Sweating in children: causes of the disease, what to do with excessive sweating in adolescents

In this article we will help you figure out what to do if your child sweats a lot. What reasons could be behind this, how does sweating differ in a newborn baby, at 4-5 months, at 6-7 years old, at 10-11 and in a teenager at 15, in what cases do you need the advice of a qualified specialist and how to prevent it? the baby, even if he runs a lot, began to sweat less.

Severe sweating in a child cannot be ignored; it is necessary to understand its causes.

If you are a responsible parent, then you should monitor the health of your offspring extremely carefully, and not only if you are concerned about excessive sweating in your child.

How healthy a baby is is determined not only by whether he is pale, sweats a lot, or has a high temperature. His mood, appetite, and sleep are no less important.

There can be many reasons why a child sweats a lot. Sweating is an extremely important indicator of his physical health. Starting from the age of 11-12 years, he enters puberty, and sweating can be either a variant of the norm or indicate various disorders. A three- to five-month-old child may sweat a lot due to whims, and a slightly older child may sweat a lot due to an increase in temperature when teething. And these are not all the causes of hyperhidrosis in children.

As we see, this problem occurs not only quite often, but in almost everyone. If the child does not sweat all the time, but from time to time, and there are no other alarming symptoms, then, in principle, there is nothing to worry about. However, a responsible parent should still know something about the characteristics of a child’s body, which sweats heavily for one physiological reason or another.

Why is it developing?

The syndrome is called hyperhidrosis. The reason will be the underdevelopment of not only the nervous, but also the autonomic system of the body. It takes 5 years for the final formation of the sebaceous glands. [vote2x id=»104" align=»center»]

Important! If the child is not sick, his sweat does not have an unpleasant odor, and there are no bad feelings due to sweating.

Hyperhidrosis is considered normal in a child in the following cases:

Children during the lactation period, when screaming or overexcited, experience increased sweating; this is a normal phenomenon, there is no reason to worry.
Sweating will be a sign that the parent cares a lot about the child and is afraid of catching a cold; a large amount of clothing that is not suitable for the weather will cause perspiration.
With an active lifestyle, the baby experiences hyperhidrosis, and sweat appears after physical exertion.
An incorrect indoor climate or a poorly chosen blanket can cause the syndrome described above. In such situations, the child sleeps poorly and fidgets.
The hereditary factor plays a role; if the father or mother has a tendency to hyperhidrosis, then this is normal for the child.
Sweating increases during a cold. This reaction of the body helps remove pathogenic substances out.

In newborns, increased sweating occurs during sleep.

This is explained by incorrect humidity and room temperature. The optimal value is 20 degrees Celsius, air humidity should be no more than 60%. Before going to bed, it is strongly recommended to ventilate the room if you are prone to hyperhidrosis.

The cause may also be an actively developing pathological syndrome.

Excessive sweating often occurs during sleep

Your baby's skin characteristics

Skin is not only a cover, but also an organ of external and internal secretion, the largest in the human body. It performs a number of functions: barrier (separation of the external and internal environment) and exocrine (release of certain substances to the outside), as well as thermoregulatory.

If the baby sweats without even getting tired, it means that the skin is fulfilling its immediate purpose - through sweat it removes excess liquid, toxins and cools the body, and also cleanses itself.

Constant sweating in children, as in adults, may be a variant of the norm if a person has a lot of sweat glands from birth or they are much more active than average. This can be treated with the help of cosmetic operations, such as the introduction of Botox or Dysport, laser curettage, sympathectomy, but up to 18 years of age, all of them are contraindicated (and up to 25-30 years of age, unless absolutely necessary, it is better not to interfere with the body), and the only method of treatment will be strict maintaining good hygiene to combat excessive sweating.

Monitor your child's diet; spicy and fatty foods only worsen sweating.

If you notice severe sweating in a child that was not there before, pay attention to the following things:

How many months or years old is your baby?
How active is he?
His temperature and what clothes you dress him in.
What is included in his diet?
Do you or other close blood relatives of your baby suffer from excessive sweating?
His emotional background, whether he is crying, shaking, or jumping up sharply.
Possible internal diseases.

Now we will reveal in detail the content and meaning of these factors, why children sweat a lot.

Types of disease in children

Sweat glands begin their work in the first month of life, but finally develop at 5–6 years. If you experience a strong smell of sweat, you should consult a doctor, as this is a clinical sign of a developing disease.

