What is Miliaria?
Miliaria (prickly heat) is a rash that develops in some people when they sweat more than usual. The rash is sometimes called a ‘sweat rash’ or a ‘heat rash’. The rash is not usually serious, but it can be itchy and uncomfortable. What causes miliaria? Miliaria is due to blockage of sweat ducts. You have thousands of sweat glands that lie just under the skin surface. These glands make sweat which travels down the sweat duct to the skin surface. If the sweat gland is blocked, the sweat seeps into the nearby skin. This causes tiny pockets of inflammation which causes the rash. What blocks the sweat ducts? Some people are more prone to miliaria than others. It seems that a bacteria called Staphylococcus epidermidis may play a role. This bacterium lives harmlessly on the skin and miliaria is not an infection. However, this bacterium makes a sticky substance. This substance combined with excess sweat and dead skin cells may cause the blockage. One study reports that people who develop miliar
Miliaria is a rash which is caused by blockage of the sweat glands. You may also hear it called “heat rash” or “prickly heat,” in a reference to the conditions associated with miliaria. This condition is not dangerous, but it should be avoided if possible and treated when it arises to prevent the onset of infections, some of which can be serious. It is also sometimes helpful to visit a doctor to make sure that a rash is really miliaria, rather than another condition which looks similar. This condition is especially common in children, perhaps because their sweat glands are not fully developed, and it tends to appear in skin folds or in areas which are heavily chafed. Classic miliaria rubra, the most benign form of miliaria, can look like a series of pimples with reddish skin between them. When a patient experiences repeated episodes of miliaria, it is known as miliaria profunda, and it can lead to miliaria pustolsa, a situation where the skin is actually infected. Miliaria is linked wi
