ALUMINUM ARMPITS SMELL GOOD
We all want to smell nice, but is an antiperspirant with aluminum the answer. Aluminum has been found in the brains of Alzheimer patients. Is it as safe as we are led to believe? The FDA does no testing on this product.
Most antiperspirants can protect you against bacteria and odor and reduce sweat where it is applied.
The FDA cosmetic act defines products by their intended uses. Antiperspirants are drugs because they affect the function of the body by reducing the amount of sweat that reaches the skin.
If a product has two intended uses, e.g. an antiperspirant and a deodorant, it must comply with requirements for drugs and also for cosmetics. Cosmetic products and ingredients reach the market without FDA approval.
Sweating is the body’s way to naturally regulate its temperature, whether from exercise as in a gym, stress, or high air temperatures and humidity. One pea-sized bead of sweat can cool one quart of blood one degree Fahrenheit. Only 1% of the body’s sweat is produced under the arms yet it attracts all the attention of the consumer.
Sweat really has no odor. It’s the bacteria on the skin that breaks down the sweat giving unpleasant odors. We have several million sweat glands throughout our bodies that give a lot of opportunity for odors. We are born with sweat glands under the arms that open directly onto the skin surface. They are called eccrine glands.
After puberty, glands around hair follicles, scalp, genitalia, and underarms secrete. They do not regulate any temperatures and are called apocrine glands. Sweat glands are in the dermis, the middle layer of the skin. Sweat is 60% water and has salt and other electrolytes that regulate body fluids. The sodium and phosphorus give sting to the eyes and give sweat a salty taste.
Deodorants and antiperspirants are not the same. Aluminum is the main ingredient in antiperspirants. If forms a temporary plug in the sweat duct and stops the flow of sweat to the skin. Active aluminum ingredients can be aluminum chloride, aluminum hydrate and aluminum zirconium. Inactive ingredients are added, including fragrance, talc and butane as an aerosol.
How fragrant the scent and how the product feels on the skin are important to the consumer. A wet cool clear gel with no residue is most important. Many prefer stick antiperspirants. The active aluminum ingredient must be pH balanced and not irritate the skin. No data suggests one dose or form is better than another. How long you spray, glide, swipe or roll the antiperspirant varies widely.
The FDA only oversees OTC drug labeling and that the benefits outweigh the risks. There are 100,000 OTC products with about 800 ingredients. They are all classified as laxatives, antacids, antiperspirants etc.
OTC drugs have monograms that show what ingredients can be used for what intention. OTC products don’t need FDA approval. The FDA is only concerned about the claims made for a product. The safe way is to say: ‘it is generally accepted as safe and effective.” If the claim were that it is effective, they would require a new drug application
Only 20% of the sweat is reduced with regular strength antiperspirant. The extra strength or maximum strength reduces sweat by 30%.
WHAT IF YOU SWEAT EXCESSIVELY?
This is probably why you choose an antiperspirant. Eight million Americans have this dilemma. A thyroid or hormonal problem, low blood sugar, or a neuron disorder, or simply menopause can cause it. You probably choose the maximum strength aluminum per spirant and chances are you will get a skin irritation.
Botox is back on the scene for this problem it was approved four years ago by the FDA as a treatment for excess sweating if the topical agents failed to do the job. The protein toxin from Clostridium botulism kills the chemical messages telling sweat glands to sweat. It stops the acetylcholine that supplies nerves to the sweat glands and paralyzes the nerves stimulating sweat. It can’t be used on your feet or your palms.
BEWARE!
Aluminum is a harmful substance if it absorbs through the skin. Toxins can’t be released by the sweat glands and the toxins then travel to other parts of the body. Some aluminum is found in human brains and is found in Alzheimer’s patients. The issue is still not settled. You make up your own mind.
Source: FDA Consumer, Aug. 2005
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