Hyperhidrosis And Sweaty Horses: Do Animals Sweat?

It’s perfectly normal for humans to sweat. Perspiration, or sweating, is your body’s way to regulate body temperature and cool you down. However, some people suffer from an excessive sweating problem.

An excessive sweating problem is often the cause of primary focal hyperhidrosis, which affects between 1% to 3% of the population. This is a genetic condition which causes the sweat glands to produce more sweat than necessary.

But if hyperhidrosis is genetic, then does that mean animals may be suffering from the same condition? Is it possible for animals to even sweat? As it turns out, they can.

Sweating Animals, Not To Be Confused With Summer Athletes
When the brain detects a change in the body’s temperature, it sends a message to the sweat glands to produce perspiration. Made from water, potassium, minerals, and salt, your sweat beads onto your skin and transfers the heat from your body to the sweat molecules. From there, the sweat evaporates and effectively takes away the heat.

It’s a pretty cool process. But it’s a process limited only to mammals.

Only mammals have sweat glands. However, only certain mammals such as horses and primates have sweat glands in large enough numbers to regulate body temperature. Other mammals have to rely on other ways to stay cool.

Staying Cool With The Latest (Body Regulating) Trends
You probably know about pigs rolling in the mud in order to stay cool in hot temperatures. But did you know they do this because the water in the mud transfers heat away from their skin and evaporates just like sweat?

You also probably know that dogs pant to keep cool. But the reason behind it is because panting allows the moisture in the dog’s mouth to evaporate and reduce overall body temperature.

What About Constant Sweating?
Horses have been known to sweat the most when it comes to mammals. However, whether other animals as a species suffer from sweating constantly due to hyperhidrosis is unknown.

Fortunately, if you are sweating a lot and want to stop the sweat, there are clinical ways to seek hyperhidrosis treatments. For more information on iontophoresis machines and other hyperhidrosis products to treat excessive sweating, contact Hidrex USA today.