And while modern medicine has a few tricks up its sleeve for helping with drug detox, Mother Nature’s main mechanism for drug detox is the excretory system, the main organs of which are the kidneys and liver. One of the ways the body excretes compounds is through sweat, but urination is a far more efficient way of expelling unwanted chemicals from the body. The body is capable of performing its own drug detox, but it takes time and the withdrawal symptoms that occur in the meantime are uncomfortable at best.
Individuals May Find Saunas Soothing
The sauna can raise your core body temperature by 1 degree Celsius and your skin temperature by up to 4 degrees Celsius. In the same study as above, this metabolite was not detected in sweat. At first it’s surprising since within a few hours after smoking, its plasma levels are several times higher than THC. However, due to the way that the sweat samples are collected (with a wipe or patch on a limited amount of skin), we cannot easily determine the total amount of THC excreted in sweat over the entire body.
Edibles are simply ordinary treats that have marijuana infused into them. Since smoking marijuana doesn’t cause dehydration, there’s no reason to believe an edible would, either. Unfortunately, this myth goes back to an 1887 book published by Dr. Rolleston. In his book, he said nicotine is a potent diuretic that can cause dehydration.
One commonly discussed hypothesis is that sweating might contribute to reduced THC levels in the body. This idea stems from the understanding that THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis, is primarily stored in fat cells. THC is highly lipophilic, meaning it is attracted to and dissolves in fats more easily than in water. This property allows THC to be stored in fat cells throughout the body. As a result, the cannabinoid is released gradually over time, even after the initial effects have diminished.
Mechanisms of THC Metabolism in the Body
People are boasting about all the benefits of drinking it, with some claiming that drinking a small glass of this acidic concoction will help you detox quickly from marijuana. However, this claim is unproven, and drinking vinegar can be harmful because it increases the risk of hyponatremia, which can be potentially fatal if not properly treated. Importantly, the THC spike went away after two hours, suggesting people should only avoid working out immediately before a drug test if they’re concerned about THC detection. The researchers also didn’t analyze the participant’s urine, so how this would impact a typical marijuana urine test isn’t clear. The amount of THC excreted with the sweat is insignificant, almost 300 times lower than those excreted through urine and faeces. Let’s assume the minimal values – the average THC concentration in the urine for 14 days will be 50ng/ml.
If you haven’t been diagnosed with this condition, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever experience dehydration from consuming marijuana. Just because you feel thirsty doesn’t mean your body is in dire need of fluid replenishment. Since THC molecules bind easily to CB1 receptors, your saliva production becomes tempered. In the Indian study mentioned at the beginning of the article, 40% of heroin users reported having hyperhidrosis.
- Unlike exercise, dietary changes, and tolerance breaks, the idea that sweating significantly reduces THC tolerance lacks robust scientific evidence.
- The metabolism of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) within the human body is a complex biochemical process primarily managed by the liver.
- Sunlight Recovery offers detox and residential substance abuse treatment programs.
- However, this can turn into anxiety and paranoia when the euphoric phase passes.
- Importantly, the THC spike went away after two hours, suggesting people should only avoid working out immediately before a drug test if they’re concerned about THC detection.
- Therefore, it can theoretically reduce sweating when it takes effect, for a few hours.
The Science Behind THC and the Body
Marijuana cannot cause dehydration because you are not losing any fluids by smoking cannabis. To be dehydrated, you must be actively losing or using the fluids in your body. Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome may be accompanied by excessive sweating, but it is not its primary symptom.
- The symptoms and signs experienced after stopping the use of marijuana depend a lot on the amount of the drug used and on how long the patient has been using it, too.
- The Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the United States has proposed a cutoff concentration of 1 ng THC/patch for federally mandated workplace testing programs 19.
- Tobacco smoking can cause dehydration because nicotine is a diuretic.
- The only link between dehydration and cannabis use is Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS), which can lead to dehydration due to severe vomiting.
- It does not matter if you spend hours in a sauna, there will be a small amount of THC in your body.
Are THC and Other Cannabinoids in Sweat?
Many people with hyperhidrosis describe sweating a lot at night and the day after a heavy drinking night. 30% of the 710 individuals included in the study reported having hyperhidrosis. However, when looking at the figures reported by individuals who only consumed cannabis, hyperhidrosis is not mentioned.
Nevertheless, it is highly can u sweat out thc probable that heroin and opioid consumption can cause or exacerbate hyperhidrosis. Opioids are known as potent stimulators of mast cell degranulation, which can lead to excessive sweating in heroin users. Alcohol consumption, in general, also increases sweat secretion within 10 minutes following consumption.
Managing sweating as a withdrawal symptom
These temperature increases do elicit several adaptive changes (besides sweating) in your heart rate and blood flow to various organs. However, a review of the scientific literature found no consistent change in drug elimination as a result. We typically lose about 300 to 700 mL of sweat per day from 2 to 4 million sweat glands over our bodies.
Therefore, exercise released dormant THC metabolites from the fat cells in the body and they flooded the participants’ systems with THC. However, due to a lack of studies, it’s unclear whether this will affect a urine test. Marijuana use continues to increase in popularity among both medical and recreational users.
Results of our clinical study indicate that daily cannabis users will excrete THC into sweat in concentrations above the SAMHSA cutoff of 1 ng/patch. During abstinence, negative patches are expected after one week, but some may have a longer washout period of four weeks or more. The sensitivity of sweat patches to detect new drug use following cannabis smoking is not known and requires an independent controlled smoked cannabis administration study. Our results indicate that patients who take THC orally up to 14.8 mg daily, either intentionally or unknowingly, will not produce a positive sweat patch using a cutoff concentration of 0.4 ng THC/patch.