Summer Sweating A Challenge?

If summer sweat is a challenge then you need to think cool, or at least "cool" as in "calm!" All of us will perspire under the right conditions,...you know candid camera shows up just after you had an all weekend party, you can imagine! And for those who sweat heavily in the summer controlling the wet can be a challenge as we have discussed in some of our other posts on the topic of sweating, we all have differning amounts of sweat glands. .Add stress, the wrong diet, being overweight,  the blood flow in an area of the skin, or inappropriate clothing and suddenly that perfect up-do becomes limp and clothes are sticking, and you can't figure out just how you are going to actually shake the President's hand when you meet! Overly sweating is medically called hyperhidrosis. If it's in a particular area when there is no thermal need to be cooled off. it's called primary focal hyperhidrosis. Having to put up with excessively sweating forehead, underarms, palms, soles, can be challenging when in fact the heat and humidity of the summer weather can make it very difficult to put up with. Physicians define this condition as one that occurs on each side, that has been ongoing for over 6 months, and usually began at a fairly young age, such as under 25. We have three sets of sweat glands that control perspiration:  eccrine and apocrine, and apoeccrine glands.These glands vary in their physiology and their control factors. Some will function when you are nervous, and some function to regulate your temperature. There is no such thing as being nervous in your sleep, so your palms and soles won't sweat when you're asleep, but heat regulation goes on. So paying attention to your sweating patterns at night will begin to give a clue as to what is going on and help your physician help you get this under control. If showering and drinking fluids, and spritzing with your mineral spray is not enough to control the sweat the simple use of  over-the-counter antiperspirants is of course the next step. They function as simple sweat gland plugs by the main ingredient that is usually some sort of metallic salt like aluminum which literally blocks the pore of the sweat gland and obstructs the escape of fluid. Some medications are very effective at stopping sweat, but the side effects have been problematic. And beyond these therapies some prescription antiperspirants and Botox therapy.

Stop the Sweat Drip

Do you have 2 million or do you have 24 million sweat glands? Some of us actually have fewer than others, so the amount you glisten in the sun will vary! Either way, we can actually produce up to 10 liters of sweat a day. Impressive. It's necessary to have bacteria around to product the odors we think of as associated with our sweat. We do swat salt with our water, but actually the ducts in the sweat glands reabsorbs most of the salt, so we don't loose enough to be dangerous, on a typical day. There are three cell types, the clear, the mucoid and the myoepithelial ones. Being dehydrated will decrease your sweating but that is not a pleasant or healthy way to do it. Not moving much and of course being cool with air conditioning or in a pool will decrease the amount you perspire. There are medical grade antiperspirants that will help with this also. For when that won't work you can use Botox. The ingredient in Botox which is Botulinum toxin prevents the actylcholine release and it's what is usually secreted in response to sympathetic nerves. This can be used under your arms, in the groin area, on the forehead or on the palms to decrease sweating. The most common use of Botox for decreasing sweating is under the arms, which is very effective, and only has to be repeated every 6-12 months for most individual. Risks and side effects can be discussed with your provider at your next visit.