Going through your everyday life with huge sweat patches under your arms can be truly restrictive. It can hurt your confidence, make you feel embarrassed, and make you avoid social situations. This is why it is important to learn how to stop excessive armpit sweat.
Why do we Sweat?
The main function of sweating, more technically known as perspiration, is to control the body temperature. The body puts a layer of liquid on the skin, it is exposed to air, hereafter, it evaporates. The process of evaporation is cooling; to evaporate the process takes heat energy from our bodies, thus the body temperature falls.
Other Causes of Sweating
Sweating can also be caused by emotional states. If you are nervous, worried, or excited, it can actually cause you to sweat.
Finally, some substances and medication can cause excessive sweating. The most common one is probably caffeine from drinking too much coffee. Cigarettes, spicy food, aspirins, and numerous other medications are also able to trigger sweating.
Why is Sweating Severe under the Armpits?
The body has sweat glands all over, except for the lips, nipples, and genitals, but the glands under your arms are the largest and most active, causing sweating to be most severe there.
The most common sweat glands, are the smaller eccrine glands, which produces sweat without protein or carbohydrates. The glands under your arms are of the larger type, known as apocrine glands. These produce sweat with protein and carbohydrates, which means that the sweat will leave yellow stains on your clothes.
Armpit sweating problems are further exacerbated by the fact that there is not a lot of ventilation under your arms, it is, in other words, hard for the air to reach.
Getting Rid of Armpit Sweat
Getting rid of armpit sweat, generally, requires the same steps as how to sweat less. First of all, you want to stay hydrated. This is done by drinking plenty of water and avoiding alcohol and caffeine. When your body is hydrated, it’s cooling system functions optimally, thus there is no need to excessively sweat.
Getting in good physical shape is another way to make sure your body functions well and will again reduce how much you sweat. It is always a good idea to mix it up so you do both strength and cardio training, but if your main goal is to stop sweating, you should put the emphasis on cardio. Running, biking, etc..
What clothes you wear will also affect how much you sweat. Wear clothes that let the skin breathe and are not too tight around your armpits. The best fabrics are made of natural fibers; optimal choices include cotton and wool. The fitting should be loose, letting in air between the fabric and the skin. In the summer, if the setting is appropriate, try to wear clothes where your armpits are not covered at all, such as tank tops.
Deodorants will only treat the body odor connected to your sweating problem. Anti-perspirants, however, also tries to make the sweating less severe. Some people advocate not using anti-perspirants though. The reasons are numerous, and there are too many to cover here, one very serious charge is that some anti-perspirants might cause cancer.
What to do if Normal Steps Doesn’t Stop Excessive Sweating under your Armpits?
If taking the mentioned steps does not improve your sweating problems, you should consider consulting your doctor. Some medical conditions will cause excessive sweating, your doctor will check for them and give you the appropriate treatment.
Tags: Armpit Sweat, Excessive Sweating, Exercise