pores are blocked and as the sweat tries to come out at the hair follicle. When there is no place for the sweat to come out, we get the rashes i.e., boils (the skin looks like I have chicken pox). Hope I have got this right.
Now in my situation. I am getting these whenever I feel like sweating or when the muscles are heated (say while lifting something). I get these boils only on my chest, abdomen and ventral section of my hand. No where else!
Suddenly in a span of 5 seconds I can literally see the boils bulge along with this intense burning sensation, as if something very hot is trying to come out of the pores. I mean I can literally see the boils bulge right before my eyes. The prickly feeling is so irritating that I feel like jumping up and down. I realised that this was making me sweat more so I stopped. Ha ha. As long as I am in the same condition they remain. But if I take a quick cold shower or if I stand at a very cool breezy place, they disappear in 5 minutes as if nothing happened. The skin looks like chicken pox and in 5 minutes it is so clear that you won't be able to tell that it looked like a war field 5 minutes ago. I have gone through this whole cycle three times now. And I am very worried. Today I got them in the store when I tried to lift something heavy. Thought it was mid noon and the sun was shining ever so brightly, I rushed out as it was breezy and cold out side. And as predicted they all vanished in 15 minutes.
I am in San Jose California now. I was in Chennai, the hottest place on earth for 10 years for heaven's sake and I know what heat is!! I was perfectly alright for ten years though some people I knew were getting these heat rashes. I don't know why this is happening to me.
I am under no medication whatsoever!
I generally sweat a lot but when I played basketball, I was sweating only from my face and not from my arms. This was weird to me. So the sweat pore blockage theory made more sense.
I think Chennai is very hot but Humid and San Jose is hot but absolutely not humid. I feel that has played some part. Kindly tell me what to do. I cannot go through this agonizing experience everytime I feel like sweating.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi ecegautam,

The skin contains pores which are located just near the hair follicles. When the sweat releases, these pores contract and the sweat is released on to the surface. Some areas of the body may have more active sweat glands than others. They may also vary based on the amount of sweat which may need to be released. The condition you describe does not appear to be alarming, however, it is best that you visit your doctor and demonstrate this to your doctor, who would make the final decision whether this is physiological or pathological.

Hope this helped.

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