How Stress Affects Excessive Underarm Sweating
Stress is never fun to deal with. Excessive sweating isn’t fun, either. Unfortunately, for those with hyperhidrosis, when you combine the two it can be an absolute nightmare. The result of stress and excessive sweating brings about stress sweat, which is a smelly, staining, and embarrassing type of sweat that can be detrimental to our confidence and social life.
Unfortunately, it is futile to try to avoid stress altogether. So, to control stress sweat, you have to come up with some other creative options. After all, you never know when life is going to get stressful and crazy, so always being prepared is the best way to deal with excessive sweating and hyperhidrosis that is triggered by stress.
If you need to know more about how stress triggers excessive sweating in patients with hyperhidrosis and some of the best ways to control it, keep on reading. In this article, we are going to give you all the information you need about how stress sweat happens and how to avoid an embarrassing situation.
The Ultimate Guide To Stress-Induced Hyperhidrosis
First, let’s talk about stress-induced hyperhidrosis, how it differs from other triggers of excessive sweating, and some of the common ways that people deal with it.Why Does Stress Sweat Happen?
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Stress is just how our bodies react to potential threats to our life and limb. When stress occurs, a rush of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol hits our systems. Our heart rate increases, and even our muscles tense so that we can be prepared potentially for the fight of our lives. The sweat that is secreted during this moment does a few things. It keeps our bodies nice and cool during the fight or flight so we can run faster or fight harder. It also helps to keep our electrolytes and fluids balanced so that we can be at the top of our form during any confrontation. Because of these benefits, everyone is going to sweat during stress. However, for those with hyperhidrosis, the amount of sweat can be at an unmanageable and embarrassing level, or a lot of sweat is triggered by things that are only slightly stressful, so it can be annoying and seem like your body is overreacting to the world around you. |
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What Is The Difference Between Stress and Heat Induced Sweat?
Not all of the sweat glands in our bodies were created the same way. The majority of them are eccrine sweat glands that enact normally when we are getting too hot or are exercising. These sweat glands excrete an odorless sweat that is clear. It is mainly made of water and salt, and it helps us control our temperatures.
While excessive amounts of this type of sweat can still be embarrassing due to large wet marks that show up easily on our clothes, this is not the type of sweat that causes a lot of staining or smells very bad. We have eccrine sweat glands all over our body in order to help us stay nice and cool when things get a little heated.
However, there is another type of less common sweat gland that can really cause us embarrassment when it starts to over-produce due to stress and hyperhidrosis. This type of sweat gland is called an apocrine gland. These glands are mainly found in the armpits and genitals. There are also a few on our scalps, as well.
The sweat that comes from apocrine glands is initially odorless. However, it doesn’t evaporate nearly as quickly as the sweat that our eccrine glands produces does. Because of this, it combines with bacteria which begins to create an odor fairly quickly as the bacteria begin to eat the nutrients found in the sweat.
This is where we get body odor from. These glands don’t produce all that much wetness normally, but for those with hyperhidrosis who are also under stress, it can be a very large amount of sweat which can lead to a very smelly problem.
It is also good to remember that when we say stress, we mean it in the most generalized meaning of the word. Unfortunately, stress doesn’t have to be negative. So, these glands can start acting up even in our most joyful moments, because any type of excitement is still putting extra stress on our clans and endocrine system, which can lead to overproduction of sweat and an episode of hyperhidrosis.
The sweat that is caused by stress and excitement usually starts immediately. The sweat we produce when we are warm, however, is usually a bit of a delayed reaction.
How To Control Stress Sweat
Now that you know more about how stress sweat occurs and where it comes from, we are going to discuss some of the most common ways to keep it under control.MANAGE YOUR STRESS
While this is very hard to do, one of the best ways to manage your excessive stress sweating in your underarms due to hyperhidrosis is to limit the amount of stress you are putting yourself under in the first place. Some of the best ways to do this include mindfulness, meditation, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. However, this method is never going to be infallible. Stress is a very normal part of everyone’s everyday life, so it is important to have other resources and methods for controlling and managing your excessive underarm stress sweat caused by hyperhidrosis.
How To Manage Stress
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Breathe Deep
Breathing deeply can help you lower your stress hormones which will help you avoid excessive underarm sweating. Diaphragmatic breathing, for instance, is a technique that can be successfully used to manage stress levels effectively and with no harm done to your body. |
Listen To Music Listening to calming music is one of the most effective ways to manage your stress levels so that you can avoid a wet and smelly situation. It is important to make sure in these situations that you are listening to calming music that also makes you happy, and not music that is going to upset you or stress you out, which could just exacerbate the problem. |
Talk It Out When you are feeling stressed, it can be really helpful to talk about what is stressing you out with a loved one or a close confidant. If you are experiencing stress frequently, it could also be very helpful to get a trusted therapist, or another medical provider, that you can confide in who will help you manage your symptoms that include excessive underarm sweating caused by hyperhidrosis in other ways, as well.. |
Chew Gum
Chewing gum reduces stress according to a medical study done in 2009. Those who chewed gum in stressful situations were able to lower their cortisol levels. Cortisol is one of the stress hormones that trigger the sweat glands that produce stress sweat. |
USE ANTIPERSPIRANT
An antiperspirant will help you mitigate the amount of wetness that is caused by hyperhidrosis. The compounds found in antiperspirant will stop up both of the types of sweat glands in your armpits which will help you stay dry. The best time to apply this is at night before bed after a fresh shower, because at this time you are likely sweating the least.
