Brief overview
- What is sweating? Normally a regulatory mechanism of the body to release excessive heat. However, it can also be caused by illness.
- What can be done against sweating? e.g. wear air-permeable clothing and leather shoes instead of shoes made of synthetic materials, avoid high-fat and spicy meals, use deodorant, lose excess weight, use medicinal plants, e.g. as a tea, regularly go to the sauna and/or exercise to train the function of the sweat glands.
- Causes: Normal sweating to regulate temperature during high temperatures or physical exertion, but also during nervousness or after spicy food. Pathological sweating (hyperhidrosis) can be caused by illness or medication (secondary hyperhidrosis) or have no identifiable cause (primary hyperhidrosis).
- When to see a doctor? In case of heavy sweating without an identifiable cause, sudden outbreaks of sweating without an apparent reason, accompanying fever above 40°C or if heavy sweating repeatedly occurs at night.
Description: What is sweating?
Sweating is a natural regulatory mechanism of the body: it serves to release excessive body heat, but can also be triggered, for example, by emotional factors such as stage fright. Experts distinguish between the following forms of normal sweating:
- Emotional sweating (emotional sweating): Nervous arousal, such as occurs with self-consciousness, test anxiety, stage fright, anger, or shock, causes most people to sweat primarily on the palms and armpits, but also on the soles of the feet and forehead.
- Gustatory sweating (taste sweating): Chewing sour or spicy foods and drinking alcohol stimulate metabolism and thus heat production. This results mainly in sweating on the face (forehead, cheeks, upper lip), less frequently on the trunk (upper body). Taste sweating in the narrower sense does not include sweating after ingestion of hot food or drink, since here sweat production is not triggered directly by a taste stimulus, but by the heat.
Pathological sweating
In some people, sweat production is disturbed – those affected either do not sweat at all, sweat reduced or sweat excessively. Physicians speak of:
- Anhidrosis: Sweat secretion is suppressed, i.e. the affected person does not sweat at all.
- Hypohidrosis: Sweat secretion is reduced, i.e. the patients sweat less than normal.
The transitions between “normal” (physiological) sweating and pathological sweating are fluid, as sweat secretion varies greatly from person to person.
Hyperhidrosis
A sign of pathological, increased sweating can be rapid, heavy sweating in the absence of physical exertion or with little physical exertion. Particularly heavy sweating at night may indicate an underlying condition. However, a reason for hyperhidrosis cannot always be found. Accordingly, physicians distinguish between primary and secondary hyperhidrosis:
Primary hyperhidrosis
Also called essential or idiopathic hyperhidrosis. Here, no underlying disease or external cause for the increased sweating can be found. Primary hyperhidrosis is much more common than secondary hyperhidrosis. It is usually limited to puberty and young adulthood. Heavy sweating does not occur here at night.
Primary hyperhidrosis is usually limited to certain parts of the body (focal hyperhidrosis). Typical is, for example, strong, excessive sweating on the head, heavy sweating on the face or in the crotch. Or the hands and/or feet sweat excessively.
In addition to focal hyperhidrosis, there is also generalized hyperhidrosis – that is, heavy sweating all over the body.
Secondary hyperhidrosis
In contrast to primary hyperhidrosis, nocturnal sweating sometimes also occurs in secondary hyperhidrosis. This is referred to as nocturnal hyperhidrosis. If no cause for the night sweats can be found, doctors speak of idiopathic night sweats. However, if you sweat heavily at night during sleep, for example in the chest area, this can also indicate a disease such as diabetes mellitus.
Night sweats in women can also be caused by hormonal changes (e.g. during pregnancy or menopause). Night sweats in men can also have hormonal reasons. For example, the testosterone level in men decreases with increasing age, which can also become noticeable through heavy sweating at night in affected men.
If excessive sweating is accompanied by symptoms such as reddening of the skin with a feeling of heat (flushing), altered perception of sensory stimuli (sensory disturbances) or pain, physicians speak of sweating sickness. If the heavy sweating is accompanied by an unpleasant odor (rancid, musty, cheesy, etc.), the condition is known as bromhidrosis.
You can find out everything important about pathologically increased sweating in the article Hyperhidrosis.
What to do in case of heavy sweating?
- Airy clothing: Wear loose, air-permeable clothing, preferably made of cotton and wool, but no synthetic fibers.
- Onion look: Dress according to the onion principle (for example, a T-shirt plus a thin cardigan instead of a thick wool sweater).
