I mean, everyone knows that people sweat from their armpits , forehead, and sometimes their backs or hands. But being sweaty adjacent to the vagina?! That is less than ideal, lets be honest. Heres the scoop on whether sweating down there is typical, or something to be concerned about.

First of all, getting sweaty in the vagina area is totally normal.

It happens to everyone. Thats because we sweat wherever we have sweat glands, says , a board-certified dermatologist based in North Carolina. And there are sweat glands all over your vulva, which is the external area surrounding the vagina.

Remember: Your vagina is internal-its what you feel if you stick your finger inside the hole toward the bottom of your vulva. And there are no sweat glands up there, Dr. Adigun points out. So, its not really true to say that your vagina is sweating, just to be extra clear.

However, there are sweat glands on the parts *around* your vagina. Specifically, sweat glands exist where the hair on your vulva exists-thats the labia majora (the big, outer lips), the mons pubis (the hump above your vagina), and the groin (where your legs meet your pelvis). Your groin is not really all that different from your underarm, Dr. Adigun says.

Just like your armpit, your groin is a junction between a limb and your trunk (except instead of your arms, its your legs). Thats why it makes more sense to call perspiration down there crotch sweat, as opposed to vagina sweat.

Is it possible to have *too much* crotch sweat?

Most of the time, a little sweat in your vulva area is nothing to worry about, Dr. Adigun says. We all sweat, and sometimes that sweat happens to be downstairs. If youre sweating while exercising or when youre really hot, thats not unusual, she notes. So instead of feeling awk when you spot a sweat stain on your yoga pants , consider taking it as a sign of a hardcore workout (and a sign of how totally awesome you are!).

Of course, some people do sweat more than what doctors would consider normal, and too much crotch sweat can interfere with your everyday life. That kind of excessive sweating is called hyperhidrosis .

While people who have hyperhidrosis most often sweat more than the average person from their head, armpits, hands, and feet, according to the , they can sometimes have extra-intense sweating in their genital zone. In , a healthy 17-year-old girl went to her doctors because she frequently sweat through her shorts. She sweat so much that she would wear thick maxi pads every day to try to keep her pants dry.

Thats certainly an abnormal amount of sweat down there. But you dont need to have that much sweat to make an appointment with your dermatologist: Like abnormal sweating on any part of your body, if youre soaking through your clothing when youre not really hot, thats more than normal, Dr. Adigun says.

Its worth making an appointment anytime sweat is making you feel uncomfortable or inhibiting your life in some way. Dr. Adigun sees patients all the time who are concerned about crotch sweat because theyve been embarrassed by sweat stains on their pants one too many times.

What can you do to help keep a sweaty groin area dry?

There are several options, Dr. Adigun says. First, she suggests that people try topical antiperspirants. These arent your typical deodorants. Instead, you want to use something like Certain Dri, which will say antiperspirant on the packaging. While deodorants mask the odor of sweat, antiperspirants temporarily plug up your sweat glands so that you physically sweat less.

She suggests using the roller-ball versions, which can be easier to use on precise areas like your groin. But it doesnt work for everyone: This is pretty sensitive skin, Dr. Adigun says. So, sometimes [antiperspirants] can be a little bit irritating. Be extra careful to keep the application away from the actual vagina to reduce the risk of infection from a potentially irritating product.

As an alternative, she routinely does Botox injections in the groin area. That may sound terrifying (a needle near your vulva?!), but its generally safe and super effective. While most of us know about Botox for its wrinkle-smoothing ability, the injection is often also used to stop excessive sweating. It suppresses your sweat glands so they dont sweat as much, and it lasts a long time. Usually, youll have to redo Botox injections twice a year-thats six whole months of sweat suppression.

But thats about it for the major interventions, Dr. Adigun says. The other fixes doctors usually use for sweat- and MiraDry-are not used on the vulva. Both of these procedures go deep into the tissue beneath your skin with either electrical currents or thermal energy, respectively. Thats totally fine for your underarms or your hands and feet because theres not much else other than sweat glands under those areas. There are too many other structures in other areas that could be damaged by MiraDry, Dr. Adigun notes. No one wants that.

There are a few other temporary fixes you could try, though, especially if your groin sweat isnt that annoying to you. If you dont have hyperhidrosis but are still a little irked by your crotch sweat, you could try to soak up the sweat with a talc-free baby powder product like (applied on the skin of the vulva, not the vaginal opening). This option wont stop your sweat, Dr. Adigun reminds; itll just absorb the moisture. But it absolutely can help if, on a hot day, you worry that your undercarriage will be damper than usual.

The bottom line: Theres absolutely nothing wrong with crotch sweat (youre definitely not alone in this!). But if youre sweating so much down there that its interfering with your daily life, you should reach out to a dermatologist. They can help you get the issue under control.