Why Do I Sweat So Much? Causes, Treatments, and More
Ever ask, “Why do I sweat so much?” Here are the most common causes and effective treatment options to control excessive sweating.
Let’s say you go to a weekly cycling class. You sweat more than everyone else, which creates more laundry than you’d like. Or maybe you’ve noticed you sweat at job interviews or on dates. All these situations may lead you to ask, “Why do I sweat so much?”
Before we answer that question, it’s important to establish a few baselines: Perspiration is normal, even if you sweat more than those around you. While sweat is nothing to be ashamed of, discovering why you have overactive sweat glands and the best treatment options allows you to feel comfortable in that cycling class, at work, or on a date.
Sweat: A Love-Hate Relationship with Your Body
There’s no avoiding it: Everyone sweats. But that truth doesn’t make sweaty palms on a first date or visible sweats on shirts any easier to deal with. Before explaining why some people experience heavy sweating and body odor, let’s dive into why we sweat, period.
Why We Sweat (And Why It’s a Good Thing)
For our ancestors, sweating was the equivalent of ye old air conditioning. In fact, humans evolved to have sweat glands that cool our bodies down. Body sweat also became part of our fight or flight cues. If a lion stalked our ancestors, the body would sweat as a reminder to flee or fight off danger.
Today, each of us has over two to four million sweat glands. Most fall into two main types:
Eccrine sweat glands: Sweat glands involved in regulating body temperature.
Apocrine sweat glands: Glands that respond to emotions or thoughts (think: stress sweat).
Sweat glands typically gather in hotspots across the body, mainly the palms, the soles of the feet, underarms, scalp, and face.
When Sweat Becomes a Problem
It’s hard to draw the line between what’s excessive and normal, though most dermatologists consider sweat excessive when it happens daily, even when there’s no obvious reason, for six months or longer. In these cases, someone may be diagnosed with hyperhidrosis, a medical condition where someone sweats excessively.
The Many Faces of Sweat: Which One Is Yours?
On average, we produce 0.5 to one liters daily (and that’s individually, not as a collective). Of that body sweat, over half is due to emotions, like stress or fear. The other half is usually due to medical reasons, heat, or movement.
Stress Sweat
Stress is responsible for more than 50% of daily sweat, thanks to the apocrine sweat glands. If you’ve ever been nervous at a party where you know no one but the host (an example that may or may not be from personal experience), you understand sweat face all too well.
Learning why we sweat when stressed is a bit more nuanced. Sweat is a controlled autonomic nervous system, which is also the part of the body that regulates a fight or flight response to negative emotions. Thanks to this connection, any emotion that triggers the nervous system may also trigger sweat.
Heat and Physical Activity Sweat
Heat and workouts are the two reasons we think of most often to explain heavy sweat. That’s thanks to the eccrine sweat glands, which lower the body temperature in response to a hotter climate or intensive physical activity.
Hormonal or Medical Sweat
When sweat is experienced alongside other symptoms, such as an abnormal heart rate or low blood sugar, a medical condition or hormonal changes may be at play. The former includes a wide variety of conditions, from a heart attack to an overactive thyroid. The latter could be due to hormonal disruptions associated with puberty, menopause, or even disruptions to the thyroid hormone.
Certain medications, including some beta blockers and antidepressants, can also cause excessive sweat.
The Sweat Checklist: Figuring Out Why You Sweat So Much
As the many faces of sweat demonstrate, there’s quite a few reasons for excessive perspiration. To find your sweat triggers or causes, explore the checklist below.
Personal Factors to Consider
There are many personal decisions that could influence how much you sweat, such as:
Anxiety
Tight clothing
Too much caffeine
Spicy food
Hydration
Intense physical activity
Environmental Factors to Consider
Other times, the world around you can trigger excessive sweating, especially:
Hot climates
Poorly ventilated spaces
Genetics (if a family member sweats excessively, you’re more likely to)
Signs It’s a Medical Issue
For about 16 million people in the United States, hyperhidrosis is the reason they sweat excessively. Hyperhidrosis can be a medical condition in and of itself or related to another medical condition or medications.
