By Sarah Klein, Prevention
No one likes when her face is too damp to apply makeup on
summer mornings or when it seems like every white shirt you own is
permanently discolored, but sweat is actually the body's (pretty
brilliant) built-in cooling system. Your body temperature rises, your
nervous system gives your sweat glands the green light, and moisture
pops onto your skin, where it promptly (well, eventually) evaporates,
cooling you down in the process. (Not feeling as well as you used to?
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[post_ads]And yet, we're constantly at battle with our sweat: trying to make it
stink less, trying to stop it altogether during an important meeting,
then trying to lose buckets of it at the gym. But if you stop and pay
attention, all that perspiration can actually teach you a surprising
amount about yourself and your health. Here are a few things it's trying
to tell you.
ou're pregnant…or hitting menopause
Anything that toys with your endocrine system
(your body's collection of hormone-producing glands) can leave you
feeling sweatier than usual. Of course, there’s the dreaded hot flash,
which as many as 85% of women have in the years right around menopause,
but pregnancy may also be to blame. That's because hormonal changes
seem to mess with the brain’s "thermostat," mistakenly making you think
you’re overheating—and triggering the naturally cooling sweat
response—even when you’ve positioned yourself right in front of the AC.
(If menopause is the case, here are 8 ways to make it a little less miserable.)
You're stressed
If you keep catching yourself sniffing and
wondering, "Is that me?!", take a sec to reflect on what's been on your
mind lately. If you're stressed
or anxious, your pits are probably to blame. The sweat we produce when
we’re hot is made by eccrine glands all over the body and contains
mostly water and salt.
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But when we're stressed, sweat
is produced by apocrine glands, which are found only in certain areas
like the armpits. That type of sweat contains fat and protein that mix
with the bacteria on our skin, producing a stench in the process. Same
deal if you’re anxious or scared. (Here are 10 incredibly easy ways to de-stress in under a minute.)
You're spreading happiness...
...or fear. Oddly enough, the people around
you can pick up on what you're feeling by the smell of your sweat. In a
(rather revolting) experiment, 36 women smelled sweat samples of 12 men
who had watched videos meant to either scare them or make them happy.
When a woman smelled sweat from a guy who'd been scared by the video,
she was more likely to make a facial expression resembling something
like fear. When she smelled sweat from a happy guy, she was more likely
to smile. Guess it can't hurt to crack a smile at the gym (or avoid
these 6 things naturally happy people never do).
You're at risk for heatstroke
Everything's going swimmingly during your
summer walk, when suddenly you realize you've stopped sweating and
you're starting to get dizzy. Anhidrosis, or the inability to sweat
normally, can be dangerous, since it prevents your body from naturally
cooling off. If you continue on without rehydrating, you risk heat
illnesses like heat exhaustion or
heatstroke. Move to a shady or air-conditioned space and have something
cool to drink (without caffeine or alcohol). If you don't start to feel
better quickly, call for emergency medical attention.
However, longer-lasting anhidrosis may be due to nerve damage,
certain medications, or an inherited condition, which can
increase risk for heat illnesses and heart problems, too, says David M.
Pariser, MD, former president of the American Academy of Dermatology.
It's pretty rare, though, he says; just because you don’t feel moist and
clammy, doesn't mean you're truly not sweating. Turns out, most of us
produce about an ounce and a half of sweat every day, not counting those
puddles you make when you work out. If you notice a real drop in your
sweat production, be sure to bring it up with your doc.
Your blood sugar's low
Normally, your blood sugar
should be between 70 and 100 mg/dL, if measured when fasting. But if it
drops below that 70 mark, whether because of diabetes or something like
strenuous exercise, you may start to feel the effects (if you're
struggling with your blood sugar, here's exactly what one woman ate to get her blood sugar under control).
[post_ads]One symptom can be excessive sweating, or cold, clammy skin,
particularly at the back of your neck at your hairline. (Watch out for a
quickened heartbeat, shakiness, slight nausea, dizziness, and blurred
vision, too.) Luckily, in cases of a mild dip, you can bring your blood
sugar back up to normal by eating or drinking something. But if your
blood sugar continues to drop, you'll likely start to notice other more
serious symptoms and could require medical care.
You're eating the wrong foods
If you've been cursed with particularly fishy
smelling BO, you may have a rare genetic disorder called
trimethylaminuria, which means your body can't break down the chemical
compound trimethylamine, produced during digestion of foods like eggs,
legumes, and fish. Instead, your body sheds excess trimethylamine via
sweat, urine, and breath—often producing a smell not unlike rotting
fish, rotting eggs, or garbage, according to the National Institutes of
Health. If you think you may have trimethylanminuria, work with your
doctor to come up with the best treatment plan, which will likely
involve avoiding these foods and possibly popping certain supplements.
You might need more to drink than your workout buddy on your next long run
Ever had sweat drip into your eyes, only to
find yourself in searing, stinging pain? Does dried sweat leave a gritty
feeling or white streaks on your cheeks, too? You're probably a salty
sweater, common among people who get lots of water during the day and
keep sodium pretty low in their diet. Reach for a sports drink or an
electrolyte tablet you can dissolve in some H2O sooner than the average exerciser. (Bored with plain water? Try these slimming Sassy Water recipes.)
You could have hyperhidrosis
If a doc can't find an explanation for your excessive sweating,
you may have a condition called primary focal hyperhidrosis, when
excessive sweating is a medical condition in and of itself. And no,
Spinning enthusiast, you do not have hyperhidrosis if you can produce a
lake of sweat under your bike. Primary focal hyperhidrosis is typically
marked by sweating so excessive it interferes with your daily
activities.
"You're supposed to sweat when you’re physically hot, or exercising,
or stressed," says Pariser, who’s also secretary and founding member of
the International Hyperhidrosis Society. "People with primary
hyperhidrosis sweat at times when they shouldn't." Even in a cool room,
sitting perfectly still, a person with hyperhidrosis could have sweat
dripping from her hands, he says.
[post_ads]Experts aren't entirely sure why it happens, but they do know that
hyperhidrosis runs in families and is the result of too much stimulation
from the nerves that trigger the sweat glands. "The switch is stuck in
the 'on' position," Pariser says. Depending on the location of the
sweating, hyperhidrosis treatment varies, but can include
prescription-strength antiperspirant (even on the hands and feet), Botox injections, and surgery.
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You could have lymphoma
Hyperhidrosis can also be a side effect of a number of health conditions—including gout, hyperthyroidism, and Parkinson's disease—and
even some medications. Particularly troubling is that it can be a
symptom of lymphoma, or cancer of the lymph cells, which play a role in
the immune system. It's not completely understood yet why lymphoma can
cause drenching sweat; it could be something about lymphoma itself or
how the body responds to it, Pariser says.
Perhaps it's a reaction to
another symptom—fever—as the body tries to cool itself down. (Both fever
and sweating are known as "B" symptoms and linked with more aggressive
lymphoma.) Or, it could be caused by hormones and proteins produced by
cancer cells themselves, according to the UK Lymphoma Association. (We
don't want to alarm you, but there are 10 cancer symptoms that most people ignore.)
