Since I’ve started my new job, when I’m doing something that makes me sweat, the shirt I’m wearing will develop big white blots on my chest. At first, I had no idea what these were, but then someone told me that it was probably salt from my perspiration.
Now, I’ve perspired a lot before, but I’ve never, to my recollection, had noticable ‘salt deposits’ on my shirt because of this. What does this mean, as far as my biology is concerned? Is this something to be worried about?
could be your shirt color.
i only notice Utah-esque deposits if (a) i’ve sweated a lot, and (b) i’m wearing a darker, mono-tone shirt.
jb
Mostly just a WAG here, but are you drinking enough water and/or do you consume a realtively high-salt diet?
IME, not being hydrated enough will cause a much higher concentration of salts, etc in sweat, urine, and so forth.
Up your water intake and see what happens.
Nothing to worry about, it happens to me once in a while. It happens when you keep perspiring for a long time so the perspiration gets concentrated on the shirt. And then when that concentrated perspiration is allowed to dry, white salt crystals form. And as jb_farley said, it’s only visible on dark color shirts.
Is it really true for sweat? I know it’s true for urine but I was under the impression that concentration of salt in sweat was more or less constant.
That was my initial thought, but I don’t eat a particularly salty diet, and I drink at least 3 quarters of a gallon a day of water, usually more.
I’m glad it’s not unusual, but it is unusual for me personally… I don’t recall these deposits before, even though I’ve been in situations frequently where I’ve sweated as much. And yes, it’s more evident in darker shirts, but it even shows up in moderately light shirts (just not as distinctly).
Abnormally salty sweat is generally confined to individuals with Cystic Fibrosis.