Meaning & use
prickly heat
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablemedical
An itchy, stinging red rash that appears on the skin in hot, humid weather when sweat becomes trapped under the surface.
Grammar: Not used with an or a plural: she has prickly heat, not a prickly heat.
Patterns
- get prickly heat
- suffer from prickly heat
The baby developed prickly heat across her back during the heatwave.
Loose cotton clothes help prevent prickly heat on long hot trips.
He scratched his neck, which was covered in prickly heat.
Common combinations
- get prickly heat
- I always get prickly heat when we holiday in the tropics.
- suffer from prickly heat
- Many hikers suffer from prickly heat under heavy backpacks.
- treat prickly heat
- Cool showers help to treat prickly heat.
- prickly heat rash
- A prickly heat rash often appears in skin folds.
- prickly heat powder
- She packed prickly heat powder for the journey.
Synonyms and how they differ
- heat rash
- Heat rash is the plain everyday term and sounds slightly less old-fashioned than prickly heat.
- miliaria
- Miliaria is the clinical word doctors use, so it sounds far too technical for ordinary conversation.
- sweat rash
- Sweat rash is informal and can refer to any rash caused by perspiration, not only the hot-climate kind.
Word family
Commonly confused: prickly heat or sunburn?
prickly heat vs sunburn
Sunburn is skin damage from ultraviolet light, while prickly heat comes from blocked sweat glands and can happen in the shade.
Practice
The baby wore a thick sweater in the heat and got ___ on her neck.
Choose one answer.
Prickly heat is the sweat rash caused by overheating. Sunstroke is a serious illness from too much sun, not a rash.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “prickly heat”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.