🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Summer heat rash is a common condition experienced by most people during hot summer months. It is a frequent illness caused by high ambient temperature and humidity, excessive sweating that fails to evaporate, leading to blocked sweat ducts and pores, resulting in papules or vesicles. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, heat rash arises due to summer heat and dampness accumulating in the skin, obstructing the pores and causing rashes. Excessive heat and sweating followed by sudden cold bathing causes pores to close abruptly, trapping heat beneath the skin, thus triggering this condition. Main symptoms include initial pinpoint red macules, followed by clusters of red papules or small blisters, accompanied by itching or burning sensation. Rashes often appear in batches and resolve within days as weather cools down. Lesions commonly occur on neck, chest, back, abdomen, elbow creases, popliteal fossae, under female breasts, and in infants’ face, head, and buttocks. Mild desquamation may follow resolution. For mild cases, applying over-the-counter heat rash powder, maintaining regular bathing and clothing changes, can lead to quick recovery. However, some infants or bedridden, severely weakened patients may develop pustules or boils—commonly known as “heat rash toxicity”—due to unclean skin, malnutrition, poor immunity, or secondary infection from scratching. Local signs include redness, swelling, heat, pain, possible pus formation and ulceration, accompanied by fever and enlarged nearby lymph nodes. Severe cases may progress to impetigo. If untreated, heat rash toxicity may lead to nephritis, and in serious cases, sepsis, endangering life. Therefore, sufficient attention must be paid. For treatment, use ready-made TCM preparations such as Yinqiao Jiedu Pills or Lianqiao Baidu Pills. For decoction, use: honeysuckle 10g, forsythia 15g, wild chrysanthemum 10g, dandelion 10g, agastache 10g, patchouli 10g, bamboo leaf 6g, large blue leaf 10g, peony bark 10g, raw rehmannia 15g, anemarrhena 10g, phellodendron 10g. Decoct and take twice daily, 150ml each time. For more severe cases before developing heat rash toxicity, TCM typically classifies into two types for syndrome differentiation and treatment. For the type of summer-dampness accumulation: skin appears flushed, with numerous pinhead-sized papules and vesicles densely clustered, intense pruritus, accompanied by facial redness, thirst, irritability, and red urine. Use decoction: coptis 9g, bamboo leaf 9g, lotus stem 10g, green peel of watermelon 20g, anemarrhena 10g, dendrobium 10g, ophiopogon 10g, honeysuckle 10g, peony bark 10g. Decoct and take twice daily, 150ml each time. For the type of damp-heat stagnation: long-term bedridden or persistent high fever with profuse sweating, rash appearing on chest and abdomen resembling pinpricks, translucent like crystal, accompanied by chest tightness, nausea, vomiting, fever, and body aches. Use decoction: coix seed 10g, talc 20g, poria 10g, trichosanthes root 10g, bamboo leaf 10g, forsythia 15g, white cardamom 10g. Decoct and take twice daily, 150ml each time. External therapy: add 20ml of Ten Drops Water to bathwater and soak, or use boiled Portulaca oleracea water for warm local washing, then apply 2% borneol or 5% alum calamine lotion externally. Alternatively, use Liu Yi San or talcum powder mixed with a little borneol, dusted on the skin 5–6 times daily. Dietary therapy: use 30g mung bean, 15g kelp, 60g winter melon, decoct with water, add appropriate sugar, consume daily for 7–10 days; or use 60g winter melon, 30g coix seed, boil and eat daily for 7–8 days. To prevent heat rash and heat rash toxicity, maintain proper cooling and ventilation indoors, install air conditioning and operate appropriately to reduce sweating and promote evaporation. Those working in high temperatures or postpartum women should wear loose, comfortable clothing, avoiding overheating. Maintain personal hygiene, bathe frequently, change clothes regularly, keep sweat flowing freely. After bathing, dry thoroughly and keep skin clean. Apply heat rash powder appropriately to prevent pore blockage. Once afflicted, avoid hot water rinsing or soap washing when itchy, and refrain from scratching to prevent heat rash toxicity. Pay attention to dietary hygiene, drink mung bean soup, honeysuckle tea, or eat watermelon regularly. Avoid spicy, heating foods in summer; instead, consume bitter melon, winter melon, and other vegetables with clear heat and dampness-resolving properties to effectively prevent heat rash and heat rash toxicity.<Heat Rash>