I am Mae German. 34 years old. Born in Mangatarem, province of Pangasinan. I was taught and trained by 
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Red Corner Skin Rashes.
Red Corner Skin Rashes. | Skin Rashes. |
| Saturday, 18 June 2011 | |
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Two or three weeks ago, the temperature in New York started going up to the higher 90s. At some point it even almost reached a hundred degree Fahrenheit (well, it almost felt like it). I knew I had to start applying sunblock with that scourging heat of the the sun (and it wasn't even summer yet). So I did. I forgot about my lips, hence, the sunburnt lips that I got. It left some tiny black spots when it started healing. To protect my lips from burning again, I bought a lip balm with SPF8 (then lately found SPF20, which works for me better). But then again, I forgot about my ears. Lately I can feel it burning, too. Too late (burnt and itchy already) but I know I should not allow it to worsen, so religiously, I wear sunblock. Then I found out that wearing sunblock the whole day (Storm Cloud and I do our walk twice to thrice a day), is not good for the skin. Rashes started coming out on my arms. At first I thought it was something that I ate. Could it be the crab? But I do not have any (food) allergy. I stopped eating seafood for a week (and because I haven't thought about the possibility of the sunblock effect, I continued with it). The rashes did not subside. In fact, it became worse. There was even a night that I woke up like a crazy woman scratching my whole body and almost crying and so tempted to scream. The next day, I bought some topical cream and spray for the itch. I even bought cornstarch powder. I knew then that it is not because I am suddenly allergic to seafood (thank God!) and it is not because I stayed too long in a place where a guy was having some black and milds. And because I cannot afford a visit to a dermatologist and I believe in trial and elimination (food allergy, no.), I started doing my usual research. That left me with Skin Asthma and the common heat rash. Skin Asthma, they said could be watery. Mine weren't. Again, a relief. So I focused my research on the common heat rash and found the website of MedicineNet.com so helpful. Here are some information that I got from them: The skin's job is to protect the inside of the body from the outside world, and acts as a preventive barrier against intruders (for example, infection, chemicals, or ultraviolet light). It also plays an important role in the body's temperature control. One way that the body cools itself is by sweating and allowing that sweat or perspiration to evaporate. Sweat is manufactured in sweat glands that line the entire body (except for a few small spots like fingers, toenails, and the ear canal).
Sweat glands are located in the dermis or deep layer of the skin and are regulated by the temperature control centers in the brain. Sweat from the gland gets to the surface of the skin by a duct. A heat rash occurs when sweat ducts become clogged and the sweat can't get to the surface of the skin. Instead, it becomes trapped beneath the skin's surface causing mild inflammation or rash. Heat rash is also called prickly heat or miliaria. The sweat gland ducts can get blocked if excessive sweating occurs, and that sweat is not allowed to evaporate from a specific area. Some examples of how blockage may occur include the following:
So there it is-- prickly heat on my arms, a little on my neck, and some on my ears. (Bungang araw lang! Salamat sa Diyos!) I couldn't give up walking, hence, I shouldn't stop applying sunblock, right? If you have a choice between skin cancer and prickly heat, what would you choose? Boy, I wouldn't choose any! This heat rash is like living with skin cancer every day! What I do now is wash my face, neck, and arms (Oh! I forgot to mention I have some rashes on my legs now, so yes, I wash my legs, too) after every walk so my skin could breathe. And since my rashes are not yet healed, I have this antihistamine spray and roll-on (when the itch is at its worst), the cornstarch powder, and the hydrocortisone cream (it's anti-itch, too, but it seems to heal the rashes better than the antihistamine). On my lips, I use vitamin E and sometimes petroleum jelly. I just hope these rashes would go away soon. Like, now, please? |
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