If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Underarms are an interesting region in our body. Many refer to it colloquially as gross while others are attracted to it in a sexy way. They even have a term for that – axillism. They’re ticklish too, so they can be a source of play-fun when in the mood especially with children. But seriously, underarms are by nature vulnerable and prone to problems.

A distinctive feature about underarms is its sweatiness. This is actually not surprising, given the amount of sweat glands and hair follicles that are endowed in abundance in that region of the anatomy. With the onset of underarm hair by puberty, both basic types of sweat glands (eccrine and apocrine) are found in the underarm areas.

The basic functions of Underarm Sweat are cooling and lubrication. When sweat evaporates from the underarms, the process absorbs heat from the surrounding area thereby reducing the temperature. In wetting the surface between the arms and the body during locomotion, underarm sweat reduces the friction generated from the inherent rubbing. A component of underarm sweat (aprocrine) in conjunction with hair follicles is also secreted when the person is under stress, anxiety or duress. This type of sweat has a milky appearance and a foul odor develops when it comes into contact with bacteria.

Hence, underarm sweating is natural and normal when healthy people are subjected to their expectant conditions. This can go wrong by having too much (Axillary Hyperhidrosis) or too little (Axillary Anhydrosis) of it. Of the two conditions, Axillary Anhydrosis is generally much more serious. Full-fledged medical attention must be summoned quickly as it’s potentially life-threatening.

Although Excessive Underarm Sweat is not as serious, it is far more common. Around 1 % of people are estimated to have this problem to some degree. That works out to millions of sufferers in the US alone. It is not uncommon also that other parts of the body are simultaneously afflicted with this kind of problem such as the face (Facial), hands (Palmar) and feet (Plantar).

There are two categories of Excessive Underarm Sweat. The first category is Primary Axillary Hyperhidrosis and the second one is Secondary Hyperhidrosis. The former is direct and straightforward in both effect and treatment while the latter is as depicted by name related to another underlying medical problem. Having that said, it’s not necessarily sticky as when the root cause such as diabetes, thyroid and so forth is eradicated, the associated Secondary Excessive Underarm Sweat will recede in tandem.

So, underarm sweat is not a curse. Ask those Anhydrosis sufferers and they will come out in cheers for underarm sweat. Actually, underarm sweat hardly ever becomes a problem for those who practice good hygiene, exercise and eat right. This alone will go a long way in mitigating the problem even for those who are genuinely afflicted through bad genetics.

Popularity: 6% [?]