What your perspiration tells about you

Dr Bhakti Khisti

Your perspiration is working as a thermoregulatory system in the body. We call it Diaphoresis. According to homoeopathic physician, your perspiration tells some important facts about you. But generally, people hesitate to talk about their perspiration and its particulars like odour, colour and quantity.

Our sweat is secreted by two important glands - Apocrine and eccrine. Sweat mainly contains water and small amount of salt. The main functions of sweat are:

1.Controlling body temperature.

2.Helping to keep palm moist.

3.Removing excessive water and toxins from the body.

During perspiration, water gets evaporated by the intact skin which makes surface of the skin cool. Sometimes, improper functioning of sweat glands or sweat ducts leads to set of symptoms which make people uncomfortable. Following are some diseases related to perspiration.

1.Bromhidrosis - In this situation, person experiences excessive quantity of bad smelling perspiration. Some important causes include, decomposition of bacteria or yeast in sweat gland. This condition mainly shows symptoms like bad smelling foot sweat, wetness and stickiness of ear wax.

2.Hyperhidrosis: Patient feels excessive sweating which can be focal or diffused with multiple causes like infection, endocrine disorders, diabetic neuropathy, herpes zoster and parotid gland injury.

3.Hyperhidrosis: Patient feels inadequate perspiration or sweat in very small quantity which damages the skin. Skin shows symptoms like dryness and heatstroke. Some underline causes are atrophy of sweat glands where the glands stop functioning, infection, and use of some drugs.

4.Miliaria: Patient’s sweat flow is obstructed and trapped within the skin. This leads to clear, drop like vesicles on skin, specially on face, with itching and irritation too. These symptoms vary depending on the depth of tissue at which the sweat duct is obstructed.

In homoeopathy, physician considers the whole man and not a particular disease. Before prescribing any medicine, physician asks about each and every thing about patient like their appetite, desires, aversions, sleep and perspiration.

(The writer is a homoeopath and

Certified Clinical Dietician)