heat rash on legs

[DizzyBell]

Does anyone ever have a problem with a heat rash on your legs. It looks really bad and you get many stares from people wondering what is wrong with your legs. Any ideas of how to avoid this?

 

[Blueberry]

It is caused by the sun and heat reflecting off the pavements in the parks or any large cement area in Florida. My friends call it THEME PARK RASH and most people seem to get it right above your sock line where you break out in a small red rash..

There are several differnt ideas for cures for it...I used sun block just above my socks and it works well, I have also used Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion when I was dressing on my legs and that kept me from getting it also...

It is very itchy and as far as treatment it seems to respond to Aloe Lotion, the kind you buy to use on sunburns or Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion (no I do not work for them or anything I just know it works)

Hope this helps some..some people are more prone to this than others, fair and light skinned people and those from the colder northern climates seem to get it more often...

 

[SnackyStacky]

What Blueberry said!

They used ground glass in the pavement for that shiny look. Looks real nice, but reflects the sun like nobody's business.

Sunscreen should prevent the problem.

As for helping once you've got it, fill the tub with water as cold as you can stand it. That should suck the heat out. Then apply aloe, and a moisturizer.

Hope it clears up really quickly!

 

[Pop Daddy]

pic

 

[phamton]

Well the heat rash I get on my legs isn't a heat rash but is small hemorraging under the skin. I get it even at night so it is not from sun reflecting off the pavement or side walks. Sunscreen makes no difference and even happens when I have on jeans that completely cover my legs. It does stop at the sock line because the elastic in the socks keeps the legs from swelling past the sock line. Anything I can do to stop my legs from swelling keeps me from getting the rash. Putting my feet up or even those nasty support hose or support socks help. Avoid ibuprofin or aspirin as it thins the blood and causes more bleeding.

You need to find out if yours is heat rash, sun allergy, sunburn, or a swelling in the legs. Heat rash causes small bumps like hives on top of the skin. Allergy to the sun is also more like a rash on the outside of the skin. Sunburn is pretty evenly distributednot blotchy. Redness that is competely under the skin and is blotchy on the legs and stops at the sock line is usually broken capillaries from swelling (edema) in the legs. It occurs most often with the 4 f's: Fairskinned, fat, female, and 40. I am fair-skinned, female, and fifty.

 

[Princess_Aurora]

I get the exact same thing if I shave my legs and then start sweating. It's not really a heat rash I don't think...I always thought it was just skin irritation from the sweat.

 

[caitycaity]

sunscreen usually helps with me. i have a sun allergy.

 

[phamton]

Originally posted by Princess_Aurora
I get the exact same thing if I shave my legs and then start sweating. It's not really a heat rash I don't think...I always thought it was just skin irritation from the sweat.

Heat rash -- also called prickly heat or miliaria -- is a common condition in which areas of the skin itch intensely and often feel prickly, or sting, due to overheating. Heat rash looks like tiny bumps surrounded by a zone of red skin. It usually occurs on clothed parts of the body, such as the back, abdomen, neck, upper chest, groin, or armpits and goes away on its own within a few days.

It is a pimply, red skin eruption, which can appear when you overheat in hot or humid weather. It is most noticeable in folds in the skin and on parts of the body where clothing fits snugly, such as the chest, back, stomach, neck, genital area and buttocks. It may also spread across the head and forehead if you wear a hat.

Heat rash seems to arise when you are sweating a lot. It is possible that there is some sort of irritation set up on the skin when you sweat so much that the pores clog up and the sweat cannot be released as fast as it builds up.

Tight, or heavy clothing can trap sweat, and contribute to the rash.

 

[DizzyBell]

Thanks everyone... I believe it is a heat rash. It is bumpy and starts just above the sport sock line. In fact, this area is where it can look real bad. I get this whenever I am in Disney in warm weather. I was there in November for a week and have been there in the winter before.... at those times I did not get the rash. Every time it is hot and humid I end up with this thing about my second day there. People have teased me with "Maybe you are allergic to Disney". Well, since we go to Disney every year for the past thirty years... I think NOT! LOL I will try the lotion and sunscreen. I am blonde and fairskinned and burn very easily. So maybe suncreen will help. It gets real itchy and burns. A few years ago I purchased some cortisone cream and boy oh boy that made it worse. There are no welts as in hives (which I have seen on my son) so... Just a rash that starts above my sock line and travels up my calf. This is the only place where the rash is .... no where else... I have noticed other people in the parks with this rash and I guess we are the unlucky ones
Thanks to you all

 

[Gaspode]

Hiya

I am not a sun worshipper - precisely for this reason! I can get heat rash even here in Britain during the summer but get it worse in FL.

