THE USE OF SMALL SKIN SURFACE AREAS FOR WHOLE BODY SWEATING ASSESSMENT

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Abstract
It is possible to obtain a continuous record of the sweating rate of an active subject by monitoring changes in total body weight. However, elaborate equipment is required that is capable of accommodating the treadmill (or other exercising device) as well as the subject. The balance must be rugged enough to withstand the movements of the subject, yet sensitive enough to respond to small changes in weight. It would be a great convenience to be able, instead, to monitor small representative areas of the skin surface with confidence that they faithfully reflect whole body reactions.In this research, moisture loss from a representative area of the skin of the dorsum under a capsule covering 14 sq. cm was measured by an apparatus which automatically altered the flow of dry air to keep the humidity of the effluent constant. In four subjects exercising on a treadmill at 3.5 m.p.h. the correlation coefficient between the area under the curves so obtained and the total body weight loss was very high (more than 0.93), and there was also good correlation after sweating was partially suppressed by atropine. Short-period fluctuations were simultaneous and highly correlated between bilaterally symmetrical areas of skin. It is concluded that moisture loss from a single area of skin can be used to represent changes in the rate and pattern of sweating of the whole body.

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