Healthytalk8 Gustatory sweating (gustatory means – Taste, which occurs while eating, thinking, and talking about eating), is also known as Frey syndrome.
GS is limited to certain body areas and occurs on the forehead, scalp, neck, and upper lip.
Sweating while eating spicy food is common, But if sweat occurs while eating any food, it is called gustatory sweating.
Sweating is good for controlling body temp, and flushing out unwanted bacteria, but excessive, and gustatory sweating may be a medical issue.
It is most commonly a result of damage to a nerve that goes to the parotid gland.
Causes
Contents
The main reason for gustatory sweating is damage to 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.
When you eat spicy food then your sweating mechanism is triggered, especially in your face due to spicy food that triggers the sweat gland.
Top 8 Reasons For Excessive Sweating?
Diabetes and Gustatory sweating
Gustatory sweating is also a rare complication of diabetes mellitus (sweating may occur on both sides of the head).
A study shows that gustatory sweating is much more common and often very closely linked with diabetic kidney disease.
Diabetic people are more prone to gustatory sweating compared to normal peoples.
Learn More – Natural Ways To Prevent Pre-Diabetes, And Diabetes
How Is It Different From Regular Sweating After Eating VS Gustatory Sweat?
Sweating occurs after eating due to the salivary gland response is a normal thing.
Because of this, our body naturally responds to hot and spicy food, which increase body temp 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 when a nerve called the auriculotemporal nerve gets damaged then sweating is more common from 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 saliva (1).
During the healing process, parasympathetic nerves get mixed toward the sweat gland 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.
Overall, Picture clear you everything about sweat, nerves and spicy food.
How doctor Diagnose it?
Your doctor start with a physical exam and medical history. and other tests may required to diagnose are:
Starch Test
In this, the affected area is painted with iodine, and then allowed to dry, after that cornstarch flour put on, then give the patient a lemon slice to chew, because it stimulation of salivation.
After some time affected area appears black, and it shows an effect area, then the doctor makes a diagram with a pen.
Treatment of Gustatory Sweating
Treatment of gustatory sweating mostly depends on its causes, and doctors treating Frey’s syndrome usually focus on the symptoms.
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 and some creams.
- Intradermal: Doctor may suggest you intradermal injection to stops sweating, and the response may last for a 6 months.
- Radiation: In this, 50 grays can be given to the symptomatic patient.
- Surgery: In this doctor may suggest you surgery can be done.
However, this is risky and not often advised, In this affected skin is replaced.
For mild to severe diabetic gustatory sweating, Topical treatment is safe, effective, well-tolerated, and suitable (4)
Around 10% of affected people require treatment. One of the more effective treatments is oral.
Injection in effective area are common treatment for gustatory sweating this stops the chemical called acetylcholine (5).
Treatment Cons side
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.
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
Down 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.
