What Is Gustatory Sweating? Causes, Signs, Treatment, And More

A girl is looking at her face in the mirror

What is Gustatory Sweat?

Gustatory sweating (gustatory means – Taste, which occurs while eating, thinking, and talking about eating), is also known as Frey syndrome.

It is also known as Baillargar syndrome because it was introduced by Baillargar in 1853, also called an Auriculotemporal syndrome, and classified under primary hyperhidrosis.

Gustatory sweating is limited to certain areas of the body and occurs on the forehead, scalp, neck, and upper lip.

In many people, sweating while or after eating hot and spicy food is common,

But if sweat during eating any food occurs, then that case it is called gustatory sweating.

Sweating is good to control body temperature, flush out unwanted bacteria, etc. but excessive, and gustatory sweating may be a medical condition.

It is most commonly a result of damage to a nerve that goes to the parotid gland.

A girl is looking at her face in the mirror

Causes

The main reason for gustatory sweating is damage to the auricular temporal nerve that passes through the parotid gland (The body’s largest salivary gland, which produces saliva).

Here is a potential cause of gustatory sweating include:

  • Nerve damage, due to surgery of the parotid gland
  • Eating, thinking, and talking about food
  • Hot and spicy food trigger it
  • Inflammation or infection in the parotid gland
  • Tumor on the parotid gland
  • Injury to the face
  • May be due to underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, and parkinson’s disease.

If this happens then it is on one side of the face which is called Frey syndrome.

This is a basic mechanism – Sweating of the facial skin which is getting in by the Auriculotemporal nerve, which occurs in response to the gustatory stimuli. because of these stimuli, you are sweating.

Learn More – Top 8 Reasons For Excessive Sweating?

3. Diabetes and Gustatory sweating

Gustatory sweating is also a rare complication of diabetes mellitus.

In this case person, sweating may occur on both sides of the head, mild, or severe.

A study shows that gustatory sweating – is much more common and often very closely linked with diabetic nephropathy.

Diabetes people are more prone to gustatory sweating – compared to those who do not have these conditions.

Learn More – Natural Ways To Prevent Pre-Diabetes, And Diabetes

4. How Is It Different From Regular Sweating After Eating VS Gustatory Sweat?

Frey's syndrome diagram

Sweating occurs after eating due to the salivary gland response is a normal thing.

Because of this, a person’s body naturally responds to hot and spicy food, which increases a person’s body temperature and releases sweat.

Gustatory sweating – Caused by thinking and eating about food, which triggers the reactions of sweating or facial flushing.

This combination of sweating and flushing related to parotid issues is called Frey’s syndrome.

Frey’s syndrome – a person has damage to the ‘auricular temporal nerve’ and may start to sweat and flush on the scalp, neck, ears, and face, after eating any food.

However, foods like hot and spicy food, trigger the situation more and produce a lot of salivae (1).

During the healing process, parasympathetic nerves get mixed toward the sweat gland also. causing a person to produce sweat instead of saliva.

As you see in the picture, where the second one of Frey’s syndrome.

The parotid gland is located on both sides of the cheek, but even then Frey’s syndrome occurs only on one side of the face.

5. Diagnose

Your doctor can help you begin this process with a physical exam and thorough medical history. some tests required to diagnose are:

Starch Test

In this, the affected area is painted with iodine, then allow to dry, after that dust cornstarch or potato flour on this, then give the patient a lemon slice to chew, because it stimulation of salivation.

After some time affected area appears black over the flour, and it shows an effect area or a positive result, then the doctor makes a diagram with a pen.

6. Treatment of Gustatory Sweating

Gustatory Sweating treatment through injection

Treatment of gustatory sweating mostly depends on its causes, and doctors treating Frey’s syndrome usually focus on the symptoms.

However, in most people, Frey’s syndrome goes away on its own within a period of at most 5 years.

There are 4 ways to treat this condition. which include:

  • Topical: In this, the doctor may prescribe your antiperspirant, 20% aluminum chloride, anticholinergic, and some topical creams.
  • Intradermal: In this, the patient intradermal injection of botulinum toxin A, stops sweating, and the response may last for a period of 6 months.
  • Radiation: In this, 50 grays can be given to the symptomatic patient.
  • Surgery: In this is caused due to damage to your temporal nerve, so in this auriculotemporal nerve resection, and Tympanic neurectomy can give.

However, this is risky and not often advised, In this affected skin is replaced.

For mild to severe symptoms of diabetic gustatory sweating, Topical treatment is safe – glycopyrrolate is safe, effective, well-tolerated, and convenient (4)

Around 10% of affected people require treatment. One of the more effective treatments is oral or topically applied glycopyrrolate.

Local injection of botulinum toxin into the affected area is an effective treatment for gustatory sweating as it inhibits the presynaptic release of acetylcholine (5).

7. Treatment side effects

It also has some side effects which have been seen in some patients during treatment. which include:

Gustatory sweating is considered a harmless condition. Even some people, don’t need any medical intervention.

8. When to talk to the doctor?

In some people, it goes away on its own with the passage of time and in some, it is treated with proper medicines, creams, etc.

However, if you see or feel those things on your body, then talk to the doctor.

  • Excessive sweating leads to a light headache
  • If your sweating suddenly gets worse
  • nausea, and chest pain. These may be a sign of other medical conditions, so talk to the doctor.
  • sweating more than usual
  • medicine side effects like night sweat
  • sweating disrupts your daily routine

BOTTOM LINE

Gustatory sweating is limited to certain areas of the body and occurs on the forehead, scalp, neck, and upper lip.

Women have more sweat glands, compare to men’s, but men’s sweat glands are more active than women’s, so men tend to sweat more.

The main reason for gustatory sweating is damage to the auricular temporal nerve that passes through the parotid gland.

Healthytalk8

Hello, I'm Sahil bisht, I am a Mechanical engineer, As well as, aspiring blogger with an obsession for health. This blog delicate to people who want to learn in health.

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