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Allergies are part of the life of practically all human beings. It is very common to hear that someone had to take an antiallergic because of the excess pollen in the air, who had skin problems due to a certain medication, among several other stories that occur from time to time. But there is a specific allergy that many people don’t believe it can really exist: heat allergy . But can it really affect us? What are its characteristics? How to treat this type of allergy? In today’s text we will answer these and many other questions. Check it out now!
What is Heat Allergy?
What we popularly call heat allergy or heat allergy is what is called, in medical terms, cholinergic urticaria . Contrary to what many people imagine, what causes this reaction is not the hot temperature itself, but the effects it can have on our bodies.
Sweat itself can be the cause, especially when combined with some type of fabric or jewelry can end up causing allergic reactions in our bodies that we normally do not have on days when the temperature is more pleasant.
Cholinergic urticaria is characterized by small red lumps that can appear on different parts of our body, especially on the back and neck . These lumps can also appear on the trunk, arms and legs, although this is more rare to occur. Despite being something more common in young adults, this type of allergy can occur with people of any age.
Why do we have Heat Allergy?
As we have already said, the allergic reactions that our body has are not directly caused by heat, but by the effects that it can have on us. This is because when our body temperature rises too high, we release sweat, which in turn contains acetylcholine. What happens, in the case of people who have heat allergy, is allergy to acetylcholine.
Therefore, some of the factors that can cause this type of allergy to manifest are:
- Very hot days
- Practice of physical activities
- Very hot baths
- Very spicy food
Studies point out that factors such as excess stress and anxiety can also trigger cholinergic urticaria attacks. However, as these factors are not directly related to the increase in the temperature of our bodies, we will not delve into this issue further.
Heat Allergy Symptoms
The main symptoms that heat allergy can present are:
- Itchy skin, especially in the back and neck
- Swelling in the skin
- Burning sensation on the skin
- Small, red, itchy lumps
In more severe cases, other symptoms may appear, such as:
- Difficulty breathing
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea
It is worth mentioning that these last symptoms mentioned here are usually more rare and are manifested in people who have an even greater sensitivity and who normally do not undergo any type of treatment against allergy.
Is miliaria also a heat allergy?
Although we are talking specifically about cholinergic urticaria, there is also another type of allergy that arises because of the heat, miliaria. Also known as rash , it causes inflammation in the skin, preventing sweat from escaping. This causes small bubbles to form, causing irritation and itching of the skin. Depending on the depth they reach into our skin, the miliaria case can be more or less serious.
This type of allergy manifests itself more commonly in babies , but it can affect people of all ages. The treatments of the two types of allergy that we mentioned in today’s text are very similar and, therefore, it is possible to talk about both at the same time.
How to treat Heat Allergy?
Treatments for both rash and miliaria are the use of medications that reduce symptoms and alleviate itching and even the burning sensation on the skin. These types of allergies have no cure, but there are ways to prevent them from occurring.
One of the main ones is that your body will be cold most of the time, especially in the summer. Another thing that usually helps is, as soon as you start to sweat, take a shower to prevent further contact of the body with acetylcholine . Of course, taking this type of action is not always possible, but whenever it is, do it to prevent your body from having allergic reactions.
When to see a doctor?
As with many other uncles of allergy, the recommendation is to see a doctor when you notice that your symptoms are disrupting your life in some way. As much as heat allergy does not cause any severe damage to health, it can be quite uncomfortable and prevent you from having quiet moments in hot situations. So, see a doctor so that treatment can be done and so that it does not prevent you from living a comfortable life and doing what you like.
Heat allergy is not a rare condition, although many people are unaware of it. Despite this, as you can see, it is not difficult to be treated, although it needs special care so that there is no more serious complication when a person is affected by it. Just like any other type of allergy , it is necessary that a treatment be done from the first symptoms for the situation not to get worse. In this way, we avoid headaches that certainly would not do us any good.
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
