Health Watch is a Public Service of the Office of News and Publications and is intended to provide general information only and should not replace the advice of a medical professional. You should contact your physician if you have questions about any of these topics.
In much of the country, we’re on the home stretch for summer. The season isn’t over yet, but relief from the heat is in sight. This week on Health Watch, we’ll talk about ways you can get through the last weeks of summer more comfortably.
On hot, humid days, you may develop a skin rash known as prickly heat. It looks like a patch of little red bumps that come up on the neck, upper chest, elbows, groin, under arms or under breasts — or any place where skin folds touch. Prickly heat happens when sweat glands are clogged and sweat gets trapped beneath the skin. It happens to people of all ages, but the elderly and babies seem most susceptible. Dr. Amit Pandya, a dermatologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center, says these rashes are generally more annoying than serious.
Next, we’ll talk about what you can do to treat prickly heat — or to avoid it entirely.
###
August 2007
Health Watch is heard Monday through Friday nationwide on ABC Satellite Radio. Call your local radio station and ask if they carry the program.
