I perspire easily with exertion even in only moderately warm circumstances. (It’s a family trait). I’m talking my face, hair, neck and nearly everywhere (except armpits, oddly enough) will get drenched. And, I’ll almost always have salt crystallized on my clothes afterward. Is this unusual or abnormal or anything to be concerned about? Does everyone sweat out all the salt in their bodies? I’ve never noticed this on the people working with me, even if everyone is hot. Is there anything I can do about this? I always feel rotten when it happens because I get woozy and my muscles will cramp up if it goes on long enough. Is there an antidote?
This is normal.
Taste your own sweat – it is salty.
Again, this is normal.
While going through flight school in Del Rio, Texas the temperature on the ramp in the summer would reach 130 F. At the end of the day everyone would have salt stains on their back, concentrated around where the parachute rested against their backs.
You could always tell who was too lazy to put on a clean flight suit the next morning - it was covered in salt stains! (Ugh).
Nothing to worry about.
The feeling woozy and muscle cramps seem more like a dehydration problem to me, but IANAD. Consider drinking more water than you do now.
Well, you could be sweating yourself into an electrolyte imbalance. That can certainly cause weakness and trembling, as can dehydration. Drink lots of water, and eat lots of things that are rich in potassium. Can’t hurt you, and it might help you.
Drinking water after sweating is definitely a good idea. But if you’re sweating for extended periods of time to the point where salt is literally crystallizing on your body, it’s probably a good idea to drink (or eat) something to replace the electrolytes (i.e. salts) your body is losing. Electrolytic imbalance doesn’t happen very often in healthy people, but endurance athletes definitely have to worry about it. Drinking some Gatorade will do the trick.
If you’re sweating so much that you leave salt stains and feel rotten, you don’t want to just drink water. You definitely need to replace the electrolytes. Just drinking water might leave you with hyponatremia.
Gatorade is OK, if you like the stuff, but there are better (and cheaper) products out there. Go to a bicycle shop and ask the clerks what products they have. Personally, I like Cytomax[sup]1[/sup], but there are others you may like better.
[sup]1[/sup] It’s a powder that you have to mix up. It comes in a large tin that should last you for months. Get a water bottle, mix it up and carry it with you during the day. You don’t want to wait until you feel rotten before replenishing electrolytes.