Perspiration Problems: "...Stress usually brings with it stress sweat which tends to be particularly stinky, staining, and embarrassing.".

• Author: Ballard, Angela
• Position: MEDICINE & HEALTH

No matter where we are--at home, work, school, play, or elsewhere--stress sweat stinks. Stress is bad enough on its own. Unfortunately for most of us, however, stress usually brings with it stress sweat, which tends to be particularly stinky, staining, and embarrassing. Given that there are 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 sweat glands distributed all over our bodies, and that stressful situations seemingly are ubiquitous in modern life, trying to avoid stress sweat might seem like a futile endeavor. However, there are simple ways you can control it.

What makes stress sweat different from heat- and exercise-induced variety? The majority of the sweat glands in our skin are "eccrine." These are responsible for most of our heat- and exercise-related sweating and secrete an odorless, clear fluid (made mostly of water and salt) to help control temperature by promoting heat loss through evaporation. Eccrine glands are found in large numbers on the soles of the feet, palms, forehead, cheeks, and armpits.

Stress sweat, on the other hand, primarily comes from another type of gland--apocrine, which are found mostly in the armpits and genital region (but there are some on the scalp, too), and exist near dense pockets of hair follicles. They produce a thick fluid that is emptied into the hair follicle just before it opens onto the skin surface.

While apocrine sweat initially is odorless, it does not evaporate as quickly as eccrine sweat and can develop an odor when it combines with bacteria that normally inhabit the surface of our skin. The odor has that characteristic smell that we often call "body odor." While it may smell, stress/apocrine sweat actually does not produce that much wetness--at least not like the amount caused by eccrine sweat.

When the body is reacting to an emotion--such as anxiety, stress, or excitement--sweat is released from apocrine glands. Something interesting about stress sweat is that it is immediate, whereas heat- or exercise-related sweat can take longer to kick in.

Scientists are not sure why apocrine glands produce odor beyond the process described above, but there might be an evolutionary and protective reason behind it. Animals also tend to emit an odor when they are stressed. That odor acts as a signal to peers that something dangerous is going on and they should react accordingly. If this theory is true, it makes sense that stress sweat would be immediate and not delayed. Note that stressful situations also will increase...