Why Do I Sweat So Much? 10 Major Causes To Know About

Given the fact that the release of pure, salty fluid is how the human body cools itself and regulates temperature and it’s actually very good that we sweat. Sweating is normal when we feel hot or when we exercise. But certain conditions cause our bodies to sweat more than usual and may even indicate a serious health problem. In this article, we will help you know why you sweat too much.

Reason for Excessive Sweating 

Here are reasons that cause some people sweat more than others.

1. Primary Hyperhidrosis

2-3% of the population with hyperhidrosis disease sweats much more than usual. And this sweating happens somewhat unpredictably – that is, not necessarily when they are hot or exercising.

This excessive sweating can lead not only to discomfort from excess moisture and an increased risk of fungal infections and skin diseases but also to emotional stress. You must consult a doctor to get proper treatment for this health condition.

2. Alcohol 

Alcohol causes the blood vessels near your skin to dilate, prompting your sweat glands to work. Remember that a person sweats in proportion to the amount of alcohol consumed. It means those who abuse alcoholic beverages usually sweat abnormally.

Even the deodorants won’t help them to get rid of the stinky smell. One of the best solutions to get rid of excessive sweating and other alcohol-related health problems is to give up alcohol. And nothing works better than getting help from a rehab center to quit alcohol addiction.

Besides, there are lots of rehab services available all across the US, especially in California. So if you are living there, know that California addiction treatment centers would really facilitate you to get rid of alcoholism and, ultimately, your excessive sweating problem.

3. Spicy Food 

Spicy food stimulates receptors, actually painful fibers, in the skin that respond to heat. When these painful fibers are activated by the spice-causing chemicals in foods such as chili peppers, the central nervous system tricks the irritant into heat. The body, as a result, acts accordingly to cool itself using its natural perspiration mechanism. If you want to avoid this condition, you must avoid eating spicy foods.

4. Menopause 

Hot flashes and night sweats are two major signs that a woman is going through menopause. There is a good reason for this excessive sweating, i.e., hormonal changes. Women’s bodies change rapidly in invisible ways, thanks to unpredictable changes in hormone production by their ovaries. The two main hormones of major female hormones are estrogen and progesterone.

These chemicals travel through the blood to other parts of the body and can control cell function. For example, estrogen can act on cells in your blood vessels, causing them to expand. So during hot flashes, women’s faces and upper bodies turn red due to the expansion of these blood vessels.

5. Hyperthyroidism 

Sometimes the hormones cause excess sweating due to the thyroid gland overly influencing the production of thyroid hormone, a condition known as hyperthyroidism. This small gland is located just below our vocal cords and is responsible for the production of thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormone affects a number of bodily processes, including metabolism, brain development, respiration, and weight.

What happens when your thyroid gland fails and produces too much hormone? Your body temperature rises, your heat intolerance rises, and you start sweating more than usual. Although sometimes hyperthyroidism is very severe, it can be treated with medication or surgery, and sometimes it may even go away without simple treatment.

6. Heart Diseases 

Excessive sweating can be a warning sign of heart failure in both men and women. Victims of a heart attack are known to sweat profusely just before and during a heart attack. The main part of the body’s nervous system, i.e., the sympathetic nervous system, controls perspiration throughout the body. When a heart attack begins, the sympathetic nervous system is activated, causing sweat to flow out.

Also Read: What to Know About Factors That Affect Your Health

7. Cancer 

Doctors don’t fully understand why this happens, but they speculate that sweating may be due to the body’s efforts to fight cancer. Some cancers cause sweating more than others, including bone cancer, liver cancer, leukemia, and lymphoma. Cancer itself does not always cause excessive sweating.

Sweating can be a secondary symptom associated with cancer medications, disease-related infections, and hormonal changes. Morphine and chemotherapy can cause hot flashes and sweats in patients. Infections are probably one of the most common causes of sweating caused by cancer. The fever that comes with infections causes the body to try to cool itself down.

8. Infectious Diseases 

Infectious diseases such as AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis have the worst symptoms. If untreated, or in the most severe cases, they can lead to death. Night sweats are quite common with each of these conditions. Patients wake up drenched in sweat as a result of intense flare-ups, often associated with fever.

9. Panic Attacks 

Severe panic attacks are actually very similar to heart attacks: heart palpitations, dizziness, chest pain, etc. The same sympathetic nervous system that activates during a heart attack and makes you sweat does the same to your body during the time of the panic attack.

Given that panic disorder causes sudden attacks, people with panic disorder live in constant fear of an impending attack. You must consult a doctor to get rid of panic attacks and excessive sweating.

10. Phobias 

While panic disorder causes panic attacks in people for no specific reason, phobias are another type of anxiety disorder that causes panic attack symptoms due to a strong fear of something specific that poses no particular danger. What happens when a person with a phobia encounters the object of their fear?

Fear of an object or situation starts in the brain but quickly affects other parts of human physiology. Heartbeat increases and the blood pressure rise sharply. And the sympathetic nervous system goes into a highly active mode, which, of course, leads to excess sweat.

Bottom Line

Excess sweating can be due to poor lifestyle habits, such as improper diet and excessive consumption of alcohol, or due to serious health problems, such as cancer and heart diseases. However, no matter what the reason may be, you must consult the doctor to get rid of excessive sweating.