You are out with your girlfriend and she wants to hold your hand, but you are reluctant to take her hand because of your sweaty palms….Your first day in your job and your shirt is already sticking to the body, you have always been one with excessive sweating and it is difficult to not be embarrassed about it. The times when you have to go out in sun or those stressful times become difficult for you. This article is dedicated to all of you suffering silently when your sweat glands seem protesting against you!
Why do we sweat?
Sweating is a body’s mechanism to cool itself from external heat or over stimulation of nerves. When the sweat secreted by the sweat glands evaporates, the body cools down due to latent heat of evaporation.
It is important that we sweat so that the body heat due to metabolic activity or the hot climate always remains under control. We are always sweating though we do not always know it. In low temperatures, most of the sweat secreted is absorbed by the skin meanwhile in hot temperatures, the cells do not get time to absorb and most of the sweat reaches the skin. In a tropical region you can sweat about 3-6 liters per hour.
During an emotional state, there is an increase in sympathetic nervous system of the body as well as increase in epinephrine production in the body that make the sweat glands on the palms as well as arms pits to stimulate and produce sweat.
How do we sweat?
Sweat is produced by the sweat glands present under the skin which are called as Eccrine and Apocrine glands. Eccrine produce water like sweat and is responsible for 99% of sweat produces. Apocrine glands are present only in the armpits and groin and secret a liquid on sexual stimuli or stress which is broken down by the bacteria leading to the body odor. Thus it is not sweat which stinks but the bacterial action on it which causes the odor.
Average person has 2.6 million sweat glands which are present on the entire body surface except on the lips, external sex organs and nipples. Generally sweat glands are more prevalent in areas that are denser like hands, feet and forehead.
What is excessive sweating?
Excessive sweating also called as ‘Hyperhydrosis’ a condition when there is excessive sweating irrespective of the weather condition or emotional state. Generally areas most affected are underarms, palms and soles of feet. Generally Hyperhydrosis starts during puberty, with the palms and feet starting early and underarms affected by adolescence. There are two types of Hyperhydrosis called as Primary Hyperhydrosis which is caused due to genetic inheritance and Secondary Hyperhydrosis which is caused due to a disorder of thyroid gland or diabetes and can occur at any age.
Hyperhydrosis can affect a person’s health by creating problems in social interaction like shaking hands, day to day chores like driving with sweaty palms and can cause a dent in self esteem through the comments about the odor and embarrassment of wet shirt in office or in college.
Tips to deal with excessive sweating:
Here are some tips to help day to day living with those with excessive sweating.
Drink plenty of water: Unlike what we assume, drinking more water will not increase the amount you sweat, instead water aids your body in cooling itself and hence less sweat will be produced.
Attire Sense: When you are prone to excessive sweating, making good attire choices is very important. Choose dark colored, printed shirts and avoid whites and grays which show sweat marks. As far as the fabric is concerned, choose a sweat absorbent material like cotton and avoid polyester, nylon that is uncomfortable when wet.