By applying the antiperspirant at night, you are allowing the chemical composition the most opportunity to plug up the sweat glands without getting washed away by active sweat excreting from them.
If you experience excessive sweat from other areas of your body, you can also use antiperspirants on those areas, as well. It is important to know, however, that if you are a morning shower and start sweating as soon as your shower is over, you may have a hard time making this method work for you. You may need to instead switch up your schedule to where you are now taking showers at night and applying your antiperspirant before bed.
If the first kind of antiperspirant you buy doesn’t work, then get a stronger more clinical version. You can also talk to your doctor or dermatologist and see what brand they recommend for excessive sweating.
It is also important to ensure that you are buying an antiperspirant, not a deodorant. While many products do both, and it's fine to have one of those, there are many deodorants on the market that do not contain any kind of antiperspirant. These types of sticks aren’t going to help with the sweating and staining. They will only help ensure that you won’t smell bad. So, double-check and make sure that you are buying the good stuff.
KEEP YOURSELF WELL-GROOMED
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It is important that you are trimming the hair in your underarms if not shaving them entirely. While this doesn’t stop sweating, it is going to allow you to use antiperspirant and deodorant much more effectively than if you were keeping all of your armpit hair. You want your products to do the most effective job that they can do, so making sure your products can get to your skin without being blocked by body hair is one of the best ways to do that. Additionally, it is important to understand that body hair traps body oils and smells very easily, so excessive body hair in your armpits is only going to make the smells even worse, which isn’t going to help your confidence levels. While it may not seem very “manly” to shave your armpits, you may want to consider doing a thorough trimming and manscaping in order to ensure that you are helping yourself not have sweat and body odor issues in your underarms. |
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CONSIDER MEDICAL TREATMENTS
There are many different medical treatments that you can try if your excessive underarm sweating is not able to be controlled by normal methods. One of these medical devices is called the miraDry. It uses microwaves to destroy sweat glands and hair follicles in your underarms which will greatly reduce excessive sweating and body odor. Many patients only need one session, and the results are permanent, which is great news from those who are suffering from hyperhidrosis.
INVEST IN SWEAT PROOF UNDERSHIRTS
Most men wear undershirts under their professional and casual attire every day, and wearing an undershirt that is sweat stain free is a great way to help ensure that you are always going to be free from sweat stains. One of our favorite men’s sweat proof undershirts for professionals is TR+O.
These sweat shield undershirts are made with high-performance and sustainable fabric that is ultra-soft and put into a tailored fit shirt that will look great under any outfit. Better yet, each shirt comes with an underarm sweat stain-blocking guarantee, so that you can be sure that you have one of the best sweat proof undershirts out there.
If you are interested in buying the top sweat proof undershirt on the market today so that you can avoid a wet and smelly situation the next time you are experiencing excessive underarm sweating due to stress, then you need to invest in a TR+O undershirt. These are the best selling sweat proof undershirts for a reason. Here is what makes them so great:
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Blocks Underarm Sweat Stains
These sweat stain free men’s undershirts are designed to prevent sweat stains thanks to a unique washable waterproof layer that you can wear with 100% confidence. The high-performance fabrics will absorb and release moisture, which supports our bodies’ natural thermal regulation processes. This helps you stay dry and comfortable all day long. |
Made Of High-Performance Ultra-Soft Fabric TR+O undershirts are made with Lenzing™ Modal fabric produced in Austria. This ultra-soft breathable fabric is softer and more water-absorbent than cotton. It is lightweight and feels luxurious next to the skin. This fabric has moisture-wicking properties, essentially drawing moisture from the skin and helping it dissipate into the air. |
Designed For Professionals TR+O undershirts are anti-pilling, won't shrink or wrinkle. They are ready to be machine wash and dried. They have a tailored fit to ensure that your undershirt will always stay tucked-in. With high-quality stitching and perfect V and U neck finishes available you will be happy to wear these undershirts with confidence and comfort. |
Sustainably Made
TR+O fabrics are composed of beech wood pulp made into cellulosic (plant-based) fibers. The raw materials are harvested from sustainably managed farms. The fiber is made using a “closed-loop” process, which means the water and solvent used to transform wood pulp to a soft fiber is recycled back for re-use at a recovery rate of 99%. In addition, the fibers are biodegradable and compostable, allowing them to eventually revert back to nature. |
A Style For Every Man
TR+O was sure to design a sweat proof undershirt for every man, no matter what kind of style he likes to wear. They have made different sweat stain free undershirts for men in the following cuts and styles. All of their styles come in both a U neck and a V neck based on your preference. You will be sure to love one of the below options:Sweat Proof Undershirts in WHITE
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Relaxed Fit |
Slim Fit |
Relaxed Fit |
Slim Fit |
Sweat Proof Undershirts in BLACK
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Relaxed Fit |
Slim Fit |
Relaxed Fit |
Slim Fit |