Sweating helps your body regulate temperature, but it’s a function that many people don’t seem to be fond of based on the number of antiperspirants and anti-sweat treatments on the market.
“When someone is experiencing a body temperature rise, the nervous system will automatically trigger a person’s sweat glands to produce sweat to cool the body down,” Dr. Pamela Mehta, a sports medicine and orthopedic doctor from San Jose, California, told Fox News Digital.
“Sweat that is formed from the glands in a person’s skin will appear as a clear and salty liquid,” she continued.
Drinking water can help a person cool down while signaling the body that sweat production should be stopped, but doing so doesn’t always solve the problem, according to Mehta, who’s a medical advisor to The Good Feet Store, a California-based arch support insert company.
from Mehta and insights from medical boards on how to combat the issue.
Antiperspirants vs. deodorants
Mehta recommends chronic sweaters’ use of an antiperspirant over a deodorant because antiperspirants are designed to “block sweat glands, reducing wetness and body odors” while deodorants are designed to “mask odors.”
“For maximum sweat protection, consumers should look for an aluminum-based antiperspirant,” says Mehta.
Aluminum salts are sweat-prevention ingredients that block sweat from forming when dissolved onto the skin’s surface, according to an article published by PennMedicine, the University of Pennsylvania’s major multi-hospital health system, which is headquartered in Philadelphia.
While some are wary about the use of aluminum in commercial antiperspirants, PennMedicine says a link between aluminum salts and cancer (specifically breast cancer) hasn’t been proven. However, people with kidney disease should be careful because their bodies might not be able to filter aluminum fast enough.
“This is why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires antiperspirant manufacturers to include warnings specifically for people with kidney disease,” according to PennMedicine.
Can clothing help reduce sweat?
Certain types of clothing are better for minimizing sweat than others.
Mehta says anyone who’s on the hunt for clothing that limits sweat production “should prioritize looking for loose, and breathable moisture-wicking fabrics.”