- Proper footwear: Especially if you have sweaty feet, wear leather shoes with a full-length leather sole (no rubber, plastic or wooden soles) and sandals in summer. Change your shoes more often during the day.
- Cool bedroom, light comforter: If you sweat a lot at night, this may be due to the room temperature being too high. The optimum temperature in the bedroom is about 18 degrees. A blanket that is too thick can also be the reason for increased sweating at night. In this case, try a thinner blanket. This is often enough to prevent sweating during sleep.
- Walk barefoot: Walk barefoot as often as possible, as the stimulation of the soles of the feet regulates the activity of the sweat glands.
- Eat right: Avoid foods and drinks that stimulate sweating such as high-fat, sumptuous and/or spicy meals, alcohol, nicotine and coffee.
- Reduce fat deposits: If you are overweight, lose weight if possible. Then you will also sweat less.
- Shower daily: Shower at least once every day. Use, for example, deodorizing syndets (cleansing agents made from synthetic raw materials) or pH-neutral soaps.
- Remove underarm hair: If you have a lot of underarm perspiration, you should shave your underarm hair to prevent bacterial growth with odor formation.
- Fight odor: Use deodorants (roll-on deodorants, deodorant sprays, etc.) whose odorants and antibacterial additives reduce or mask the smell of sweat. The antibacterial effect is important because the unpleasant smell of sweat only develops when bacteria get hold of the sweat.
- Exercise sweat jets: Go to the sauna and/or sports regularly to train the normal function of the sweat glands. Caution: If you have existing underlying conditions such as heart failure or venous disease, consult your doctor beforehand.
- “Water cures”: Cold-warm showers, Kneipp casts for arms and legs, and full baths with brine, mud or hay flower additives are also recommended for excessive sweating (for example, during menopause).
- Black cohosh: For increased sweating and other menopausal symptoms, you can take herbal preparations based on black cohosh (pharmacy). They contain substances with hormone-like effects that can partially compensate for the increasing estrogen deficiency during menopause.
- Calming medicinal plants: Sweating, increased sweating and night sweats can be a heavy mental burden and, conversely, can be caused by mental tension. Then calming medicinal plants such as valerian, passionflower and lemon balm can be useful. A mixture of one teaspoon each of St. John’s wort, lemon balm, lavender and passion flower is recommended as a hot tea for sweating (hot flashes) during menopause. Pour a cup of hot water over the whole and strain after five minutes. Drink such a cup in small sips three times a day for four weeks. After that, take a break for at least a month.
- Homeopathy: For sudden sweating with hot flashes, homeopathy recommends Acidum sulfuricum D12. The homeopathic Sepia D12 is indicated for malodorous sweat when the symptoms improve with exercise. On the other hand, the remedy Sulfur D12 is used for malodorous sweat with improvement of the symptoms by cold. The same remedy as well as Calcium carbonicum D12 can help against sweaty feet. Regarding the dosage, you should talk to an experienced therapist.
- Essential oils: Against increased sweating, the essential oils of sage, citronella, rose, rosewood, thuja and cypress are especially recommended, for example as additives in baths, shower cream and skin cream. You can also take a foot balm and mix two to four drops of spruce, pine, rosemary, lemongrass or tea tree oil with it. This will help with heavy sweating on the feet.
- Apple cider vinegar: Apple cider vinegar can also help against sweating. It causes the sweat glands to contract. For example, apply the old home remedy against sweating on the feet: Add 100 ml of apple cider vinegar to 10 l of warm water and bathe your feet in it.
Various therapeutic methods can help with primary hyperhidrosis, for example special deodorants or tap water iontopheresis. Injection therapy with Botox against sweating is also very effective. Under certain circumstances, the doctor may also prescribe medications against sweating that act throughout the body (systemically). Read more about these treatment options in the article Hyperhidrosis.
Sweating: When to see a doctor?
If you sweat a lot, the excessive sweating occurs repeatedly and regardless of temperature, physical activity, or eating spicy foods, and it interferes with your daily life, you should see a doctor. You may be suffering from hyperhidrosis, which should be treated medically.
You should always see a doctor:
- if sudden heavy sweating starts, without any apparent cause
- @ if you experience sudden outbreaks of sweating that you cannot explain
- if you sweat repeatedly at night, for no apparent reason (for example, because the room temperature is too high)
- @ sweating with fever that rises above 40 °C, lasts longer than three days or is of unclear cause
Call the emergency physician immediately in case of:
- sweating with restlessness and clouding of consciousness in diabetics
- sudden sweating with dizziness and loss of consciousness, if fainting lasts longer than one minute or if the affected person faints more frequently
