Thank you everyone. Just need another holiday to try out your good advice! Trouble is I'm going to Norway in Summer, not quite sure this will count! Never mind - at least no PH or sun allergy or whatever it might be!!

I've suffered from prickly heat for about 7 years. It completely ruined my holidays and made my time abroad miserable.
A few years ago in tenerife a holiday rep saw me and noticed the state of my arms. I use to come out it itchy red rashes but also big blisters and lumps. He arranged for a suncream consultant to come and visit me that evening and she recommended the Absolutely Natural suncream range. Before hand I had tried every suncream imagineable, high factors, childrens creams, infra red cream blockers but nothing worked. Its completely natural and has aloe vera in it which opens up the pores and allows the skin to breathe and sweat. I bought some to try and it was a miracle. I spent the last remaining 5 days of my holiday ouside in the sun and managed to tan and ever since I have had no bother at all with prickly heat. The downsides are the cream is a little more expensive and is quite thick to go on, it has to be dabbed and patted on rather than rubbed in. As a result it is more visible than other suncreams and you do look a bit white with it on. But for me its worth it as I can enjoy my holidays now and even get a good tan as well. It comes in a range of factors and they also have a excellent after sun which is good as it opens the pores also and soothes the skin and they also have a fab recovery gel which is for sunburn. I honestly couldn't recommend this range of products enough, it may not work for everyone but its certainly worked for me and allows me to fully enjoy my holidays.

Hi, thanks for that info. Could you tell us where you purchase the Absolutely Natural product?

I have used the Absolutley Natural products in Fuerteventura last Easter and they were lovely. I bought mine from the suncare rep at the hotel, but you can order them online CLICK HERE They are a bit more expensive than normal suncreams but I got a nice colour and had no rashes or problems.

i suffered from PH this year whilst I used Piz Buin, I just took antihistimes everyday and had no probems at all

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!

I have a sun allergy ( PMLE) I used to get it really bad as a child esp arms,chest,thighs

Doctors recommend staying out of the sun ! yeah really helpful lol

I take antihistamines whenever the sun is out! also i take a betacarotene supplement

I use calypso / Malibu dry oil sun spray ( factor 20 or 30) ( i am fair skinned but tan eventually)

and <touch wood> i dont get it anymore
if iv'e forgotten to take the supplement i sometimes get a few red spots on my arms but nothing like i used to !

what is betacarotene? where do you get it. i am going to try the homeopathy treatment which is "sol" and "urtica".
really weird, i am up most nights lately with a bad rash and itching terribly on my chest and neck but sat out in the sun for an hour yesterday with no sun cream(didn't realise i would be so long)got a very pink colour on my chest but no prickly heat!

just read up on betacarotene and smokers shouldn't take it. guess thats me out!

Thats me out too Ali. Just as well I went to the docs this afternoon and he gave me a script for the cortizone tabs. 1 x 5mg tab per day but he said I must still use a good sunscreen with a minimum of 15. Thats fine with me, I was just getting really bothered about getting it again, PH hasnt healed up yet from the start of May, still scabby and fed up with the scars it leaves. We're off on Saturday so, I took the bull by the horns and went in saying I wanted cortizone and he said "yep, no problem, youre sensible in the sun, wear a high factor, tried everything else, so why not! He gave me enough for this holiday and Septembers. I really, really hope this is gonna be my saviour, maybe I'm hoping too much as I do every time I go on hols. I think, OK this time I wont get it because of this, or because Ive taken that. It just ruins my holidays and as the doc said, its better he gives me a script for it than me go to the clinic abroad and have a cortisone jab! So, I'll let you all know how I get on, we should be able to enjoy the little bit of sunshine we get.

good for you karen.
i went to docs today too and he would not give me anything for it! infact he said that there is "absolutely nothing on the market to stop prickly heat"! i think he lied, maybe i should have mentioned steroids but he made me feel so rushed and that it was nothing! hope it works for you though.

Thats a shame Ali - can you go and see another doctor and really emphasise how you suffer? It's got to be worth a try and they are low dosage so wont do any damage. I looked up about Betacarotene and they dont recommend it to smokers as it may increase the risk of lung cancer! So, I suppose if youre a smoker anyway it increases the risk too much! Interesting though, I didnt know that. You live and learn eh!

