goodtoknow says: Heat rash is common in children and especially in young adults. It's sometimes called heat bumps or prickly heat, but its proper medical title is miliaria. The small red spots usually appear within a few minutes of your child sweating, mainly on their chest, back and arms. Prickly heat is caused by blocked sweat glands, sometimes triggered by a sudden bout of sweating if your child's in the heat of the sun, for example. The best way to avoid prickly heat happening is to keep your child out of the sun and well covered with a baggy T-shirt and sun hat plus lots of high factor sun cream to avoid sunburn too. If heat rash does flare-up anti-histamines can help.

For a full medical explanation of the causes, symptoms and treatments of heat rash and prickly heat from patient.co.uk, read on.

Prickly heat is an itchy skin rash. It is sometimes called miliaria. It may occur when you sweat a lot. The main treatment is to keep cool as much as possible. A mild steroid cream may also help.

What causes prickly heat?

Prickly heat is thought to be due to blockage of the sweat glands. This can occur when we sweat a lot such as when on holiday in a hot country. Heat, sticky sweat, dead skin cells, and dead bacteria on the skin may all contribute to blocking the sweat glands. If the sweat gland is blocked, the sweat seeps into the nearby skin. This causes tiny pockets of inflammation which causes the rash.

The rash may begin within a few days of arrival in a tropical climate. However, it might develop weeks, or even months, later. Babies and obese people are more prone to prickly heat.

Prickly heat can also occur in cooler climates when sweating is a problem. For example, people who lie on their back for long periods due to illness may get prickly heat on their back.

• Next: What are the symptoms of prickly heat?

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