Summer is finally here, and it's time for you to ditch your baby's winter coat and fleecy baby grows and replace them with cool cotton romper suits.

Unfortunately, the lovely sunshine and warm weather comes with it some illness that your baby can do without. One of the most common heat related illness in the summer is ‘prickly heat.'

‘Prickly heat' (also known as heat rash) is a reddish rash on your baby's skin caused by over- heating.  In extreme heat, your baby's sweat glands become over active, and your baby's skin can clog-up causing inflammation and redness.

Prickly heat can be itchy and uncomfortable, and it can make your baby cranky. It can also worsen if your baby scratches it and may become infected if not treated properly. 

To treat the first sign of prickly heat, simply give your baby a cool bath without soap and let the air dry the skin. If it gets worse, check with your local chemist who will be able to recommend a mild steroid to treat the rash.

To avoid prickly heat, keep your baby cool. Dress your baby in light cotton clothing and keep her skin dry. Dribbles can worsen prickly heat, so always use dribble bibs. Bandana bibs are great catching dribbles and keeping your baby's neck and chest dry.

At night ensure that your baby's room is not too hot. During a heat wave, you can just keep your baby in nappy and vests, and use thin cotton blanket to cover your baby at night. Open the bedroom window to let the air in. If you don't want to keep the windows open, buy a good electric fan to cool the bedroom down. If possible, go for the big stand fan. Small desk fans may only occupy a small space in the room, but they can't cool down a whole room. They are also very noisy. Ensure the safety of your baby by keeping the fan out of her reach.

Although prickly heat is not serious, it is a sign that your baby is overheating. And overheating can lead to more serious problems like heat stroke.