Perspiration,
moist hands, hyperhydrose , what to think about it?
The
human body comprises approximately 3 million sweat glands.
They produce on average 1 liter of sweat per day.
When it is excessive, perspiration can go up to 1 liter per hour.
It is governed by the hypothalamus which is involved in the body's cooling
system, but it is also influenced by adrenalin and norepinephrin, two hormones
which produce sweat in cases of fear.
Perspiration, a useful phenomenon!
When our body needs energy, it transforms nutriments into energy, and this
involves the production of heat and therefore a rise in body temperature.
The same applies during a hot summer day. If it were not controlled, this
" overheating " would damage the cells of the skin.
Perspiration ensures the process of thermoregulation, thus making it possible
for the body to maintain a constant temperature averaging 37,2°C.
In addition, the phenomenon of sweating allows the body to eliminate 30% of
the waste produced as a result of metabolism (sweat is an aqueous liquid,
colourless and acidic which contains 99 % sodium chloride, ammonia, lactic
acid, urocanic urea, acid and amino acids). Lastly, perspiration ensures the
formation of a hydrolipidic film which ensures adherence. Without sweat, we
could not catch objects with our hands or walk on smooth surfaces in our bare
feet
The Test !
Result?
Let your fingers
hang...
.
In the event of hyperdydrose, a bead of sweat will bead in the first
second...
Release...
Sweat secretion obeys nervous incentives (physical or psychic) which arrive
of the hypothalamus located in the brain.
When
the rise in blood temperature reaches the hypothalamus, this creates a sweat
reaction. It consists in evaporating the sweat secreted by the sweat glands,
via the pores located at the surface of the skin.
The
system of perspiration due to emotions is rather similar. The emotions start
a psychic sweat reaction which affects the hands and the soles of the feet
in particular. It is due to hyperactivity oh the sympathetic nerve of the
nervous system whose sweat reflexes act by the intermediary of a nerve centre
which is, in this case, cortical.
Mechanism...
Perspiration relies
on approximately 3 millionsweat glands on the surface of our body and which
function uninterrupted.
They are in contact with blood vessels and connected to nerve endings.
There
are two types of sweat glands: the eccrine and apocrine glands.
The
eccrine glands are part of the parasympathetic nervous system.They are primarily
found on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet, the armpits,
the face and the chest. They eliminate sweat made up with 99% of water and
1% rock salt,
this is practically odourless.
The apocrine
glands, though fewer, react to the trigger of nervous fibres sympathetic
nerves (activated by emotional stimuli whose transmitter substance is adrenaline).
These are the ones involved in hyperhydrosis (*). These glands are located
in areas of poor air circulation like the armpits, the ano-genital folds,
the navel, etc. These areas are prone to maceration so the microbes break
up the apocrine sweat (wich has a viscous and milky aspect), which contains
greases, ammonia as well as fatty acids. This causes odors.
Excessive
perspiration...
Hyperhydrosis
(*) is the medical term indicating excessive sweating. Approximately 1% of
the population is affected. It can affcet either only certain parts of the
body or its whole surface. It appears as sweats wich is unadapted to the physiological
needs, it is not systematically caused by a rise of temperature or stress,
even if those can amplify the problem.
Causes
...
Hyperhidrosis results
from hyperactivity of the nervous system sympathetic nerve. According to their
origins, one can distinguish primary and secondary hyperhydrosis. One of the
major causes of localised hyperhydrosis is stress, emotions. It seems moreover
to be linked to hereditary obesity and other factors. One also experiences
hypersweating following:
dysfunction
of the vegetative nervous system;
problems
of health (diabetes, hypoglycemia, hyperthyroïd and other endocrin
disorders, cardiac insufficiency, tuberculosis, tumours, etc...);
particular
states and circumstances: menopause, pregnancy, fever, hormonal imbalance,
alcoholic or drug intoxication (and during the weaning of those), violent
effort, etc...;
taking
certain drugs (anti-inflammatory drugs, aspirine, the contraceptive pill,
thyroid hormones, antidepressants, etc...) and
certain spicy foods, etc...
