Sudamen, or small blisters that appear beneath the skin due to retention of fluids in sweat follicles, in newborns and infants are particularly common in the summer months. Many children suffer from prickly heat during this time, so moms and dads need to know what this rash looks like, as well as its causes and treatment. Inexperienced parents may confuse sudamen with an allergic rash, so we also suggest that you take a close look at the photos below, so that you do not have any doubts about your child’s diagnosis.
The skin of a newborn baby is very soft and thin, and remains so for quite a while. Contact with hard cloth can cause an inflammation of the skin, and an infection can easily develop in the affected areas. To prevent these problems you must carefully and regularly take care of your baby’s skin. When a baby is born, his or her skin still cannot perform it’s basic protective functions, and sweat glands do not work effectively enough. Young moms are not usually warned about this in the hospital, so after discharge, and even in the hospital, they swaddle their children even at temperatures as warm as 75-80ºF. As a result of this, sudamen develops, which doctors do not consider a disease. 
What is Prickly Heat Like in Infants?
Prickly heat, also called miliaria, develops as a small rash of tiny red knobs or blisters that can appear anywhere on the body of the child: behind the ears, on the face, abdomen, buttocks, arms and behind the knees. This happens after babies and children sweat a lot in the summer months, causing their sweat glands to become blocked since they are not yet fully developed.
Sudamen may look slightly different: sometimes it appears as spots of pink-red, sometimes there is redness and pimples filled with liquid—these are easily damaged and covered with a thin crust. Most often newborns who were born in the summer suffer from such a trouble. But there are cases when the rash attacks older children, though, again, only in hot and humid weather.
How Do You Prevent Rash and Pimples?
• Dress your baby in clothes made of natural fabrics—preferably cotton and flannel. These fabrics have good absorption, so the baby’s skin will be dry even when the weather is very hot and humid.
• When indoors, use an air conditioner or a fan. But be careful to not set these near your baby!
• Frequently check and change your baby’s diapers.
• Ventilate the room as often as possible.
• Do not swaddle your baby! At a temperature over 70ºF, the baby is most likely not cold.
• Use water-based hypoallergenic cosmetics.
• Do not use cream on the rash caused by prickly heat.
• Several times a day completely undress the baby and give the skin 10 minutes to “breathe.”
• If sudamen is still there, then you may need to start medical treatment…
Steps to Treat Prickly Heat.
It is quite easy to get rid of this problem:
• Before bathing in the tub, add a little dash of potassium permanganate, this has a drying effect.
• If there are pimples and the child is restless, it means that he or she is concerned about the itching. Chamomile decoction helps soothe the skin. Brew it in a water bath in the proportions written on the package and wipe the affected area of skin 5-10 minutes before bathing.
• After bathing and using the powder, you need to wipe all of the skin folds. Remember, the powder will only aggravate prickly heat if you do not follow the basic rules of skin care.
• Many moms also use soda solution. Before bathing, wipe the skin area with the visible rash with this solution: (1st.l. soda, 1 tbsp. boiled water).
• Sudamen often appears in children during diseases that are accompanied by fever. Once the child recovers, the problem will disappear.
IMPORTANT! If the house temperature is normal, you regularly care for baby’s skin, and the rash does not go away, be sure to consult your pediatrician, because the cause of the rash can be quite different. For example, it can be atopic dermatitis, which is a common skin disease that children often get during their first year of life.
