No Sweat!

I don’t know exactly when it happened—suddenly I don’t seem to sweat. Disappointing, because it was something that I looked forward to, believe it or not. To me it symbolized getting a good workout, whether during exercise or working in the yard, but it stopped as I approached 70. That means one of my cooling mechanisms isn’t working well during exertion. It also seems to happen in the heat, and it’s not uncommon in people past middle age. How about you? Have you noticed any changes?

I’m not alone. There’s another at-risk group: babies and children, especially during the kind of heat we’re facing in many areas of the country. The question is why are these two groups more at risk than others? There’s little to no research on the heat response in the young and the old with one exception: during exercise. Other than that, it’s a topic that doesn’t seem to attract much attention.

Research has found that the cause relates to the lack of development and aging. The very young haven’t yet developed their skin’s sweating mechanism, but it improves as they continue to develop.

The problem as we age is that our skin declines, along with other physiological mechanisms. Our skin loses sweat glands, our heart doesn’t pump as much blood, and it goes downhill from there.

What can we do about it? More important, what are the signs and symptoms of heat stress? I’ll cover that on Saturday.

With Paula’s knee surgery on Thursday, we’ve delayed the Insider conference call until July 26. You still have time to become an Insider before then.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

References:
1. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2018 Oct;118(10):2233-2240.
2. J Athl Train. 2021 Aug; 56(8): 801–802.