In medical practice, there are several types of hyperhidrosis.

The local variety is characterized by sweating of certain parts of the body. For example, the face, soles, armpits or palms. The diffuse nature of the syndrome is also highlighted, when the child’s entire body sweats intensely.

Peculiarities of childhood physiology

The sweat glands in children are among the first to begin to function. This usually occurs 3-4 weeks after birth. However, the absence of their final development causes a pronounced dependence of the child on the ambient temperature. Thus, as a result of spasm of blood vessels in the cold, the child quickly freezes; as a result of their expansion at high temperatures, heat transfer increases, which is accompanied by sweating. Only at 5-6 years of age do the sweat glands in children begin to function normally.

What is the danger of hyperhidrosis in children?

Increased activity of the sweat glands, if measures to eliminate the syndrome are not taken in a timely manner, can provoke the development of a number of diseases. For example, hyperhidrosis of the lower extremities increases the likelihood of fungus formation. Increased sweating of the armpits or groin provokes inflammation of the sweat gland. A high degree of humidity causes small purulent formations.

Hyperhidrosis carries psychological danger. The syndrome negatively affects not only the baby’s quality of life, it can lead to physical retardation and cause a social problem.

Main symptoms

The manifestation of hyperhidrosis in children is marked by pronounced symptoms that are difficult to miss (wet bedding, clothes). Excessive sweating can be localized or widespread.

Most often, hyperhidrosis manifests itself in areas of large accumulation of sweat glands (palms, armpits, feet, groin, knee or elbow). In some cases, sweating occurs in the scalp, back, chest, and limbs.

The volume of sweat produced can fluctuate within a different range. In some cases, hyperhidrosis goes unnoticed, and with severe symptoms, clothing becomes very wet, noticeable beads of sweat appear on the body, and a characteristic unpleasant odor is released.

In young children, hyperhidrosis is accompanied by severe irritability, tearfulness, lack of sleep, loss of appetite and increased anxiety. To identify the exact cause of the symptoms that have arisen, an examination using various diagnostic measures is necessary.

When medical attention is needed

If you notice sweating in your baby, do not postpone your visit to a medical facility. The clinical sign of an active pathological syndrome is the absence of influence of environmental changes, loads or stress. Often the whole body sweats, and not just some part; it is impossible to identify the location of the syndrome.

There are several diseases that are accompanied by the work of the sweat glands.

Disturbances in metabolic processes that provoke obesity. It is necessary to monitor the child’s weight and take appropriate measures.
Diseases affecting the functioning of the nervous system.
Malignant neoplasms are accompanied by increased sweating, which includes a high concentration of sugar in the blood.
Pathological disorders of the endocrine system, the cause of increased sweating is thyroid hyperplasia. The main symptoms will be hand tremors, sleep disturbances, periodic migraines, and increased work of the sweat glands.
Inflammatory diseases provoke hyperhidrosis. The syndrome can be observed for 3-4 weeks after treatment of the pathology. This includes colds.
Poisoning of the body is accompanied by increased sweating; this is a protective function that allows you to get rid of harmful substances.
The cause of hyperhidrosis in childhood is a serious disease affecting the musculoskeletal system. Its development in a child aged 2 years cannot be ruled out. The development of the pathological syndrome is explained by poor concentration of vitamin D in the body. We need to spend more time in the sun. Sweat has a sticky consistency and is characterized by an unpleasant odor. Sweating increases during sleep and eating. A sick child suffers from loss of appetite, sleep disturbances, and becomes irritable.
The cause of activity of the sweat glands at the age of 3 years and older will be diathesis of the lymph nodes. The clinical sign is enlarged lymph nodes.
The penetration of pathogenic microorganisms is accompanied by hyperhidrosis and other clinical signs.

There are a number of reasons for excessive sweating during sleep.

Pathological syndromes of the heart or blood vessels. Characteristic clinical signs are heavy breathing and cough.
Diabetes mellitus is characterized by sweating of the head. A sick child may get up at night to drink fluids and empty the bladder.
Pathology of a viral nature is always accompanied by increased work of the sweat glands at night. Characteristic symptoms are also lack of appetite and constant fatigue.

Sweating is one of the complications resulting from taking medications; if the dosage is violated, hyperhidrosis can develop.