Ali, I think you should change your doctor!!!
Is there another GP at your surgery? If so, I would make appt with them and ask again.!
I would also go armed with some info of the internet and if they say there is no such thing, I would then show them the info.
Denny

Well said Denny - I took photographs of my skin (real close ups) to show the doctor a few years back, I even phoned my daughter from holiday to make me an appointment for the day I came home so I could go and show the doc in person. Its only when they see if for themselves they realise how bad some people can get PH. My doc is brill and knows how Ive suffered so was only too pleased to help. Go back and see another GP Ali. Those of us who have the tabs can come back from our hols and say how we got on and other sufferes may go and get the tabs too. Think of it as a public service to PH sufferers

Hi ali781, before going back in on the bounce to your doctor you need to try and establish whether the symptoms are due to Prickly Heat or a sun-related allergy. The first question to ask yourself is whether the rash appears on exposed skin only - if it does then there's a good chance that it's a result of skin being highly sensitive to sun exposure. If on the other hand it mainly appears on unexposed skin then there's a good chance it's PH - the classic site for it is around the waistband area or any area where skin touches skin a lot eg the back of knees, inner thighs. The best treament will largely depend on whether it is PH or a case of photo-sensitivity.

From the brief details of your symptoms that you mention in one of your earlier posts - about the rash appearing on your chest - then that sounds more like a photo-sensitivity condition rather than PH to me. I would suggest that you go back to your GP and discuss in more detail your actual symptoms so that s/he can establish the cause of the rash. Steroids are very poweful drugs and I would be wary of any GP who just presecribed them without being absolutely sure of the causes of your skin condition. PH is caused by blocked pores and prevention by ensuring that the pores don't become blocked will always be better than treatment after the event. Whereas photo-sensitivity conditions, like many allergy conditions, can be minimised by the use of steroids but even then, finding the right sun protection for your skin will always help too. I find that Boots range for sun sensitive skin is very good and frequent application of it, along with avoiding the mid-day sun keeps mine under control.

SM

thanks all
my rash is on chest, neck, round waistband, inside elbows, backs of knees, top of back and very top of legs! not much that doesn't get covered!
i had to wait 2 weeks for that appointment! and i never see the same doctor twice!

Oh bless you Ali - I can totally empathise - anywhere thats exposed to the sun except hands and face - strange isnt it? I think SM is right, I think we have sun sensitivity rather than PH. I would suggest you take some photo's and show it to a different GP. Tell him you've tried everything (which it sounds like you have) and it just makes any time you spend in the sun miserable. Go on, make another appointment - please

not sure about the sun sensitive bit as mine started this year about 8 weeks ago before we had any sun. when it started i was fine during the day it was at night in bed, i was waking up at 2 or 3 making my upper chest red raw with scratching. the doc did give me some cream though and last night it was o.k. he gave me aquious(spelling) with menthol to cool the skin and a hydrocortizone cream, i think he said it had steroid in it too. its called fusidin.
my chest skin is now all dry and looks like a piece of leather!

Mmmm - doesnt sound like sun sensitivity then Ali - very strange though that its on your chest as thats where the skin is thinnest. Lots of cream Ali, and lots of moisturiser, it will get better. My chest and neck have looked like croc skin from PH and although there is quite a bit of damage, thread veins, blood vessels at the surface etc, for my age its not too bad! I havent got that crepey look - yet!! The steroid cream will plump it a bit anyway. Could you be allergic to something, perfume, jewellery ? Mind you, you can catch the sun through clouds even on the dullest day and that area always seems to be exposed even a little unless youre wearing a polo neck of course!

Hi Ali,

It doesn't sound like you're photo-sensitive if it's appearing on skin that wasn't beene xposed to sunlight - but then it doesn't sound like classic PH either. Would it be indelicate to ask how old you are? Some of us women can develop a hormone related urticaria-type rash on the upper chest as a menopausal symptom and it can aggrevated by 'night sweats' in that case. Or it could be a allergic reaction to something other than the sun. My Mum has always had a bad skin reaction to soft 'berry' fruits - strawberries, raspberries etc. It starts out looking like a nettle/PH type rash but can rapidly turn into great wheals and blisters if she starts scratching. She always seems to be ultra-sensitive to insect bites too.

It might be worth asking your doctor to refer you for 'patch' skin testing - if it responded well to hydrocortisone cream then there is a good chance that it could actually be an allergic reaction to something you ate or your skin came into contact with. It could even be something that hasn't been a problem in the past - sometimes over exposure to something can then lead to this sort of increased sensitivity.

SM

sm. i am 42. never really thought about other things it could be as i assumed it was P.H as i do get it on my chest when abroad. i also get it when on the treadmill, i can feel myself starting to itch when i get sweaty and hot. last holiday i found using oil rather than cream better and did use a sunbed beforehand. when i started to get it bad on the chest i switched to coppertone oil-free lotion and that helped, strange as the ordinary oil was fine to begin with. our bodies are peculiar things! also i have been on a diet since january and lost lots of weight so i thought i might be lacking in something so have now started multivitimins too. i have bought the "sol" and "urtica" homeopathy tablets so will start the sol 1 week before going this year. as these are natural they should do me no harm even if its not P.H. will try anything for a scratch free life!