Why do babies not have tears or sweat?

You won't see the tears rolling down the chubby cheeks of babies. But why are these adorable babies just born without tears perhaps not everyone knows.

When entering the world, a newborn let out a loud cry. That is really different and bring joy to many families. But if you look closely, you will find that babies' crying sounds are a little different than older babies, which means they won't have tears.

Not many people know why babies cry even though they have no tears.

Tears, of course, are needed for eye protection and moisturizing. When faced with extreme emotions such as sadness, anger or even happiness, we will cry, said Sage Timberline, a pediatrician at the University of California.

That temporary tension caused a fighting reaction that created tears to further protect the eyes. These emotional tears can also help release stress hormones that may have accumulated over long periods of time, which contributes to a sense of relief.

Meanwhile, a child born with a tear duct is still not fully developed. They produce enough tears to cover their eyes and moisturize them, but not enough to make them trickle down those chubby cheeks. After three or four weeks, a baby's tear duct is often mature enough to create strong emotional-related tears.

Babies' eyes tend to be dry and so do the skin. No matter how hot it is, an infant hardly sweats in the first few weeks of life. That's because the sweat glands are not fully functioning .

Humans have two types of sweat glands, called the eccrine and apocrine glands , both of which are formed in infants even before they have formed a sweat. The apocrine glands produce sweat through the hair follicles but are not activated until hormonal changes take place during puberty. Although apocrine sweat is initially odorless, it can become smelly. It is filled with water and electrolytes as well as steroids, lipids and proteins - bacteria that can be processed to create odors.

The eccrine glands begin to form during the fourth month of pregnancy, appearing first on the palms of the fetus and on the soles of the feet. By the fifth month, the eccrine glands cover almost the entire body.

Because babies can't sweat enough, they need to rely on their caregivers to keep them cool. However, be alert for signs of overheating, including sweating (because infants do not sweat), warm skin, flushing, rapid breathing, fussing and reduced arm and leg activity. , Timberline said. If your baby is showing signs of heat, take off a layer of clothes or use a fan to keep the air circulating and then need to monitor.