How we sweat

Sweat glands
We have around 3 million sweat glands all over our body, mainly in the armpits, neck, head, forehead, palms and feet. They are absent in the red of the lips, on the nail bed, on the eardrum and mostly in the genital area. On the hands, feet, forehead and in the armpits, there are up to 350 sweat glands per square centimeter.

A distinction is made between eccrine and apocrine sweat glands
The eccrine sweat glands are the most common in humans and are responsible for the majority of sweat production. They are directly connected to the central temperature regulator in the diencephalon, serve to regulate the body's temperature and excrete not only water but also toxins and metabolic waste products with the sweat. Depending on the temperature, between half a liter and eight liters of fluid can be excreted every day.

Apocrine glands differ in that they release thicker secretions. They are also known as apocrine sweat glands. The body first develops these at the hair roots during puberty; mainly in the armpit, anus and genital area. Scent glands serve less to dissipate heat and are also activated by strong emotional stimuli such as anger and pain, fear and sexual desire. Apocrine sweat is odorless when it emerges from the surface of the skin. Only bacteria and yeasts on the skin, which decompose the sweat, create an unpleasant odor. There are particularly large sweat glands in the armpits, whose secretions cause pungent smelling and unpleasantly wet sweat stains under the arms.

What does sweat consist of?
Sweat consists of 99% water and contains potassium, magnesium, phosphate, sulphate, urea, volatile low fatty acids, neutral fats, immunoglobulins, cholesterol and fragrances in addition to common salt. Disorders of the sweat glands can manifest themselves in the form of excessive sweat production (hyperhidrosis), insufficient sweat production (hypohidrosis) or the complete absence of sweat production (anhidrosis).