Everybody sweats, but there are those out there who have been asking how to stop sweating, or at least reduce the amount, for a series of practical reasons. Although a small to moderate amount of sweat is reasonable, significant quantities of sweat outside of excessive heat or extreme physical activity do occur and can become a problem for those who deal with it. Larger than average amounts of sweat can be an embarrassment and may begin to affect your self-esteem and body image. This guide was created to help you judge the amount you are sweating, what it means, and what you can do to limit it.
Why do I Sweat so Much?
Typical sweat consists almost entirely of water, with some sugars, salt, and other chemicals making an appearance. Your body usually produces around a liter of sweat a day, in some cases up to ten. Sweat occurs naturally in response to many stimuli including exertion and nervousness. Sweat makes sense when you’re working out or enjoying a warm day; it helps cool you off and regulate your body temperature. It feels good.
“But why do we sweat when we’re out on a date or asking for a raise?”
When you begin getting nervous or afraid, your body’s reaction is to activate a fight or flight response. Part of this response entails your adrenaline to kick in, which in turn activates your sweat glands. Your body figures it may need to stay cool in the struggle or fight ahead. Fight or flight is super useful when a Puma is attacking you, but a little less useful when you begin sweating through the only dress shirt you bought for the day.
How to Stop Excessive Sweating
The causes of excessive sweating are legion and include hormonal changes in your body and hereditary predisposition. Those are things you can’t do much about, so we are going to focus on the factors you can control. In this list, you will find a couple of home remedies and natural treatments, as well as what options are available from medical professionals.
Here is a quick overview on of the main sweating concerns:
Sweating in Sleep
Night sweats, or sweating at night, can be triggered by a number of factors including your diet and stress. Try to stay calm at night. White noise or soothing audio has been shown to reduce the stress that may cause night sweats.
Head sweats or your face sweating is an absolutely natural reaction to heat or exertion- but if you sweat an excessive amount on your face, you may have a condition called hyperhidrosis. “Excessive” can be a subjective term, so if this is an issue for you, it might be worth asking your doctor the next time you make a visit.
Although sweaty hands and palms are also completely normal, many want to know how to stop it. Try a simple antiperspirant on the palms at first and see if it helps. If that fails, you may have Palmar hyperhidrosis, the cause of a lot of excessive palm sweat cases.
Knowing how to treat sweaty armpits is important for many people without any abnormal condition. This is a primary location for the odor causing bacteria brought about by sweat on underarms. Try shaving and applying antiperspirant to combat the sweat and odor.
9 Tips To Prevent Excessive Sweating Fast.
1. Check Your Diet
As with every other one of your bodily functions, your diet can play a huge role in either helping or hindering you. Try to avoid things heavy in corn syrup and added chemicals and focus instead on fiber, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains rich in vitamin B. These foods will help your body absorb nutrients and break down and remove toxins.
You should also make sure to stay hydrated. Heavy sweating will dehydrate you, which can lead to much more severe issues. Proper hydration will also help your body breakdown and expel toxins. Toxins play a prominent role in the smell of your sweat, and the reduction of them should be a priority for anyone worried about their sweating causing a strong odor. Aim for around seven glasses of water a day.
While we are still on the topic, and before we get into specific foods to avoid, we should probably also cover weight. Weight can be a sensitive subject, and if you are comfortable in your body – all the power to you, but it’s important to note that about nine out of every ten people who suffer from excessive sweating are also overweight. Trying to reduce your weight if you are heavier than the ideal may be the biggest thing you can do to control your sweating.
Reduce Spicy Food Intake
Spicy foods taste great, but they aren’t doing you any favors when it comes to sweating. Spicy and fat burning foods tend to activate neurotransmitters in your brain, called acetylcholine, that cause sweating. This is a response to what your body perceives as a source of heat. A little more about this can be found under the hot drinks section further down.
Sweating is one of the primary ways your body expels excess sodium. The more salt you eat, the more your body will have to sweat to get rid of it all. Try to go with low sodium foods as much as possible and avoid overly salty snacks and dishes.
Caffeine can send your sweating into overdrive. Its gets your nervous system rolling, thus activating your sweat glands. That morning coffee may be perking you up, but may also be behind that occasional pit stain. As a huge coffee fan, I know this can sound akin to a death sentence – but it is worth a try if nothing else seems to be having an effect.
Avoid Hot Drinks
Gustatory sweating is a type of sweating that occurs all over your head and face relatively soon after you begin ingesting food. Typically this is caused by hot foods which have raised your body’s temperature, causing an internal cooling mechanism of sorts to kick in. This is the same reaction that is caused by spicy foods.
Occasionally people will suffer from Gustatory Sweating even when they are eating something as cold as a popsicle. This is probably due to a form of nerve damage in the parotid gland that causes sweating after eating regardless of temperature or spiciness.
2. Manage Your Stress
The steps to be taken in reducing your stress can be very personal to your particular situation. Generally speaking, reducing your stress will allow your body to relax and may lessen the amount of sweat it believes you require (going back to that Puma attack logic). If you have a big meeting or event, show up early and prepare, drink some cool water and have a change of clothes ready. You may find that taking these preventative steps to ward off stress may have calmed your body down to the point where they weren’t even needed.