Odors...
.
In itself, sweat is almost
odourless. The unpleasant odor (bromidrose) comes from the microbial degradation
of the organic substances conveyed by sweat. Certain zones are more exposed
to this (ano-genital, armpits, folds, navel, etc).
Advice
...
It is necessary to have
an "impeccable" standard of personal hygiene : a tepid shower associated
with the use of a soft soap (possibly a liquid soap disinfectant) makes it
possible to get rid of sweat and to inhibit the proliferation of the bacteria.
Feetshould be washed at least once a day and they must be toroughly dried.
You can then spray them with an anti-perspiring spray or cover them with talcum
powder.
Opt
for natural fibre clothing (cotton, flax, wool, etc.) as their weav makes
the texture more ventilated and allows any moisture to evaporate. On the
other hand, avoid synthetic fabrics which stick to the skin and increase
perspiration as well as unpleasant odors.
If you tend to perspire abundantly, choose loose clothing.
Change
clothing frequently, especially those in direct contact with the skin.
To
limit foot perspiration as much as possible, choose leather shoes or those
equipped with ventilation.
Avoid wearing the same shoes every day, it is preferable to change shoes
regularly so that they can be aired.
As for socks, choose cotton, wool or other natural fibres and change them
often.
Once more, avoid synthetic matters and those which compress the feet. Try
using inserts with absorbing or antifungal properties.
Drink
in order to avoid dehydration and to compensate for the loss of salts (in
particular of NaCl). Amongst other solutions, ordinary deodorants are useful
to mask the odors of perspiration (which, in the end, isn't so bad ...)
but they do not prevent perspiration.
To diminish abundant perspiration, think of using an antiperspirant. Metal
salts they contain, they fight the emission of sweat by tightening the sweat
channel, this does not completely block the process of perspiration but
it reduces the babbit metal from 30 to 60 %. Moreover, they attack the micro-organisms
responsible for the decomposition of sweat or absorb the odor by means of
a chemical reaction to it.
The products with aluminium chloride (20-25%), seem most effective. Apply
them 2 to 3 times per week.
Especially
adapted to the treatment of the perspiration of hands and feet, ionophoresis
requires specialised equipment but gives rather good results. It consists
in plunging the zones to be treated in a hot water basin crossed by an electrical
current created by two electrodes. Ionophoresis will stop the pores and
will prevent the evacuation of sweat. The treatment generally comprises
20 meetings of a score
of minutes each one, at a rate of one per week. Please be aware that this
method has countra-indications!
Drugs.
At present, no drug makes it possible to remove perspiration. However, when
the causes are due to stress, some antidepressants, beta-blockers (they
slow down the system of the sympathetic nerve) or anxiolytics can improve
hypersweating.
They require a medical follow-up. Others: Psychotherapy, hypnosis, relieving,
acupuncture and homeopathy can give results.
If
the hyperhydrosis resists all these and really proves to be a handicap,
surgical treatment is the only remaining possibility: the most used is endoscopic
thoracic sympathectomy, which leads to the specific destruction of the ganglion
sympathetic nerve which controls perspiration. This technique is both a
radical and final treatment and is only for case of extreme hyperhydrosisaxillaire.
It is a surgical operation, with the inherent risks which result from this
(see " surgical operation contract ").
Lastly, it is also possible to possibly undergo an ablation
of the affected sweat glands.
Harmful effects of sweat on our body..
An excess of perspiration can encourage the development of warts, bulbs,
the mycosis, contact dermatitis and eczema. It can also lead to a mineral
salt defect (defect at the origin of cramps) and dehydration.
Do you have any other
questions troubling you ?info@europeanclinics.com
Do not hesitate to fix an apointment quickly by going to
+32 (0) 475 517665 from
a fixed station
(00)(32)(0)477 238680 from a cellphone.
a specialist will listen to you and give you the best advice, without any
obligation !
The
human body comprises approximately 3 million sweat glands. 