Signs of hyperhidrosis include:
Unexplained excessive sweating
Consistent dampness
Sweat that disrupts daily life
What to Do If You Sweat Too Much (And Why It’s Not the End of the World)
At times, everyone sweats more than usual. Heavy sweating could be due to a heat wave or a meeting that makes you anxious. In severe cases, someone may actually have hyperhidrosis, a health condition marked by overactive sweat glands.
Recognizing When Sweating Becomes a Bigger Issue
There are some clear signs of hyperhidrosis or extreme sweating, such as:
Sweating impairs daily activities
Excessive, visible sweating for six or more months
Episodes of sweating that last longer than seven days
Bilateral and symmetric sweating (meaning if one armpit sweats excessively, the other does too)
No sweating or less sweating at night
To make matters more confusing, there’s different types of hyperhidrosis, such as primary hyperhidrosis (sweating with no known cause) or secondary hyperhidrosis (sweating with a distinct cause, such as another health condition or a medication). Someone may also have general hyperhidrosis (sweating everywhere) or focal hyperhidrosis (sweating in one or a few targeted areas).
Primary focal hyperhidrosis can also be broken down further. Axillary hyperhidrosis, for example, refers to excessive sweating in the underarms, while palmar hyperhidrosis refers to perspiration in the palms. It’s also possible to have multiple types of focal hyperhidrosis at the same time, such as palmar and axillary hyperhidrosis.
Taking Action to Manage Sweat
While researchers know a lot about hyperhidrosis and effective treatment options, extreme perspiration is still underdiagnosed. In fact, up to 73% of cases remain undiagnosed.
If you have any of the above signs, make an appointment with a dermatologist or other healthcare provider with specialized knowledge or experience in treating hyperhidrosis—that bolded part is key. Not all dermatologists treat excessive sweating regularly, making it important to find one who does.
After a hyperhidrosis diagnosis, a dermatologist will walk you through different treatment options:
Prescription antiperspirants: This skincare product reduces sweat in 85% of cases.
Medications: Topical and oral medications are available for hyperhidrosis. Their effectiveness ranges, thanks to the variety of medications and the many types of hyperhidrosis.
Botox: These injections aren’t just for wrinkles. Botox can help with excessive sweating in as little as one week.
MiraDry: A treatment that permanently reduces sweat glands, with an 82% success rate.
Iontophoresis: A medical device that treats hyperhidrosis with electrical currents.
Surgery: While hyperhidrosis surgery is effective in over 75% of cases, there are possible complications, and it is only recommended for severe hyperhidrosis.
77% report a better quality of life after hyperhidrosis treatment. The key to being in that 77%? Find the right option for your lifestyle and symptoms. Once someone has a customized treatment plan, sweat is highly manageable.
Rethinking the Sweat Narrative
Left unmanaged, excessive sweating can impair your life, mental wellbeing, and physical health. Yet, when someone has the correct diagnosis and treatment, sweating becomes an unobtrusive part of life. To experience the latter, keep these takeaways in mind:
We all sweat for many reasons: Sweating is a normal part of life. We often sweat due to stress, warmer temperatures, a rigorous workout, a medical condition, or a hormonal imbalance.
Some people sweat more: While we all sweat, some people just do it more. When excessive sweating becomes long-lasting or interrupts daily life, a hyperhidrosis diagnosis may be in order.
Treatment is available: If you fall into the extreme sweating camp, Botox, prescription antiperspirants, and other treatment options are effective. The key is to develop a treatment plan with a dermatologist who has experience treating hyperhidrosis.
If looking for a hyperhidrosis specialist, consider using SweatRx. Our platform pairs you with a qualified dermatologist who can assess your symptoms and provide a customized treatment plan if necessary.
