Feeling Extra Sweaty?
Everybody knows that sticky feeling in hot or stressful situations. You start to sweat, your hands are wet, wet patches form under your arms, your forehead starts to glisten. This form of sweating is a normal and temporary bodily reaction to an extreme situation. Of course, physical exercise, high temperatures and overly warm clothes also lead to temporary perspiration. We’ve probably all been extra sweaty this summer!
But what if you’re always excessively sweaty?
In general, moderate sweating is a good and healthy function of the body to cool it down, moisten the skin and excrete metabolic waste. However, excessive sweating all the time is a medical condition called hyperhidrosis. In some patients, hyperhidrosis is related to other illnesses such as diabetes, cardiac insufficiency, high blood pressure or menopause. By treating these illnesses, sweating will be reduced.
A TCM Look at Sweating
In TCM, sweat is studied in detail as it is considered an essential substance of the body. Overall, loss of body fluids always damages the Yin of the body. Therefore, many conditions of over sweating are associated with an imbalance of Yin and Yang in the body.
Another pattern is Qi deficiency. Some patients who complain about hyperhydrosis have a weak body constitution. They have poor appetite, a low voice, and are often affected by flus and colds.
The third disease pattern responsible for excessive sweating is heat and dampness in the body. Damp-heat in the liver and gallbladder leads to sweating in the armpits. People with damp-heat in the stomach and intestines tend to have sweaty hands and feet. People who tend to be anxious and overthink are often diagnosed with damp-heat as well.
TCM Solutions to Excessive Sweating
Herbal medicine and acupuncture significantly reduce perspiration all over the body. There are also foods that cool down your body from the inside. We recommend eating more neutral and cooling foods and less hot foods (alcohol, spicy and greasy dishes).
Cooling foods include watermelon, cucumber, salads, pineapple, tomatoes, asparagus, and mushrooms. Some neutral foods are rice, potatoes, carrots, milk products, corn, and pork meat.
Suffering from excessive sweating? Contact us to schedule a consultation and find out how TCM can help you.