Functions of Skin

Hyperhidrosis affects a lot of people—impacting roughly 3 percent of the population in the United States and worldwide. It begins in childhood and worsens at puberty, especially for females. Roughly 30-50 percent of patients report a family history... Full Answer

Symptoms of hyperhidrosis are dependent on the effected location, which is frequently not limited to single site. Commonly effected sites include: Palmar Hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating of the hands, includes dripping sweat of the hands, difficulty... Full Answer

Hyperhidrosis is a pathological condition when a person sweats excessively, beyond the body’s normal need to regulate temperature. This excessive sweating can affect the entire body, but usually occurs in the palms, soles, armpits and/or groin... Full Answer

Patients with hyperhidrosis have normal sweat glands in terms of number and functionality. But their glands have an excessive sympathetic tone, meaning the motor that drives them is excessive. This results in a lot of sweat from little or no activity. Full Answer

Surgery is usually used to treat primary hyperhidrosis, a condition of excessive sweating not caused by another medical condition or from a side effect of medications. There are various surgical procedures depending on the type of excessive sweating, but... Full Answer

Thinning skin is part of the process of aging and includes loss of supporting connective tissues and underlying fat.  Watch the animation to see all the effects of aging on the skin. Full Answer

Sebaceous glands produce oil called sebum that moves up hair follicles to the surface of the skin, where the oil lubricates skin and hair. The gland may keep producing oil when the opening is blocked, leading to a pimple. Watch the animation to learn... Full Answer

Sebum, the oil your body produces to lubricate your skin and hair, is produced by the sebaceous glands, which are connected to hair follicles. Watch to learn about how sebum is produced. Full Answer

If you sweat more than a sumo wrestler in the Sahara, then you may have a condition called hyperhidrosis, which arises from over-productive sweat glands of the hands or feet. (The major causes of sweat problems are thyroid or testosterone... Full Answer

The apocrine gland is a type of gland that is found in the skin, breast, eyelid, and ear. Apocrine glands in the breast secrete fat droplets into breast milk and those in the ear help form earwax. Apocrine glands in the skin and eyelid are sweat glands.... Full Answer