Dealing with sweaty armpit? Here're 7 tips to keep underarms dry

Sweating and body odour are caused by sweat glands in your body. They are called Apocrine glands and are found in areas where you have hair, such as your armpits and groin. Excessive sweating can cause social anxiety and affect your social life, says Dr Jyoti Gupta, a Delhi-based dermatologist.She also shared 7tips to control excessive underarms. Take a look!

1. Diet: Try removing overly smelly foods from your diet or pay attention if specific foods make your body odour worse. Garlic, onions, alcohol, spicy foods, caffeinated drinks, etc are a few examples of food that may make your sweat smell more unpleasant.

2. Too much exercise: Sometimes, too much exercise, especially in a hot environment, can cause bad odour. Exercising in cool environments can help in reducing sweat. Doing exercises like yoga, weight lifting, etc can be more beneficial than doing cardio for individuals with excessive sweating.

3. Medicines: Examples of medications that can cause excessive sweating include prednisone (Rayos) and escitalopram (Lexapro). OTC pain relievers, like ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), are also a potential culprit. Talk to your healthcare provider about your options. In some cases, they may suggest a medication change or dose adjustment to help alleviate excessive sweating.

4. Existing health conditions: Health conditions like thyroid, diabetes, fever of undetermined cause, etc can cause excessive sweating. These should be checked through blood tests provided by your doctor and should be taken under control.

5. Lifestyle adjustments for sweating: A normal amount of sweating generally doesn’t require medical treatment. You can take steps to make yourself more comfortable and minimise sweating. For example, you can wearlight layers of clothing, preferably cotton clothes,that allow your skin to breathe, quickly change out of sweaty clothing to reduce the risk of bacterial or yeast infections, drink water or beverages full of electrolytes, etc.

6. Shaving: Keep your armpits shaved, so sweat evaporates quickly and doesn’t have as much time to interact with bacteria. Hair is a breeding ground for bacteria. Laser hair removal procedures can also help in reducing hair growth on armpits permanently and reduce sweating.

7. Dermatology procedures: Neuromodulators, popularly known as Botox, work by relaxing a chemical in the body that activates the sweat glands. Underarm Botox injections can reduce sweating by 82–87 per cent. The effects can typically last fourto six months and should be repeated after that.

Treatments for excessive sweating and body odour depend on the underlying cause, which can vary in every individual. It is important to know the underlying cause and talk about it freely with your dermatologist and get the right treatment as early as possible.