The last few times I've been out there (and when I was living out there for 6 mths) I have started taking nettle tablets (bought at a health store) for a month or so before I've gone and they have really helped! They don't always stop it appearing completely but they do tend to lessen it **a lot**. The other thing that works is an antihistamine prescribed by my doctor, in my case, Zirtec. But I've switched to the nettle tablets in more recent years as I say.

Good luck, I truly know how you feel, it used to leave miserable and avoiding all beaches and fields (sand and grass irritate it and make it worse).

Cya,
Gaspode

 

[Micca]

I get the Disney rash every time we visit WDW. It's on my legs but it doesn't hurt or itch, it justs kinda looks "rashy". Goes away as soon as I get home.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I have had that also, a few times, warmer months, never in Dec or Feb. I should be a doozy next week. Just from above the sock line, shins and calf. I have used a zinc ointment on my leg to try and prevent, though have not tried yet in heat. Starts second day, no itch nor hurt, like Micca. First time I did not even know it till I was taking shoes off at night. I asked and the ysaid it was 'Disney rash', reflection from pavement.

 

[phamton]

Micca and Dan, if yours doesn't itch then it is probably not heat rash or reflection from the sun. Mine doesn't itch either and they tried to feed me the reflection theory at first aid at Epcot and gave me some ointment that did absolutely no good. The next time I got it, I was wearing jeans not shorts. Then one time I got it at night at DD when I hadn't even been to the parks that day (I live in Orlando). I've also gotten the Disney rash at Universal and they have very few sidewalks, mostly asphalt. Sometimes the rash extends down below the sock line but most often it stops at the sockline.

Since moving to Orlando and getting the rash so many times, I can now tell when it is starting. My legs start to swell a little and then I start to feel a slight burning feeling. If I get off my feet and elevate my legs, I can usually stop it from happening. The swelling and the jolting from walking cause bleeding underneath the skin. It just slowly fades away after a day or two.

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/dermatology/messages/30668a.html

 

[DizzyBell]

Thanks everyone for all your help. I too Dan feel I will be a doozy next week as well. One week to go... and counting the days...

 

[CindyKansas]

Phamton, I had a doctor look at my legs and they told me the same thing that you said, hemorraging of the skin. It wasn't bothersome, just didn't look very attractive.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by DizzyBell
Thanks everyone for all your help. I too Dan feel I will be a doozy next week as well. One week to go... and counting the days...

Will I see you there???

 

[TimNDansMom]

I get the Disney Rash too. It slowly spreads up my legs and gets quite red. It's not itchy but my skin feels tight. I find cortisone cream soothing.

Phamton, I am going to test putting my feet up and see if that helps. I always thought it was from the reflection off the pavement, but maybe it's hemorraging under the skin as I don't get any bumps with it.

It almost sounds like there are different versions of it, from reading here.

 

[phamton]

I think there are different rashes, but if the skin is tight and it doesn't itch then it sounds like the lower half of your legs are swelling. When the legs swell, blood leaks out from the small capillaries under the skin because walking on concrete is so jarring to the legs on the enlarged (from the extra fluid) capillaries. The bleeding is re-absorbed after a day or two and the redness simply fades away. It is a bright, bright red rash even redder than a sunburn. Heat rash is more pinkish with bumps and is very itchy. A heat rash would be worse under clothing like socks becuase the sweat can't escape. If it stops at the sock line it could only be sunburn, sun allergy, or bleeding under the skin. If it is caused by swelling and stops at the sock line, it is because the elastic keeps the legs from swelling past the sock. You can try wearing softer socks with less elastic and putting up your feet whenever your skin starts feeling tight.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by phamton
... putting up your feet whenever your skin starts feeling tight.

How to do that at WDW??

And your explanation sounds right on for me.

 

[phamton]

Finding time to put my feet up is hard. I will often go eat and put another chair beside mine at the table and use the chair as a foot rest or find a bench and stretch out. But most times, I just ignore it and keep going.

One doctor suggested a diuretic to eliminate the swelling but then I'd spend my whole time hitting the bathrooms. It doesn't seem to be dangerous. It just makes my legs feel a little burny and stingy when it happens but nothing very uncomfortable.