Sweating during illness

Often a child suffering from ARVI and taking medications sweats in his sleep. This weak state may continue for several days after final recovery. The body signals in this way that it has not yet fully recovered.

Some parents, especially working ones, rush to send their child to kindergarten immediately after recovery. If there is no temperature, this does not mean that the body is completely healthy. You need to keep your baby at home for at least a week to restore strength and boost immunity. Otherwise, in kindergarten, the child may again catch a new virus and get sick. And frequent illnesses again lead to severe sweating at night.

Hyperhidrosis in children after illness

The increased work of the sweat glands after treatment of the pathology is explained by a disruption in the functioning of the autonomic system. After the symptoms of the disease disappear, the body needs to cleanse itself of toxic substances; for this reason, a child may experience increased sweating after colds and other viral or infectious diseases.

After defeating the disease, it is necessary to take measures to restore the immune system; with the help of sweat, the body eliminates toxins and recovers faster. The patient needs to periodically take temperature measurements; if the mark is in the area of 37.5 degrees, the patient is still developing pathology, it is necessary to continue therapy.

It is necessary to draw the doctor's attention to the problem

Sweaty palms

If a child's hands sweat a lot, this may indicate insufficient development of the sweat glands. Sometimes children react this way to strong emotional stress. The child does not yet know how to adequately perceive stressful situations, and the psycho-emotional reaction is often accompanied by sweaty palms. Some people, even adults, have a hereditary local increase in secretions from the sweat glands.

An older child with increased emotional stress sweats locally, but a young child can sweat completely.

Head and neck sweat a lot

Hyperhidrosis often develops in these areas of the body due to emotional stress. At this age, the nervous system is unstable. This is normal in most cases. You should seek advice from an institution if your neck and head sweat unevenly, or if there are clinical signs of an actively developing disease.

During the lactation period, children sweat during the feeding process, which is explained by the efforts that the child has to put in. Physical overstrain is provoked, which causes increased work of the sweat glands.

A breastfed baby can become warm from its mother if it sleeps next to her.

Rickets

The first signs of this disease are sweating, but you need to check whether the sweat has a sour smell. Most of all, when rickets begins, the head becomes covered with perspiration. But these are not the only symptoms. The main one is a pronounced negative reaction to light and sound. Constipation begins, children become capricious and agitated.

To prevent the disease from progressing, doctors try to take the necessary preventive measures in advance. In addition to vitamin D, walks in the sun are also prescribed, it is recommended to walk more in the fresh air, eat right, and do exercises.

How to treat hyperhidrosis in children

Before drawing up a therapeutic course, the cause of the syndrome is determined. Laboratory tests of the body are prescribed. The course of treatment is aimed at eliminating the provoking factor of hyperhidrosis.

For a primary pathological syndrome, drug treatment is prescribed. In severe cases, surgical therapy is used.

What is prescribed during treatment

Depending on the cause of the pathology, the medication is determined.

If a child sweats at night, medications are used to increase calcium levels in the body.
In order to reduce the risk of rickets, the level of vitamin D in the body increases.
When the provoking factor is lymphatic diathesis, immunomodulatory drugs are prescribed, and physical therapy is recommended.
If indicated, a course of electrophoresis is prescribed.
To reduce the work of the glands, anticholinergic medications are used - Diprospan.

During treatment, doctors advise preventive measures for hyperhidrosis.

ethnoscience

It is recommended to use traditional medicine methods after consultation with a doctor.

It is necessary to treat your feet with boric acid before breakfast if your lower extremities are sweating. Small crystals of the substance should be washed off after dinner. The course lasts 2 weeks.
You need to grind oak bark and pour it into socks; your feet should be washed first. It is recommended to repeat until hyperhidrosis is reduced by 50%.
You need to mix 10 grams of salt with a glass of hot water, let the liquid cool, and then rinse your feet. An alternative option is to use baking soda in a similar proportion.
If the sweat glands in the armpit area are overactive, it is recommended to treat the area with chamomile infusion; you can use a tampon for this.
It is required to mix honey and crushed oak bark in equal proportions, then bring to a homogeneous consistency. The resulting paste should be applied to the armpits; after 15 minutes, the mixture should be washed off. The duration of the therapeutic course is 14 days.
For excessive sweating throughout the body, traditional healers recommend taking baths with the addition of herbs: mint, sage, oak bark, crushed walnut leaves are used. Medicinal herbs can be combined with each other.

