
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 18, 1993                   TAG: 9312030372
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

SOME BIOLOGICAL FACTS ABOUT SWEAT

If you're going bald, it may seem like you're sweating more, but you're not. It's just that the droplets are more visible.

In the subtropics, native sweat glands really do work differently than those of recent transplants. Over time, sweat glands learn to secrete less sodium and chloride, delaying lightheadedness and other symptoms of heat exhaustion that can hit heat neophytes.

Downy hairs on fetuses of 4 months are the precursors of sweat glands. The glands are fully formed at birth, but often don't work well until after age 2.

Underarm sweating is uncommon before puberty.

No one's sure why some of us can look shower-fresh long past the time others are dripping. But he who drips is less likely to get a heat stroke.

Can you really sweat buckets? Yep - up to 3 gallons of sweat over a 24-hour period, or 3 quarts in an hour. After that the sweat glands need a rest. Find an air conditioner.

Extra-salty sweat is a sign of cystic fibrosis.

Number of sweat glands a person has: 2 million to 5 million.

Lowest concentration of sweat glands: on the thighs, 120 per square- centimeter.

Highest concentration: on the soles, 620 per square-centimeter.

Brain drain: No one knows why, but some people sweat a lot during mental activity.

Intense sweat sometimes signals the ``breaking'' of a fever for the same reason sweat exists: It cools.

\ KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE

by CNB