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Worked up over sweat

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who sweat and those who don't

Sweating, your science book tells you, is a normal bodily function. But, hey, have you ever seen dying to cosy up to a profusely sweating person? More often than not, sweating in public turns into an acute source of embarrassment for the person concerned and those surrounding him.

"Sweat? I think it is a combination of all the horrible things in the world," says Barkha, 20.

The level of sweating differs from person to person. Men, generally have a natural tendency to sweat more than women do.

Some people sweat profusely and some others, most unfairly, seldom do. No wonder it gets quite a few people worked up.

Doctors say that less or nil discharge of sweat is not an abnormality. It all boils down to the number of the glands concentrated in the parts of the body that produce sweat. However, research points out that excessive sweating can be a common feature (sometimes alarming too) under certain circumstances such as change in environmental temperature, taking paracetamol for fever, during menopause, withdrawal from certain drugs and intake of spicy food.

More than the amount of sweating, it is often the offensive odour produced that is a matter of concern. People find it embarrassing to smell onions or rotten fish or even being anywhere close to someone who smells similarly.

Surprisingly, sweat is odourless by nature. The culprit is the diphtheroid bacteria present on the human skin. When sweat comes into contact with this, it produces a smell that attacks the olfactory nerves. The stench depends on the number of bacteria concentrated in the sweat-producing areas.

So, how does one really beat the sickening smell of sweat? People resort to different methods and most notably use anti-perspirants and deodorants. Anti-perspirants prevent or minimise the amount of sweating by keeping the areas concerned dry and controlling bacterial growth. But, they block sweat glands, causing inflammation of the skin leading to a condition called dermatitis. Deodorants are much safer as they only camouflage the offensive odour produced by sweat. But dermatologists are of the opinion that just maintaining personal hygiene can work wonders.

Janani Rajeswari S.

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