It's been a very hot summer in the UK, with temperatures hitting a whopping 38 degrees, and whilst I don't like to complain about the rare times we get to experience sunshine in London, it's caused a few restless nights for my little one year old: one of the major pitfalls being the dreaded heat rash. And it seems like my son wasn't the only one suffering in the heat; I had a lot of mums come in to the pharmacy asking for advice on heat rash for their kids.
So, I thought I'd share over here on the blog, exactly what we did to get through the summer.
1. Use a damp, cool (but not cold) flannel or sponge and pat your little one down. Then let them air dry (this really helps calm the itchy and irritated affected areas of skin).
2. Keep your baby's sleeping area cool and ventilated. We had to panic buy a fan when it got really hot and place it in Ethan's room to keep him cool, to prevent it getting any worse. This really helped, and the 'white noise' from the fan helped him to sleep even better.
3. Put your little one in loose-fitting clothing. Ethan's heat rash was mainly concentrated on his neck, so we avoided using any bibs and closed-neck clothing that would further irritate the rash.
4. Try giving your little one a cooler bath (lukewarm not cold) before bedtime and keep bed clothes light and to a minimum (down to just the nappy if need be!).
5. Calamine lotion is pretty good for heat rash, however we applied the Aveeno® cream (the dark blue top which is unscented) approximately 4-5 times a day, and this really helped. https://rstyle.me/+cnXZKFm_9ykGVnTpLjwnPg
6. Try keeping your buggy cool by investing in a fan stroller that has a strong clamp to clip on to your buggy. It can also double up as a desk fan too!
7. Try and keep your baby out of the sun by using the buggy canopy, if yours doesn't provide the best shade then you can use a breathable muslin or you can purchase an extendable shade unit. We use the SnoozeShade® which doubles up as a black out blind for sleep and a sun shade.
8. Make sure they stay hydrated, with plenty of water for babies over 6 months of age. Ethan isn't a big water fan, so we add a little flavoured water to it and that usually does the trick. He also loves drinking out of my bottle that has an inbuilt straw and that usually gets some water in him.
Hope you're all having the best summer, be safe and I hope this helps!
xo
Comments