Sweating occurs in our body for temperature regulation. When our body heats up due to any reason, then the nerves in our body give signals to sweat glands to produce sweat. Thus, sweating in the general sense is both normal and healthy. It becomes a problem when it occurs too often or even in undesirable situations.

What are the reasons for excessive sweating?

1. Environmental Factors - If you are living in humid or hot weather conditions then you may face excessive sweating.

2. Exercising - When you exercise, a lot of heat is produced in your body which may cause excessive sweating.

3. Medicine - There are a few medicines whose consumption can lead to more sweating. This includes Antidepressants, Painkillers, Antibiotics and Antiviral medicines.

4. Hormonal Changes - Hormonal changes caused due to thyroid, low sugar levels or menopause in women can be a reason for excessive sweating.

5. Infections - Few infections like Tuberculosis can also cause a person to sweat profusely.

6. Stress - When we feel stressed, our body temperature rises, prompting our sweat glands to kick in.

Now that you know what are the reasons for excessive sweating, let's learn from the dermatologist, Dr Nivedita Dadu, how you can minimise or get rid of sweating and reduce the bad odour in your sweat. 

What lifestyle changes can be done to minimise sweating?

1. Wear cotton clothes - As cotton clothes allow you to stay cool for long, you do not sweat much. Moreover, good quality cotton is one of the most breathable fabrics around, so it will have a little airflow for drying out the dampness. Also go for cotton socks and open footwear if there is excessive sweating on the soles of your feet.

2. Reduce Consumption of caffeine - If excessive sweating is a problem for you, cutting back on caffeine loaded products like coffee and tea can help you to reduce unwanted sweat.

3. Increase consumption of water - If you’ll consume more water then your body temperature will remain in control and there will be no excessive sweating. 

What should you do to reduce bad odour in your sweat?

Normally sweat is odourless but there are certain types of bacteria in your body which when acted on your sweat, produce bad odour.  To reduce it, you can do the following things:

1. Use antibacterial soaps or shower gels for bathing purposes

2. Mix neem leaves or neem powder in your bathing water

3. Reduce consumption of items like onion, garlic and non-veg as they can lead to bad odour in your sweet. 

What medicines or procedures can be done to get rid of this problem?

Treatment is usually done on that part of the body which sweats profusely. It can be your underarms, palms or soles of your feet; the rest of the body will continue to sweat in the same way. Here are a few things that you can go for to minimise the sweat production:

1. Aluminium Chlorohydrate 20% - You can apply this solution on your underarms at night and it will slowly help in the reduction of sweat.

2. Botulinum Toxin injections - You can take this injection after consulting a dermatologist. This injection works by calming your nerves which are then not able to give signal to your sweat glands to produce sweat. Its effect stays for at least 8-10 months.

3. Glycopyrrolate - Few studies have found that this drug is effective in reducing sweat, but the research is still going on regarding its benefits. At present it is not available in India.

If you sweat excessively and nothing is working out then you must consult a dermatologist to get rid of this problem. 

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