Sweating is a vital process that serves to regulate the body's temperature. It protects us from overheating and makes a significant contribution to maintaining a constant body temperature. Because: When sweat evaporates, heat is drawn from the body, resulting in a cooling effect.
Sweating is therefore like our very own natural air conditioning. But what happens when the air conditioning runs at full speed even though our body does not need cooling? In Germany, about 5 million people are affected by excessive sweating. They sweat far more than is necessary for actual temperature regulation.
When is sweating considered excessive?
Sweat stains under the arms or beads of sweat on the forehead – excessive sweating can manifest in many different ways. The entire body or only certain areas such as the feet, back, or face can be affected. It is difficult to say exactly when sweating is excessive because the transition between normal and excessive sweating is gradual.
Humans have about three million sweat glands. Depending on physical exertion, fitness level, and outside temperature, they can produce between 0.5 and 3 liters of sweat per hour. For example, well-trained athletes sweat faster and more heavily than untrained people, so they can quickly produce up to three liters of sweat during a strenuous training session. Excessive sweating, on the other hand, is generally considered to occur when the body continuously produces a lot of sweat without physical exertion and at average outside temperatures. In such cases, the affected body areas are hardly or only with difficulty kept dry. Often, those affected complain of annoying sweat stains under the arms or beads of sweat on the forehead shortly after morning washing. They usually sweat continuously from getting up until going to bed and cannot control the sweating with usual hygiene measures. The affected skin areas are continuously moist, and in cases of very heavy sweating, even wet. Even extensive body care, regular dabbing of sweat, hand washing, and moisturizing provide little relief because the sweat becomes visible again just a few minutes after hygiene measures.
Possible causes
Heavy sweating can initially have various causes. For reasons not yet clarified, some people's sweat glands produce sweat more frequently than is necessary within the natural metabolic processes of the body. Their sweat glands are simply overactive. While for some affected individuals, even slight stimuli such as minimally warmer temperatures or positive or negative emotions are enough to trigger sweating, others begin to sweat without any such trigger.
In the search for causes, psychological factors and stress often play an important role. In addition, heavy sweating can be the result of an unhealthy lifestyle. Overweight and lack of exercise can contribute to increased sweating and negatively affect the organism. In this context, fluid intake plays a particularly important role. Those affected should definitely drink enough to compensate for the body's fluid loss through sweating. A balanced diet and regular exercise also keep metabolism in balance and thus not only improve overall well-being but can also support the natural regulation of sweat secretion.
