Heat rash?

Brucie

Registered User
Jan 31, 2004
12,413
0
near London
Last week I noticed Jan had a large rash above the top of her trousers.

I alerted the home who said they had seen it and believed it to be a heat rash.

I asked them to have the doctor examine her, which she did and agreed it was a heat rash.

Yesterday when I saw her it was still there and I asked them to check again [see picture - it doesn't look nice]. I thought it might be shingles but was told definitely not.

The problem, as always is that Jan can't say whether it bothers her. She appears to be unaware of it.

Her arms and legs are clear of the rash.

Any thoughts?

The Web tells me there may be 70 possible :eek: causes...
 

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Margarita

Registered User
Feb 17, 2006
10,824
0
london
One of my daughter use to get heat rash in Gibraltar , on her forehead .

Did look like Jan heat rash

she never said it was itch , Just did not look nice did they give Jan any cream ?
 

Gromit

Registered User
Apr 3, 2006
187
0
Edinburgh
Might work....

Brucie,

Sorry to hear about this rash - and it doesn't look very comfortable. Last year I had a similar rash - though it started with one patch that was bigger than the others (called a herald spot) turns out it was Pityriasis rosea which is a very harmless rash (though it was very annoying) and usually disappears in approx 8 weeks. I don't think it is very common in older people though.

I've attached a link for you to see if it sounds similar..

http://www.bad.org.uk/public/leaflets/rosea.asp

...if it doesn't then the website may still be of use to you as it is the British Dermatology website.

I also suffer on holiday from heat rashes and that dreaded prickly heat (I'm one of those factor 60 people!!). Anyway, for both the Rosea rash and my prickly heat I swear by Eurax cream. Is easy to get (Boots have it) and it got rid of the symptoms really quickly. My hubby got a sweat rash once and we used it on him and it worked.

Its also good for bites and stings too.

Maybe it could help?

Hope Jan gets better soon.

Love
Alison
x
 

Grannie G

Volunteer Moderator
Apr 3, 2006
81,443
0
Kent
Hi Bruce,

That rash looks nasty. As it`s localised, could it be chaffing [sp?] from the top of her waistband? Is she trying to move herself and causing friction against her clothing. Has the home changed its brand of washing detergent.
Would calomine lotion cool it down.

I hope you get it sorted.

Love xx
 

jenniferpa

Registered User
Jun 27, 2006
39,442
0
I have to say that that looks a lot like the rash my mother ended up with when she was last in hospital: in that case it covered her whole body and most definitely itched, since in areas where she could reach she scratched until she bled. The best guess for that was some non-specific allergy, possibly contact. However, it didn't respond to anti-histamines. and eventually it came down to treating the symptom (the itchy skin) with various lotions and several weeks later it subsided. They did take skin scrapings to rule out impetigo.

Jennifer
 

Margarita

Registered User
Feb 17, 2006
10,824
0
london
Yes and if you think about it , in care home they do have the heating on all the time, so must get quite hot .

then what they wear , thats why I say about cotton , as I had to get every thing sheets pillow case clothes in cotton to avoid , heat rash in any of us

My daughter use to wear those hat , that the young kids like to wear now days & with the sun heat in Gibraltar its no wonder she got that rush , keep telling her but she would not listen , till she got the rush.


Ps Just remember something my mother use to that type of rush under her breast , they is a talcum powered that is Antiseptic , can't remember the name that help clear it up also Antiseptic healing cream Sudocrem , since I got that from last year Sudocrem , the carer always cream her with that under her breast , and cream all her body with Cream Naturally soft Body lotion , and mum bra are all cotton now

and the rush has never come back
 
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Taffy

Registered User
Apr 15, 2007
1,314
0
Hi Bruce
This rash does look similiar to what my uncle had when he was in the nursing home, when the surrounding temperature was lowered the rash would clear up in a few days. My daughter-in-law also gets eczema which is not unlike this photo, caused mainly by washing powders and the rash persists for over a week, I hope that they soon get to the bottom of it, as it looks to be quite uncomfortable, sorry I can't be of much help, but hope the rash clears up soon. Taffy.
 

DeborahBlythe

Registered User
Dec 1, 2006
9,222
0
All sorts of things can produce rashes and reactions. It might be elastic, for example. ( Usual suspect is socks with over-elasticated tops but it might also be in the trouser waistband, triggering the rash, if the waistband was directly next to the skin instead of protected by a blouse).
I have a tendency to rashes and excema and have been told to use no soaps or lotions which contain perfumes of any kind. I wash using aqueaous cream and water. When I was a child I used to notice that I came out in a rash whenever I had a bath and used to think I was allergic to water!

As an adult. one hot summer I had a similar rash to the one Jan has, which spread from my feet upwards. It was triggered by an allergy to leather, or rather to the tannin used in dyeing leather. I now have to avoid any shoes where the leather touches the skin directly, or else always wear socks or synthetic shoes. Although the leather was the trigger, the rash spread all up both legs and was aggravated by the heat.

