Sweating, a defense mechanism?

Why armpits smell more intense than the body? So far, it was believed that the phenomenon is favored by humid environment, warm and hard to wash. But now a new theory shows that, in fact, the armpits is excreted food for bacteria in a defense mechanism similar to that of the skunk.

Armpits are areas where bacteria multiply extensively. Not only is an environment, but also provides feeding bacteria. Most of the human body is covered by eccrine sweat glands, which secrete water and salts. This process feeds on anything, so sweat can evaporate without leaving an unpleasant odor. However, in some parts of the body where hair grows during puberty, there is another type of sweat glands – apocrine. These glands not only removes water and salts, but sialomucină, a chemical compound that is found in other body fluids, eg milk.

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When secreted by the mammary glands, the substance helps feed children, but when placed secreted by sweat glands in the armpits, wet and warm, it feeds on bacteria. Trying to learn how this process favors the man, experts initially thought that since the start sialomucina be secreted at puberty, it may be related to the maintenance of hair or attract a mate.

But a new theory claims that puberty is not only a period centered on finding a partner, but also independence from parents. individual is no longer protected by adult care, but has to work alone, exposed to all dangers. One way to defend themselves would be spreading a body odor that can remove predators. Perspiration and unpleasant smell, arising from the release of adrenaline, suggests that people eliminate the discharge to transmit a signal to other animals as usual to make skunk.

Source: io9

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One comment on “Sweating, a defense mechanism?

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