3. Apply Antiperspirant In the Evening
When you ask someone how to reduce sweating, the first response will usually be an antiperspirant, but how often, and when, you apply it will determine how effective it is. Really you can implement it throughout the day for the best effect.
Using antiperspirant at night may seem confusing at first, that is until you realize the chemicals that help prevent sweat will absorb overnight and remain active through a good portion of the next day. You may need to reapply at some point, but this way you’re taking the day head on and fully prepared.
Also, keep in mind that deodorant will prevent that underarm odor, while antiperspirant will ward off the sweating.
4. Do the Matthew McConaughey Treatment
If you are looking for a more natural substance to apply rather than the clinical deodorants, you can try taking a tip from Mr. Mcconaughey’s (yah, the guy from the movies) playbook. Lemon Juice. A great at home remedy since lemons are cheap and will kill bacteria where applied. Lemons also leave behind a pleasant scent. Juice a lemon and apply the liquid to your sweat producing areas before bed. The lemon juice will be absorbed into your body, limiting sweat and making you smell all nice.
Lemon juice is also a good ingredient when washing the sweat from clothes.
5. Apple Cider Vinegar
The astringent properties of apple cider vinegar help you balance out your ph levels and control your sweat. There are different ways to apply the vinegar to various parts of your body for maximum effect. You can implement the apple cider vinegar by dabbing a cotton ball soaked in the liquid over problem areas before bed to allow the chemicals to seep in. For your feet, wash thoroughly then apply a layer of the vinegar and allow it to dry before washing again. You can also soak two parts water to one part vinegar in a foot bath if you wish. PH levels can be balanced by eating apple cider vinegar as well.
6. Baking Soda
Another easy at home alternative. Baking soda will not only absorb odor; it is great at absorbing moisture and also balancing ph levels as well. The first method is to continue mixing in water until you have a paste with consistency you enjoy. Apply this paste to your problems areas and le it sits for about 20 minutes or more. Wash thoroughly.
You can also have a mobile to go sweat treatment with baking soda. Mix it with some corn starch and put the powders in a container. When excessive sweat hits, spread a little over the problem area and your moisture and scent will disappear.
7. Stay Cool
When you can’t remain indoors and air conditioned you will need to try and dress accordingly. Loose fitting clothes will help the air inside your clothes circulate and keep you cool. Starching your shirts will help keep them rigid and reduce clinging -allowing air flow.
Experiment with different fabrics (you will see conflicting accounts about what fabrics work better with sweat and why) and how your body reacts to them. Finding the right wardrobe may do wonders for your sweat life.
Garment Shields or armpit pads are adhesive pads can also help prevent pit stains in emergency situations. Investing about ten dollars in a little extra padding and protection and you can greatly reduce the visibility and odor of your condition.
Hats and sunglasses can also be useful accessories in keeping the sun off you and staying cool.
8. Try Some Extra Shaving
Hair causes an accumulation of sweat in the areas where it is present. Bacteria will zone in on these areas and cause an unpleasant odor. By shaving, you reduce this build up and decrease the odors associated with the sweat in that area. The lack of hair may also keep that portion of your skin cooler and allow more heat to escape, helping your body remain cool.
9. Medical Treatments
If you sweat an abnormally large amount, seemingly without cause, it may be due to Hyperhidrosis. People with Hyperhidrosis will begin to sweat even when all the traditional reasons (heat, exertions, nervousness, etc.) seem to be absent. The cause is usually billed as “Overactive sweat glands.” Secondary Hyperhidrosis can occur due to fluctuations in your bodies activity from the effects of another disease such as Parkinsons or Cancer.
People faced with excessive sweating now have many options when it comes to medical treatments. A doctor should be able to assess your situation and prescribe you an adequate treatment. The following information in this section is purely informational.
Aluminum Chloride is the active ingredient in the majority of antiperspirants out there. Sometimes the average amount may not be enough. A doctor can prescribe you an antiperspirant with a much higher amount of aluminum chloride.
If that doesn’t work, the doctors may opt for going with Iontophoresis. Iontophoresis is best for reducing issues with sweaty hands and feet and is performed by having you place these regions into water while an electrical current is passed through the area. You will feel a mild tingling. After a number of 15-minute sessions, you should begin to see a change in your sweat activity.
Another option is Botox. Botulinum toxin type A can be used to prevent sweaty underarms and sweaty palms. The Botox is injected into the problem area and will block the production of sweat in the area for a time. Usually about 3-4 months.
There are a couple of different surgical procedures that you can undergo if you’re sweating just can’t be alleviated any other way. If your problem is primarily in the face or palm areas, then a minimally invasive surgery called Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy can be undertaken. This surgery entails cutting the signal between your nerves and the sweat gland. If the problem is primarily armpit sweat, then you may have to actually get the sweat glands removed. Removal can be done via cutting, scraping or laser removal.