SWEATY FEET
sweaty hands
HYPERHIDROSIS
iontophoresis
BEST SOLUTION
finally dry

Hyperhidrosis Group:

Terminology

- Perspiratio insensibilis: is a form of water loss, not visible to the naked eye

- Transpiration: the secretion of sweat on the skin to lower the body´s temperature through the evaporation of heat

- Diaphoresis: from the greek expression“to carry through”, “to throw off”, is excessive sweating, commonly associated with shock and other medical conditions. It canhave physiological as well as pathological causes

- Hyperhidrosis: is the condition of an abnormally increased perspiration (excessive sweating), mainly on hands, feet and armpits

Why do we sweat?

The body has 2-4 million sweat glands, whose role is to cool off the body when it is exposed by internal or external influences to great warmth.
High temperatures as well as physical activity increase sweating: the body tries to deliver energy to protect itself from overheating. The regulation of sweat is produced by shares of the autonomic nervous system (it is assumed that part of the nervous system, which is the  intentional influence, is withdrawn).

An instrument of the body to control and measure the current temperature is the hypothalamus (a specific part of the midbrain, which contains important features such as superior thermal regulation, blood pressure and respiratory control, vigilance and sleep patterns, food intake, fat metabolism, water balance, and sexual function coordinates). In here, nerve cells are designed for heat activation of certain sympathetic nerves. Subsequently, they stimulate neural pathways descending over the sweat glands of the skin to increase the production of sweat. Psychological factors (i.e. fear, excitement), infectious diseases (i.e. fever) and hormonal influences, might also lead to an increased sweat production.

Some more facts about sweating!

- Sweating is an effective mechanism to eliminate excess heat: The heat of evaporation of water during its transition to steam, is about 2400 kJ per liter. Sweat can be produced in quantities of up to 500 ml per hour and per m² of the body surface area (BSA), which means that the evaporation of sweat quantity, a heat output of 333 W / m² BSA conditioned.

- Sweat can evaporate, but only if the water vapor pressure of the air is lower than the one on the skin surface. The difference in water vapor partial pressure of 1 kPa produces a heat of 58 W / m² BSA with no wind. The more wind blows, the more heat can be dissipated. From the outside temperature, the heat loss through sweating is independent.

- While the loss of fluid through the air is an unavoidable physical phenomenon,the invisible sweat production of the hydration of the skin and the production of the acid mantle.

- Profuse sweating with cold skin is common in critically ill patients (myocardial infarction, found pulmonary edema). Here, the sweating is not intended to temperature regulation but is an accompanying phenomenon of the illness.

- Sweating leads to a reduction of skin resistance. This can also be used for scientific investigations and is referred to as psychogalvanic skin reaction.