Do You Sweat the Right Amount of Sweat?

Southstar Drug

Have you seen a meme on the social media saying "Tag that person whose hands are like a flowing river!" Quite funny, right? You probably have someone in your mind or that someone could also happen to be you. However, when the sweating on your palm is just way too much, doesn't it suggest medical and emotional implications?

Sweat can give us that stinky and uncomfy feeling sometimes. Whether we like it or not, sweating is a natural and healthy part of our lives. Sweating helps the body to regulate its temperature. Your autonomic nervous system controls your sweating function. This is the part of your nervous system that functions on its own, without your conscious control. Did you know that sweat is made mostly of water, but about one percent of sweat is a combination of salt and fat? That's why sweating is said to be a way to lose your body's extra fat!

The main cause of sweating is the change in the outside temperature. Other causes are due to the food we eat, (also called as gustatory sweating) or emotional stresses like those characters from the Pixar movie, Inside Out (Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear). Some medication use like painkillers can play a role in your sweat output.

Studies shows that there are average of three million sweat glands in the human body. Right, three million. So, does the figure gives justice to the excessive sweating of your palm, feet, armpit, face, scalp, or the entire body? The answer: NO. According to  the National Institutes of Health, “normal” sweating can be as much as a quart of fluid per day. Although people have different sweat needs, doctors say they can't put a solid number on the question: how much sweat does it take to be diagnosed with excessive sweating?

"It's very difficult to quantify, but most people really do understand when they are sweating too much," Dee Anna Glaser, MD, says. More than that, you might be experiencing Hyperhidrosis ­-- a condition of excessive localized sweating. It means that you sweat far more than your body needs you to sweat. In hyperhidrosis, the body's cooling mechanism is so overactive that it produces four or five times the amount of sweat that you need. For example, if you sweat while resting calmly at your bed, that is excessive sweating.  Although the cause is unknown, some Physicians claim that  anxiety or excitement can exacerbate the condition for many sufferers.

While others say that the more they make efforts to stop it, the more they tend to sweat eventually making them feel embarrassed. I mean who wouldn't feel so when all the things you touch becomes damp and  your shirt is patched with bodies of water?

But hey don't worry because worrying might add up to the sweating! We could fight the embarrassment by taking antiperspirants or prescription medications called anticholinergics. Sweat gland removal or destruction is also one surgical option available for armpits. If you're a go-organic believer, herbal medicines are also available to help you out.