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The pain inflicted by heat rash is exacerbated by the salt in your perspiration. Excessive perspiration exiting the sweat pores, be they clogged or unclogged ones, is like a flood of water being channelled away by a pipe. When the pipe ruptures, the perspiration overflows beneath the skin. The wound as a result of the tear between the skin and the flesh hurts, especially when in contact with salt water, ie your sweat. What happens when you cease activity and all the perspiration has evaporated? The salt crystals are left under your skin to prick the massive wound under all those pores. Finally, the dead skin that peels away upon recovery is precisely of the skin surrounding your pores, that has been detached from your flesh when you were perspiring excessively.
The story
I was a company medic who suffered from heat rash all the time during my NSF days and continue to do so during ICT. The worst suffered, on frequent occasions, was a simultaneous occurrence on my neck, my back, my love handles, my butt, both the front and back of my thighs, my calf area and also my shin area.
That sucks and of course hurts as hell. Worse of all I ended up jumping and running around like a monkey forever a shit to be stirred by my mates, sian :P
My sergeants’ advices remain the best, ie “not to powder too much during powder bath lest my sweat pores are blocked, hindering the excretion of perspiration leading to heat rash”, until I get knocked it down for not powdering enough.
Some say that my pores are blocked by dirt due to training, so the best way to prevent is to bring a sponge outfield so I can scrub my back. This advice is a little tricky really because for one, I already don’t have enough water to drink and for two, bathing outfield is way uncool for a soldier.
Both advices didn’t prevent the recurrences. No others did. My emotional distress is twofold.
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Keching 