Skin feeling itchy? Here’s when to see a doctor so your rash doesn’t spoil your summer fun

During the summer months, it’s not unusual to experience a skin rash that can put a damper on your outdoor fun. Rashes are even more common during extreme heat.

“During spring and summer months, many patients present to their medical providers after the patients develop rashes. Often, these rashes are due to contact with allergens while participating in outdoor activities,” said Freeman Farrow, MD, a family medicine physician with Beacon Medical Group LaPorte.

Rashes can feel itchy or even painful. They may also feel warm to the touch, and your skin can have blisters or look scaly or raw. In people with light-colored skin, rashes are often red. For those with darker skins tones, they can appear more purple or blue in color.

Here are three types of rash commonly experienced in the heat, and what doctors advise to do about them.

Contact dermatitis (e.g., poison ivy, poison oak)

When people think about rashes, they’re often thinking of contact dermatitis, which occurs when your skin reacts to a substance that touched it.

Contact with poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac cause some of the most common summer rashes. But contact dermatitis can also occur after swimming in chlorinated water or after handling strong cleaning products such as bleach or drain cleaners.

Symptoms vary depending on the person’s sensitivity to the substance. Poison ivy and poison oak rashes usually look like red, itchy bumps or blisters.

With contact dermatitis, it’s very important to make sure the substance has been removed from your skin. Poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac reactions happen after contact with oil on the plant’s leaves, so it’s important to wash the affected area with soap and water to remove all traces of the oil. Also wash any clothing or shoes that may have been in contact with the plant.

When to call your doctor: Depending on the severity of your symptoms, you may need to contact your primary care provider regarding further treatment.

Heat rash

Hot weather leads to perspiration. If the flow of perspiration is blocked, a heat rash can result.

A heat rash looks like clusters of small bumps that appear red on light-colored skin and gray or white on darker skin; sometimes the rash looks like clear, fluid-filled bumps. The skin may feel prickly or itchy and be warm to the touch.

Heat rashes tend to occur when the weather is unusually hot and humid, or when people are overdressed for the temperature. The good news is heat rashes can be avoided by steering clear of high heat and humidity or by wearing loose, lightweight clothes.

When to call your doctor: Heat rashes normally subside when the skin cools off. You can speed up the cooling with a cool bath or compresses. Seek medical care if the symptoms last longer than three days, or if the rash seems to get worse instead of better.

Intertrigo

Intertrigo most often appears in warm, moist areas of the body, usually where skin rubs against skin. Common sites of this rash include the groin area, under the breasts, under the arms or in skin folds. The skin becomes red, inflamed and sometimes bumpy, feeling sensitive or even painful.

Babies are at a higher risk for intertrigo due to their delicate skin and because their skin may be moist from wearing a diaper or drooling.

To care for the affected skin, keep it clean and as dry as possible. Loose clothing may help, and it also helps to reduce skin-to-skin contact. In individuals who are overweight, weight loss may help prevent future occurrences of intertrigo.

When to call your doctor: It’s not unusual for a bacterial or fungal infection to develop at the site of the intertrigo rash. Seek medical care if you see any signs of infection, such as bumps that contain pus or a bad smell in the area of the rash.

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