What causes excessive sweating?

What you need to know:

  • People with a sweating problem (hyperhidrosis) just as those suffering from diabetes mellitus, facial herpes zoster (shingles) or Parkinson’s disease may sweat excessively while or after eating even when there is no need to sweat. This will help them to cool down.

When I go out with my friends, I tend to sweat all through the meal yet none of my friends is sweating. Why? Erinest


Dear Erinest,

We sweat as a way to cool down. High body temperatures can lead to the body mechanisms, including those performed by enzymes, not to function well leading to feeling ill.

It is usual for people to sweat a bit during or after eating and this may happen on the head, or neck.

However, certain foods, even when not hot, may cause sweating during consumption or after eating. These include spicy foods, those containing caffeine, alcohol or those which are sweet.

People with a sweating problem (hyperhidrosis) just as those suffering from diabetes mellitus, facial herpes zoster (shingles) or Parkinson’s disease may sweat excessively while or after eating even when there is no need to sweat. This will help them to cool down.

Gustatory sweating is sweating that occurs on the forehead, and neck while eating, or thinking about food. This can happen on one side of the face in some cases of people with diabetes or Parkinson’s disease.

Gustatory sweating most commonly happens because of an injury or surgery affecting the salivary gland below one’s ear (parotid gland). Here, there may be damage to the nerves of the salivary gland, which during healing get mixed up with the nerves that cause sweating of the face, so that when one thinks of or eats food even when cold, instead of producing saliva only, excessive sweating may also occur.

Much as the sweating may be normal, happening while one is eating may affect the victim socially, with the ensuing stress worsening the sweating, making one to avoid going out altogether.

It is always important to visit your doctor who will diagnose and manage this sweating properly.