The blockage of sweat glands or hair follicles can lead to serious skin problems, such as boils, skin infections, and even skin cancer. Therefore, understanding the causes and symptoms of this condition will help you prevent the complications caused by sweat gland blockage early on.
1. What is a blocked sweat gland?
If your hair follicles become blocked in areas with many oil and sweat glands, you may first notice them as pimples on your skin. Over time, they can become painful or infected and turn into scars. This condition is also known as hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), or ingrown hairs. It usually occurs when the shafts where hairs grow out of your skin (hair follicles) become blocked.
Currently, there is no cure for hidradenitis suppurativa, but certain treatments can help prevent more outbreaks. Making healthy lifestyle changes can also help.
2. What causes sweat gland blockages?
Many studies show that hormones are an important factor related to sweat gland blockages, as this issue often occurs after puberty, and acne can flare up in women during menstruation. Statistics indicate that the blockage of hair follicles in women is three times more common than in men.
Sweat gland blockage can also occur due to your immune system. Most people experience follicle blockages over time, but if you have hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), your body tends to overreact to these blockages.
Experts suggest that sweat gland blockages do not stem from the following issues:
- It does not happen just because of poor hygiene.
- You cannot catch hidradenitis suppurativa from others.
Instead, several other risk factors can cause your sweat glands or hair follicles to become blocked, including:
- Overweight
- Smoking
- Menstruation (for women)
- Hormonal changes
- Sweating
- Heat
3. Common Symptoms of Clogged Sweat Glands
At first, clogged hair follicles often look like pimples on the skin. They tend to form where your skin rubs together frequently, such as the groin or armpits.
In women, clogged hair follicle pimples are more likely to appear on the genitals, upper thighs, or below the breasts. In men, they are more common in the genital area and around the anus. These pimples can appear in the same location or distributed all over the body.
If your clogged sweat glands become more severe, you may experience some of the following symptoms:
- Deep pimples that cause pain and damage to the skin
- Swelling and oozing of foul-smelling fluid
- After the pimples go away, they can leave scars on the skin that become more noticeable over time
- Skin that looks pitted with deep pimples
- Skin infections
- Skin cancer (in rare cases)
Your symptoms can change rapidly, so clogged hair follicles will look different at different times. One week, the skin may be swollen and oozing fluid, but the next week, the area may not flare up again.
When you notice pimples appearing on your skin due to sweat gland blockages, you should see a dermatologist as soon as possible to address the issue before it leads to serious consequences for your skin. Additionally, you can explore and apply some treatment methods that help cleanse the skin and prevent acne formation, as well as complications caused by hair follicle blockages.
To detect early signs and take timely action, you can undergo a general health check-up to identify potential risks of the condition, allowing for appropriate recommendations from a specialist.
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Reference source: webmd.com