Traditional recipes are an addition to the course of treatment and cannot replace it. If clinical signs of an allergic reaction occur, you must stop the course of treatment with the folk remedy and consult a doctor for help.

Treatment of hyperhidrosis

Treatment of excessive sweating is a rather long and complex process. If the cause of sweating lies in some kind of disease, then its elimination will also stop the copious secretion. Other cases can be corrected with folk remedies, medications and physiotherapeutic procedures.

Traditional medicine recipes

You can relieve your child of severe sweating using folk remedies. It is better not to give children tinctures and decoctions, but preschool children and teenagers will benefit from a decoction of violet or sage .

A teaspoon of violet is brewed with 100 ml of boiling water and left overnight in a thermos.
Strain in the morning.
Take 4 times a day, an hour before meals.

The sage decoction is prepared as follows:

In the evening, 3 tablespoons of raw materials are poured into 3 cups of boiling water and left in a thermos until the morning.
In the morning, strain and divide into 4 parts.
Take one hour before meals.

These decoctions stop general sweating. To remove excessive sweating of the feet, a wormwood potion is rubbed into the feet:

50 g of crushed wormwood is poured with 400 g of internal unsalted pork fat.
Boil in a water bath for a couple of hours.
Remove from heat and cool.
Rub into affected areas.

Sweating of the armpits, hands and feet is removed with a decoction of the letter:

4 tablespoons of raw material are poured with 4 glasses of cold water.
Bring to a boil over low heat and simmer for 15 minutes, covered.
Use the cooled decoction to wipe the desired parts of the body.

In addition, to prevent your feet from sweating, put fresh celandine grass in your socks for 30 minutes or fresh oak leaves for several hours, and also make baths and lotions from a decoction of fresh ash and chamomile leaves.

Read more about treating hyperhidrosis at home in a separate article.

Medicines

To treat excessive sweat formation in children, the drugs phytin or platifillin are used.
They are prescribed orally at 0.0002-0.003 g per dose - it depends on age. For topical use, the safest for children:

formidron;
drisol;
Borozine

The preparations are used to treat areas of the body with the most sweating. Before using each of them, you need to make sure that it is safe for your child by consulting your doctor.

Read more about how to treat hyperhidrosis with tablets and ointments here.

Therapeutic baths

Baths with the addition of herbal ingredients are good against excessive secretion. This could be oak bark, black tea, pine decoctions.

With oak bark

500 g of oak bark is poured into 5 liters of water.
They put it on fire.
Boil the broth under a closed lid for about an hour.
Remove from heat, leave for 30 minutes and strain.
Add to the bath.

With larch needles

200 g of larch needles are poured into 2 liters of water.
Boil for an hour.
Remove from the stove, leave for 30-40 minutes and filter.
The decoction is added to bathing water.

With black tea

Brew 3 tablespoons of black tea in a liter of boiling water.
Add another 2 liters of water and insist.
Add strong tea to the bath.

Nutrition and diet

For the normal functioning of the sweat glands, it is necessary to adjust the child’s diet. Namely, exclude spicy, fatty and sweet foods from it.

Prohibited products include:

sauces such as ketchup and mayonnaise;
garlic, coriander, pepper, ginger;
tea, coffee, cocoa;
chocolate;
soda;
fatty and red meat;
beans.

These foods cause profuse sweating. If you have hyperhidrosis, you need to eat simply - eat vegetables, herbs, cereals and fish more often.

Electrophoresis

Physiotherapeutic procedures for sweating include UV irradiation, as well as electrophoresis on the area of the lower thoracic and lumbar sympathetic nodes. This is done every day for 15-20 minutes. The course is designed for 20 sessions.

Hygiene

When sweating, increased attention is paid to hygiene. It is necessary to take a shower daily, always with soap, and also change socks, tights and insoles as they become dirty. Feet, armpits and palms can be treated with baby powder.

Preventive measures

To reduce the likelihood of triggering factors for hyperhidrosis, you must adhere to the following recommendations:

Observe personal hygiene rules. A daily shower in the morning and before bed will significantly reduce the number of bacteria on the skin, thereby reducing the risk of irritation.
Doctors recommend taking air baths daily for the lower extremities, this reduces the risk of hyperhidrosis.
In order for the sweat glands to function normally, it is necessary to exclude spicy foods from the diet, as well as hot tea, coffee and chocolate.
You should opt for breathable clothing. An alternative option is a synthetic material that absorbs moisture. Clothes need to be changed as often as possible, this will save the child from skin pathologies.
Using antiperspirants also reduces the risk of hyperhidrosis.