I think the advice to keep Jan cool is good as well as to ask the question about whether they have changed their washing powder.
 

zonkjonk

Registered User
Mar 1, 2007
290
0
Melbourne, Australia
Brucie,
I would agree that it is not shingles
My mum had shingles and it looked more like someone had taken to her with a whip with ugly weeping slashes of rash across her breast under her armpit and across her back
shingles causes intense pain, My mum had shingles for about 5 days
she lived with my brother and did not tell him of her discomfort because it was "womens business"
(being on her breast)
I picked her up at 10.00 am one sat morning and at about 4.00 that arvo she said
" I want to show you something, I think something is wrong"
I was SHOCKED when I saw her shingles and she smelt AWFUL
that day she stopped wearing a bra and has never done again because of the pain.
it took weeks to clear up and she still suffers from pain from the nerve damage

I agree with everyone else, it is either an allergic rash or a heat rash
Good luck with sorting it out.
Warm regards,
Jo
 

janetruth

Registered User
Mar 20, 2007
563
0
nuneaton
Hi Brucie

As you say you do not kmow if your poor Jan is suffering any discomfort, as if she hasn't got enough to contend with.
Is the rash just on her front or is her back the same?
Has one of the carers been ill?
There are so many thinga it could be and you have to trust what the Doctor says.
You said you first noticed it last week and it was still there yesterday.
How long does heat rash last ?
Hope it gets better soon, whatever it is and doesn't come back to cause more concern.
Take Care Bye for now
Janetruth x
 

Nell

Registered User
Aug 9, 2005
1,170
0
72
Australia
I have absolutely NO medical knowledge so take what I say with a pinch of salt!! However, I think I'd be asking for a skin scraping to ensure it isn't impetigo. Dad had impetigo which looked a bit like this and the doctor simply said "pricky heat" for weeks before it was properly diagnosed. Impetigo is a nasty thing and VERY contagious. If any carer had it, it could be easily passed on during personal care routines.

I hope it is not impetigo, for Jan's sake. But if it is, it needs proper treatment.

(Sorry to be such a misery!! :eek: )
 

Brucie

Registered User
Jan 31, 2004
12,413
0
near London
Thanks everyone for your replies!

Hopefully the doctor examined Jan yesterday. I'll find out what she said when I visit today.

For someone who is either sat in a chair for ages, or on a mattress on the floor for ages [mattress covered with a nylon sheet], who is in the same clothes for long periods of the day, who wears pads, who is in a home without aircon in hot weather [she does have a huge radial fan that helps immensely].... there could be many causes.
Nell said:
I think I'd be asking for a skin scraping to ensure it isn't impetigo
I think they would have spotted that since Jan has had impetigo around her nose at the home in the past - however, I'll raise the possibility with them today.

I have a few things to go on now, thanks to your replies!
 

Margarita

Registered User
Feb 17, 2006
10,824
0
london
Oh Dear I would take the [mattress covered with a nylon sheet], nylon sheets away & by my own cotton sheets if they won't supply them , while Jan got that rash or forever
 

connie

Registered User
Mar 7, 2004
9,519
0
Frinton-on-Sea
Do hope you have some better news on this front Bruce. It must be distressing for Jan, but as you say she cannot complain verbally.

Since Lionel has had his new chair, and then the care home ordered him a new electric bed and hoist, I thought we would be settled for a little while.

Oh no, today he has a pressure sore starting. District nurse arrived to dress it and he has ordered Lionel a new type of pressure mattress.............but the real cause of this problem is the new hoist.

It has a fully body casing, rather like a shroud, but it has to be lowered with Lionel in it onto his chair, then lifted back to the bed, still with Lionel in it..............it is made of nylon. I am going to see if they will let me sew a cotton inner in it. Cannot see what else to do.

Thinking of Jan, hope the rash is subsiding, love n'hugs
 

Brucie

Registered User
Jan 31, 2004
12,413
0
near London
Hi everyone - thanks for your concern on this.

Well, apparently [I couldn't get a detailed answer as the home manager was not there today] the doctor diagnosed a fungal rash and has prescribed some cream.

The doctor has also arranged for a physiotherapist to see Jan because they are worried at the way she has her neck permanently extended now - it impedes swallowing, besides looking really uncomfortable.

I'll be chasing all this next week after the bank holiday.

Her special chair is broken at present and I'm also chasing that one.

Even the good homes have their bad times....
 

Margarita

Registered User
Feb 17, 2006
10,824
0
london
Please to read that's they have finally told you what Jan rush is . those creams that the doctor give you are good to clear it up , but when the rush go , to prevent it recurring , its good to put Antiseptic creams every day on those area that Jan may get the rush

When you say
they are worried at the way she has her neck permanently extended now - it impedes swallowing, besides looking really uncomfortable.

did it being with ? :-

near at the top behind head top of the spin , as my mother has a swelling top back of head that make her look she going to get a hunch back when she sits down or stands up and her head seem extends , wonder if you don't mind sharing why that happen when you talk to physiotherapist.

I could get physiotherapist in , the career notice it a while back and when she mention it to my mother she got angry saying they nothing wrong her.
 
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