Nicola, I used to suffer like you, but my advice would be to carry on with the antihistamine whilst on holiday and I always use Piz Buin Allergy. I have never had a problem with prickly heat since Ive been doing this.

Hi Marcy-lou

Read all the previous posts, there is lots of advice on there - some works for some people and not for others. I think you just have to try different things to see what works for you. Calcium tabs are supposed to help too! My best bit of advice would be to use only sun screen with a five star UVA rating as its the UVA that seems to be the cause of PH. Hope you enjoy your holiday

i will give them a try for hubby too

When you get too hot your body releases histamines causing this rash. I have sufford for a few years from this too, untill last holiday. I didnt get an ounce of it (I usually get it very severe head to toe!). I use SIMPLE sun care cream factor 30 and take strong (prescribed by gp) antihistermine tablets daily to prevent any rash. I also have a cold shower when I get in from the heat and the use nothing but SIMPLE after sun, even to miosturise with before I go out. Remember, dont over do it in the sun. I'd rather be pasty white then spotty and itchy!

Well, just come back two days ago from Spain - weather was not even that great but the dreaded prickly heat has come back with a vengence. I have suffered from prickly heat for 8 years now and as someone who enjoys three foreign holidays a year I have come to the end of my tether with it all. My chest looks like I have been rolled in nettles, my knees, upper arms and ankles are just as bad. I have tried everything - sunbeds for a few weeks before each holiday, clarityn 3 weeks before and during each holiday, eurax cream, prickly heat cream bought in cyrpus and nothing seems to prevent it. I finally thought I had cracked it on a holiday to the carribean last year and did not get prickly heat once, as I took clarityn 3 weeks before and during the hols, with sunbeds before also. But it re-appeared on my next juant a few months later, despite doing the same pre-holiday regime.

if anyone out there has any prevention tips I would be delighted, I am away at the end of July for a month this time and dread the thought of spending the 4 weeks looking that I have been attacked by killer bees. I am going to the GP next week to ask for some prescription antihystimine tables - can anyone recommend any good prescription ones.

thanks

x

You could ask about low dose steroids. You need a script for them, and not all GP's are willing to prescribe them. After 15+ years of suffering my new GP mentioned them. SUCCESS at last. Last few holidays, no rash,no itching and no sitting under a parasol after the first couple of days.
Denny

I know exactly how you feel Mum2Holly - it really gets you down doesnt it. Funny you said that you didnt get it in the Caribbean - I NEVER get it there! May be the sun is different or the ozone layer isnt as damaged there - who knows! You could try the low dose steroids as Denny suggests - I think you've suffered long and bad enough! Prescription from the doctor for a low dose cant do any harm surely! I'm still waiting to hear back from the homeopath I emailed. If I dont hear from him with something he can suggest, I'm going to go for the steroids. Its just not worth suffering any more!

i have to say after suffering for 20 years, and trying everything.......my new doctor prescribed me some low dose steriods, and touch wood last year in turkey, in july, it worked.....i could have cried with relief.....and they do sell them in turkey , at the chemist quite cheaply..so i will take my english box, and ask for some more,......

but, they can have side effects, so speak to your gp, dont just get some from abroad......if its also bad, you can ask in the chemist abroad, and some of them do steriod injections......

Try Salcurra Sun N Tan available from Victoriahelath.com Just type prickly heat in the search box. It is expensive around £19 but well worth it in my opinion. I discovered it 2 years ago and have not looked back since. You spray it on around 20 minutes before going into the sun. Let it dry for a while before applying your usual suncream. It certainly gets my vote.

HI

can you tell me what steroids these are please.........?
i would be interested in finding out more, and speaking to my doctor about these.

i tend to get prickly heat, even if i dont sunbathe, i think it is the body over heating.
then i find that certain suntan creams and oils, and then aftersun aggrevate.

also my dad, has had an ongoing "skin" problem for the last two years since having shingles; he lives abroad, and thought that these might help, as he has bumps and itching, and blistering and scraches and makes himself bleed;
no matter what drugs he has taken, and biopsies, and cream the condition is still there, and it is getting him down, to the point his skin looks brown and brusied from the constant scratching.

he would probably be able to get these drugs over the counter, and look up all about them on the internet.

thanks

So, this goes under your sunscreen not instead of? What SPF suncreen do you put on top? Any particular brand you recommend?

Yes Karen under sunscreen, but it needs a little time to absorb before putting sunscreen on. I've got into the habit of spraying the Salcurra before I go to breakfast then putting sunscreen on when I return. I use Piz Buin 20 or 15 or L'Oreal. I've also found that I'm much better if I dry off, before lying on a wet towel. I use a hand towel to dry off, and that way, there isn't a wet, hot towel, letting off steam beneath me.

Thanks for your advice Helen. Certainly worth trying! Lets hope I have a prickle free holiday next week. I'll let you know how I get on. Thanks again.

when i had to see the doctor in tenerife, he gave me some cream like that, that you put under your sun cream..it didnt work for me.....

but maybe this stuff would ? worth a try.......thanks

K & R it's not a cream it's a liquid spray, and I would definitely do the towelling off business as well.

I have just read through all pages and am still a little confused as to whether i have prickly heat or sun allergy. I think probably sun allergy as not affected where my clothes are, but still not 100%. Anyway, Helen T, is it prickly heat that you definitely suffer from, as am wondering if spray would be good for sun allergy also? Getting quite confused as to what to do for PH and what to do for sun allergy, as some of the suggestions tend to be contradictory and don't want to make it worse inadvertently. So, to clarify, what advice would any one give for sun allergy? Thanks everyone - just got back from crete and was affected badly in comparison to other years. Always used piz buin allergy in past which i found quite good, but this year not so - however, it was a bottle left over from last year, must admit! Just feels like very hard to pin point what is helpful and what is not as so many things might make a difference!

Hi, for a sun allergy I can recommend the sun sensitive Soltan range from Boots. It comes in white packaging rather than the orange of their standard range and I've found it extremely effective - I've used it for years.

SM

Hi BSC

PH can have other symptoms, like dizzyness or a fuzzy head and the rash is really itchy.
I'm not sure if sun allergies give these symptoms.

I am suffering from PH just now and its driving me mad. It had calmed down this morning but had shower too hot and it started it up again.
Its bad enough having it on holidays I've come to expect that, but I've never had it at home.

Lynn

BSC - I never get it at home, even when I sit out in the sun - so I'm putting it down to PH. I do take anti histamine for a month before I go, and continue it throughout the holiday. I combine this with the Salcurra , and the towelling down and not lying on a wet towel. I find this works for me. I also take frequent dips in the pool or the sea, at least one dip every 45 mins if I'm out in the sun for any length of time.