Dr Bernadette Carr answers your questions on prickly heat rash and verrucas

Q: I am a woman in my 40s and last year on holidays I got a rash on my neck that I think was prickly heat. I will be going away in a couple of weeks. What would you suggest?

A: Prickly heat rash can be very uncomfortable and I can understand your wanting to avoid a repeat. Prickly heat (miliaria rubra) is a common skin condition that occurs in some people when they sweat more than usual and the sweat glands become blocked.

There are thousands of sweat glands that lie just below the surface of the skin. These make sweat, which travels though the sweat duct and out on to the surface of the skin.

However, if the duct is blocked, perhaps through excessive sweating, the sweat becomes trapped in the skin. This produces a rash made up of tiny red spots which look like blisters and appears on the face, neck, back, chest or thighs as a result of exposure to heat. Although anyone can develop prickly heat rash at any age, it is more common in babies and children as their sweat glands have not developed fully. People often develop this rash within a few days of travelling to a warmer climate and sweat more than usual.

Here are some general suggestions which you may find useful:

Try to avoid hot humid conditions.

If you do travel, spend a few hours each day indoors, preferably in an air-conditioned room.

Sun cream with UVA protection may help.

Wear loose-fitting clothes.

Avoid using oil-based topical lubricants as they can block sweat ducts.

Take a cool shower or bath.

Slowly acclimatise if you travel from one extreme of weather to another.

Calamine lotion can help to soothe and clam the skin.

Avoid synthetic materials and wear clothes made from cotton or breathable materials.

If you do have another episode of prickly heat, it might be useful to visit your GP and discuss how best to manage this, so that it does not interfere with future travel.

Q: I have developed a couple of small rough lumps on the sole of my foot, could it be a verruca?

A: It is possible that the lumps you have noticed on your feet are verrucas. They may be single or multiple and only painful due to pressure on the nerves. Although they are unsightly, warts are usually harmless and only painful sometimes.

They are small rough patches of skin that are caused by a virus (human papilloma virus) which causes a reaction in the skin. It is usually transmitted by direct skin-to-skin contact and damaged or wet skin increases the risk of infection. Verrucas are warts on the soles of the feet.

While most people will have warts at some point in their life, they are more common in children and teenagers. The majority of warts will clear on their own without any treatment as the immune system learns to fight the virus. The length of time this takes will vary from person to person. Some are resistant to treatment.

Treatments for verrucas depend on irritating the infected skin so that the immune system concentrates on the wart virus; cryotherapy (freezing the wart) can be painful, while chemical paints often take up to six months to work.

Unless they are causing a problem it may be best to leave them alone. If the lumps are painful, spread or bleed I would advise you to make an appointment with your GP, who can make a diagnosis. Your GP will be able to advise on the most appropriate treatment.

Verrucas are contagious, although most adults have developed immunity to them. Here are some general suggestions to consider. n Do not scratch the lumps.

Try not to knock them against any hard surfaces.

Don’t share bath towels.

If you go swimming cover the warts with some waterproof adhesive plaster and wear flip-flops in changing rooms.

Change your tights or socks every day.