Sweat glands perform an important function of thermoregulating the body and removing metabolic products and water from it to the surface of the skin. They look like coiled tubules, from which ducts actually flow to the surface of the skin. In humans, the amount of sweat glands can reach 2.5 million. They are unevenly distributed throughout the body: in some places there is a large accumulation (underarms, on the palms, on the soles of the feet), but there are places where they do not exist. In particular, sweat glands are generally absent in men on the glans penis. Actually, women do not have them in the same place: in the region of the labia minora and labia majora.
Not only does the density of sweat glands differ (per square centimeter of the skin surface can be from 55 to 400 pieces), but also the depth. There are sweat glands that are located deep in the dermis, others can be located directly in the subcutaneous fat.
Types of sweat glands
Exocrine sweat glands are responsible for thermoregulation and are found mainly in the subcutaneous and skin layers. The secret they produce is 98% water, the rest, for the most part, is sodium chloride, obtained from blood plasma. The work of exocrine (eccrine) glands is controlled by the human nervous and hormonal systems. The amount of sweat produced depends on many circumstances and can vary from 250 to 800 ml per day.
Apocrine sweat glands produce the very secret by which each person can be identified. It is a viscous substance with a specific odor. Apocrine glands do not begin to work immediately, they are activated during puberty. Apocrine glands are larger in size than eccrine glands, and are located mainly in the anogenital, axillary and mammary glands. They have a slightly different secretion mechanism, although they also take a small part in thermoregulation.
What causes sweat glands
Most often, there are two serious diseases: anhidrosis and hyperhidrosis, each of which leads to its unpleasant consequences. Sweat gland inflammation may develop , which is usually treated with topical anti-inflammatory drugs.
Anhidrosis is such a pathology when the secretion of sweat stops altogether. The cause may be some existing disease. There are 4 types of anhidrosis:
- congenital - due to pathology (aplasia or hypoplasia) of the glands;
- acute - can develop due to dehydration, for example, after intoxication;
- chronic - can be congenital or develop when the activity of the nervous system is impaired;
- tropical - called so, because it is most often observed in people living in the tropics, it arises from the blockage of sweat ducts with dust.
Anhidrosis can develop due to skin diseases, aging, diabetes mellitus or spinal injuries (if the spinal cord is damaged ), as a result of hereditary diseases.
Such patients should first of all avoid overheating. Since the thermoregulation mechanism is broken, the likelihood of heat stroke increases when a person is in a hot place. Physical activity is contraindicated. They treat anhidrosis with multivitamins, retinol, and indifferent ointments with moisturizing characteristics.
Hyperhidrosis is a disease opposite to the previous one. That is, sweat is released too much, and this can cause a lot of trouble. Hyperhidrosis can be localized in separate places or spread to the whole body. It can occur during physical exertion or develop due to serious diseases, for example, the nervous system. More common is hyperhidrosis, localized in the armpits, on the inner surface of the palms of the hands and on the soles of the feet.
With hyperhidrosis, sweat glands can be removed using a minimally invasive subcutaneous curettage. The glands are processed with sodium chloride (solution) and are sucked out through incisions with a special cannula.