10 Common Causes of Excessive Sweating
Excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis can be triggered by physical, mental, or environmental factors. While it is not harmful, it can lead to uncomfortable and embarrassing situations, disrupting normal life. Here’s a list of the most common reasons for heavy sweating.
1. Overactive eccrine sweat glands
The eccrine sweat glands are the primary sweat glands of our bodies. These glands are always overactive in some people, which can lead to constant sweating.
2. Mental state
For many people, one of the common reasons for heavy sweating is their mental state. Feelings of anxiety, panic, fear, and stress can trigger the sweat glands and can lead to excessive sweating.
3. Thyroid issues
Hyperthyroidism is a disorder that causes the thyroid gland to be overactive. An overactive thyroid gland can disrupt the body’s metabolism and increase sweating.
4. Low blood sugar levels
When blood sugar levels drop really low, the body reacts by triggering the sweat glands. This is very common in diabetes patients, and they often wake up sweating in the middle of the night.
5. Age
Teenagers generally sweat a lot. As children enter their teens, the body’s sweat glands become more active and produce more hormones. As a result, some teenagers experience excessive sweating along with other metabolic changes.
6. Heat
Another common reason for heavy sweating is heat, so sweating is common in summers. The body’s temperature also increases when the environmental temperatures run high, and the body activates the sweat glands to bring down its core temperature.
7. High humidity
Humidity is the presence of water vapors in the air. High humidity means the atmosphere has more water vapor, so sweat does not evaporate quickly. People living in places where humidity is generally high tend to experience heavy sweating.
8. Pregnancy
A woman’s body goes through several changes during pregnancy, and an increase in body temperature is just one of them. The increase in body temperature leads to them feeling hot and becomes a reason for heavy sweating. One of the first signs of pregnancy that a woman notices is sudden and abnormal sweating.
9. Menopause
Sweating, hot flashes, and mood swings are common symptoms of menstruation as well as menopause. Menopause leads to an increase in body temperature, along with multiple other hormonal changes. All this leads to constant sweating. Night sweats or hot flashes that occur at night can even cause women to wake up drenched in sweat.
10. Consumption of certain medications
Certain pain medications, hormonal medications, and blood pressure medicines are associated with sweating. One can consult their doctor and ask them for alternatives in such cases.
All these are common reasons for heavy sweating. One can talk to a doctor to understand their reason for sweating. A combination of medications and lifestyle changes can help an individual handle the condition better.