Treatment of miliaria rubra with ascorbic acid: an open pilot study

ABSTRACT

Miliaria rubra [prickly heat] is one of the most common and quite distressing skin disease of the tropics. It produces burning and itching. The condition is well recognized both by the patients and the physicians. It presents in the form of pruritic, erythematous papulovesicles on the skin. The primary treatment is to keep the patient in cold and airy atmosphere which unfortunately, is not easily practicable in tropical settings. Ascorbic acid in the dose of 1G daily for one week was tried on eighty cases of various age groups ranging from 10-50 years. Severe symptomatic cases turned to moderate and moderate to slight. Further studies to ascertain the role of ascorbic acid in the management of miliaria rubra are recommended