The main rule is to maintain personal hygiene throughout the body. This will help avoid many pathological syndromes, including excessive sweating.

Prevention

Prevention of sweating is a comprehensive approach:

taking multivitamins;
strengthening the nervous system;
normal diet and drinking regime;
strengthening the body through sports and hardening;
maintaining personal hygiene;
exclusion of synthetic materials in clothing and shoes.

Identifying the causes and promptly treating excessive sweating will help you avoid chronic diseases. In addition, this will relieve the child of unpleasant sensations and worries about this, and will give him self-confidence. And this, in turn, will help the harmonious development of the individual.

Modern methods of treating hyperhidrosis of the arms, legs, head and face using lasers, drugs and folk remedies make it possible to solve the problem of excessive sweating not only in children, but also in women and men.

What does Komarovsky think?

The famous medical specialist pediatrician expressed his opinion on the causes and methods of solving hyperhidrosis in a child. In his opinion, the main reason is the lack of comfort, the organization of which falls on the shoulders of parents. In only 3 children out of 100, the cause of increased work of the sweat glands was serious pathological disorders. If you have other symptoms besides sweating, the doctor recommends contacting a medical facility.

In the absence of clinical signs, Komarovsky advises parents to change the child’s daily routine. Excessive activity can cause sweating. Before going to bed, it is recommended to engage in calm educational games; a book is preferable to watching television.

Another common reason is a mistake when choosing bedding for a child. It should be made from natural materials without adding dyes. The less often the skin comes into contact with synthetics, the less likely it is to develop hyperhidrosis. To wash children's clothes, you need to use the appropriate powder.

The doctor advises paying attention to the filling of the blanket; if it is synthetic, you need to change it. It is not recommended to give a pillow to children under 2 years of age. Also, you should not dress your child in pajamas ahead of time; such clothing is best used only in the cold months of the year.

Hereditary factors

About eight percent of people have such a congenital body feature as either an increased number of sweat glands or their increased production. If dad or mom, or one of their parents belongs to such people, then the child’s sweating may be caused by a hereditary factor. We briefly mentioned the methods of treatment above, but they are for adults; children do not do any of this - they cannot.

Fruits and vegetables contain many vitamins and do not cause sweating

Your baby will make the decision about Dysport injections or a visit to a laser clinic himself when he grows up. Until then, teach him to carefully monitor his hygiene - after 12-13 years, when he enters adolescence, excessive sweating can bring him social complexes.

Types of pathology

Hyperhidrosis in children has a local (increased sweating in a separate area of the skin) and generalized (abundant fluid secretion throughout the body) character.

Hyperhidrosis most often occurs in the armpits, feet and palms. According to studies, greater activity of sweat glands is observed on the right side of the body. Sweating of the idiopathic type occurs in adolescence and does not have a well-studied etiology, and the cause of this phenomenon is considered to be the influence of environmental factors (high temperature, severe fatigue).

Generalized hyperhidrosis develops for the following reasons:

Presence of genetic diseases (Riley-Day syndrome);
Taking certain medications (Aspirin, Insulin);
Food poisoning;
Diseases of the cardiovascular system;
Pathologies of the nervous system (encephaly, vegetative-vascular dystonia).

Night sweats in children often develop due to infection in the body and indicate severe intoxication of the body.

Distal hyperhidrosis is characterized by increased sweating of the feet and legs, which occurs during puberty and with the possible presence of endocrine disorders.

This pathology contributes to the additional development of pathogenic microorganisms on the skin (various infections, fungal diseases). The combination of symptoms such as excessive sweating, development of atrophy of nails and hair, leukoplakia of the mucous membranes is Zinsser-Engman syndrome.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis of hyperhidrosis in children is based on examination of the child by parents and the possible detection of excessive sweating at rest at the optimal temperature. When visiting a doctor, the following studies may be prescribed:

General and biochemical blood test to study changes in basic indicators;
Carrying out ultrasound;
Scraping for bacteriological culture to detect parasite infestation;
Radiography;
A general urine test to assess the functioning of the excretory system.

A comprehensive examination will allow you to identify the exact cause of excessive sweating and prescribe the correct treatment to eliminate acute symptoms.