About Sweat Glands
The human body reacts when uncomfortable, hot, stressed, excited, nervous or after working hard. This reaction appears on the skin's surface as sweat. Moisture above the lip, wetness under the arm and clammy hands are all results of this bodily function. Sweat glands serve as a method of ridding the body of excess heat. Whether it's from being hot under the collar from nervous jitters or from physical exercise such as jogging, sweat glands get cranked up to cool you down.
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Types
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There are two types of sweat glands: the apocrine and the eccrine. Apocrine glands do not produce much sweat; however, these glands play a part in producing the odor or scent bodies emit. Because apocrine sweat glands contain protein and fatty acids sweat appears thick and milky, making it responsible for "pit stains" on clothing. Eccrine sweat glands produce the evaporating moisture needed to cool the body down after exceeding a comfortable temperature or condition. Sweat produced by eccrine glands is mainly water combined with a small amount of potassium and high concentrations of chloride and sodium. White salty patches on the body are apparent after sweat from eccrine sweat glands dry.
Function
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Sweat glands serve more than one purpose. They're essential to regulating body temperature by cooling a hot body down with wet glandular secretions. Sweat glands are an internal coolant system for the external. For instance, when a high-energy activity is performed, sweat glands step in to provide the body with some relief. Another important role sweat glands play involves the nature of physical attraction. Sexual musk, or pheromones, generated from sex hormones, are also released through sweat glands.
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Features
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Whether the liquid sweat glands produce a salty water mixture or a milky yellowish one, the way sweat reaches the surface is similar. A series of coiled tubules and spiraled ducts transport sweat to the skin's surface. Producing an abundance of sweat and pheromones during the onset of puberty, sweat glands overreact until the body grows accustomed to the changes it is undergoing. The apocrine gland in particular becomes extremely active during puberty, producing a "highly individual sexual scent" because of the presence of newly raging sex hormones. The eccrine glands kick in during moments of stress and physical exertion.
Identification
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More than 2 million sweat glands are located in the dermis, or inner layer of skin, below the epidermis. Sweat glands are found nearly everywhere on the human body, with numerous glands located in armpits and soles of the feet, very few on the back, and none on the lips or nipples. A square inch, or 6.5 square centimeters, of skin holds hundreds of moisture-secreting sweat glands. Sweat seeps through the skin, evaporating while cooling the body surface down.
Considerations
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Sweat is not the actual odor producer; the germs or bacteria formed on the skin in the locations where sweat is secreted contributes to the smell emitted. When a person is not adapted to a high temperature climate, he can produce about a liter of sweat in an hour. Extended stays in a hot environment can cause the body to increase its sweat production to the maximum capable volume of nearly 2 to 3 liters an hour. Losing excessive amounts of salt and water from the body through sweating leads to dehydration, so care should be taken and fluids should be replenished.
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