If you’re beginning to get worried about how your 8-month-old baby sweat so much and just want to figure out why then this is an article you don’t wanna miss.
Sweating is natural and healthy for your baby but sometimes there is an underlying ailment that causes your baby to sweat profusely.
Not to mention, studies show that high temperature or maybe a congenital heart disease could be responsible for profuse sweating.
Genetic disorders like primary hyperhidrosis could cause sweating in babies. This type of sweating results from a mutation in genes. Sounds interesting right?
What about Spicy foods and physical activities? Even crying is also part of the reason babies sweat. But I bet you know that already.
So, for the rest of this guide, we’ll be walking you through many other reasons why your 8-month-old baby sweat so much.
What Is Sweating?
According to Wikipedia, sweating is the production of fluid secreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals.
Sweating, also known as perspiration has been used frequently to describe the body’s temperature when it produces heat in form of water. It is a bodily function that helps regulate body temperature
When babies get too hot, it causes them to sweat. Changes in atmospheric temperature, overheating and many other things could cause sweating in babies.
But while we’re not here to go over all of that right now, the next section will explain to us what causes sweating in babies.
Causes of Sweating In Babies
- Crying
- Deep sleep
- High temperature
- Physical activities
- Fever
- Congenital heart disease
- Overheating
- Hyperhidrosis in infancy
Crying
A baby can start feeling hot when he/she starts crying especially if the baby cries for a long period. Research has shown that babies tend to sweat on their palms and feet when they are upset.
Deep sleep
During the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep stage, some babies sweat profusely because of the deepness of their sleep.
Positioning of the baby’s body is another factor that causes sweat.
if a baby maintains a particular position while sleeping, there’s a possibility that the body temperature rises causing them to sweat. Sweating helps regulate body temperature.
‘It is normal to experience variation in your body temperature while you sleep and sometimes this leads to sweating’ says Dr. Aarthi Ram.
High temperature
Your baby could start sweating when the weather gets so hot. This happens as a result of the heat. When the temperature rises, the sweat glands spring into action, making perspiration. Sweating is the body’s natural way of keeping the baby cool.
Physical activities
Activities like playing, eating, and dancing could cause sweating in babies.
Fever
It is normal for a baby to sweat when attacked by a cold or fever because fever can rise and fall, changing the body temperature of a baby.
When the temperature starts dropping, there’s a tendency for your baby to sweat more to release extra heat.
Congenital heart disease
Sweating could occur if your baby is diagnosed with congenital heart disease. During feeding, a baby having this issue may experience difficulty in breathing because of excessive blood flow and water in the lungs.
This difficulty experienced, could cause them to sweat as the systematic nervous system activates.
Overheating
When the body temperature of your baby gets too hot, it is normal to expect sweat.
Sometimes it’s quite difficult to tell the difference between overheating and fever. If your baby’s body gets too hot, see a pediatrician because overheating can lead to Sudden infant death (SID).
Hyperhidrosis in infancy
This is a condition that causes excessive sweating even when the temperature is cool.
It is of two different types:
- Primary hyperhidrosis and
- Secondary hyperhidrosis
Primary hyperhidrosis
Individuals experience excessive sweating without any underlying cause. It normally begins in childhood and well into puberty.
Secondary hyperhidrosis
This is a condition where excessive sweating is a result of medications or endocrine diseases.
Secondary hyperhidrosis normally occurs in adulthood. Our major focus is primary hyperhidrosis because this mainly starts when the child is still a baby.
Excessive sweating could be a result of dressing in thick clothing materials or engaging in lots of physical activities. It could be treated by applying an antiperspirant.
Hyperhidrosis is a genetic disorder.
Researchers have concluded that hyperhidrosis is inherited as a result of an autosomal dominant Gene.
This could be the reason why your 8-month-old baby sweat so much.
At what age does hyperhidrosis stop?
You may also be interested in this. A study has shown that hyperhidrosis does not go away or decrease with age.
Is It Normal for My 8-Month-Old To Sweat So Much?
If your 8-month-old baby sweats so much, it could be as a result of an inconvenient environment or position. There’s no cause for alarm but when it gets excessive, it could be a fever or another health condition. See a pediatrician.
‘Why does my baby sweat on his head?’ A mother of one asked
It is common for babies especially at night to sweat on their heads. The most active eccrine sweat glands in newborns are on their foreheads. Eccrine sweat glands are odorless.
Sweating on the forehead could also be a result of fever.
‘My eight-month-old has been crying and sweating profusely. I have tried changing her diapers. Yet, no positive result. Could it be that she’s feeling hot and inconvenient?’
It could be a result of the temperature change. You should take your baby out of there or give your baby lighter clothing to wear.
Indicators That Show Your Baby Is Hot
Heat Rashes
When you start noticing rashes on your baby’s body, it is a result of heat. This is an indicator that your baby is hot.
Flushed Skin
If you look at your baby closely, you might be able to notice that some part of your baby’s body looks red/flushed, especially the cheek or neck region. This is also an indicator that shows that your baby is feeling hot.
Increased Irritability
Your baby can get easily irritated because of discomfort.
Rapid Breathing
The heartbeat rate of your baby could increase. Another quick way of knowing when your baby is hot is by checking their neck with your palm. If it feels hot, change the baby’s clothes to lighter material.
Why Does My 8-Month-Old Baby Sweat So Much
I will say once again, that sweating is normal and it helps to regulate the body’s temperature.
Your baby could be sweating as a result of the temperature, inconvenient position, feeding on hot foods, or maybe, a genetic disorder like COLD-INDUCED SWEATING SYNDROME(CISS).
Cold-Induced Sweating Syndrome
This is characterized by problems with regulating body temperature and other abnormalities affecting many parts of the body. This could cause profuse sweating in babies.
Babies with this, have abnormal facial features like upturned nostrils, flat nasal bridges, etc.
When the sweating gets too much and consistent even after changing the clothing, see a pediatrician.
Benefits of Sweating In Babies
There are health benefits of sweating. Sweat glands help the skin filter toxins out of the body, which in turn boosts the immune system. It also cools the body.
A 2015 review suggests that the glycoprotein in sweat bind to bacteria, helping removal from the body. However, the eccrine glands produce sweat to regulate body temperature and are found all over the body.
How To Manage Sweating In Babies
- Leaving sweaty clothes on your baby could give them cold. So, you should know how to deal with sweaty babies.
- You could give them a lighter layer of clothing. It could reduce the level of sweat in them
- Breastfeeding is also advised to prevent dehydration
- Pay attention to the position of your baby. An inconvenient position could be strenuous to them, causing them to sweat
- Keep them in a cool environment but do this with caution. It is wrong to put your baby directly under an Air conditioner as this could give them a cold. The room environment should be warm!
- Bathe them.
Conclusion
Sweating is the body’s response to becoming hot. it is normal but when it gets too much, it could be a result of an underlying medical condition that needs attention. Although excessive sweating could mean that the baby’s environment is inconvenient.
In hyperhidrosis, if a mum has/had it, there’s a possibility that her baby is likely to get it because it is hereditary.
It can happen on certain parts of the body like the hands, the feet, or the armpit. The cause of hyperhidrosis isn’t clear yet but it is thought to be a result of a problem with part of the sympathetic nervous system.
Overheating in babies is bad because it has been linked to sudden infant death syndrome (SID) a fatal sleeping disorder. it could cause heat stroke if not managed or little brain damage when Severe.
Physical activity could increase the sweating rate in babies. As the activity level increases and the body temperature changes from warm to hot, so does the sweating rate increase.
On a final note, sweating is vital, it helps the body function perfectly well and it is healthy.