Excessive Sweating

What is excessive sweating or Hyperhidrosis?

Most of the activities that we do in our daily routine like sitting in the heat of the sun, working out in a gym, going for a brisk walk in the park, giving a presentation at work etc, all can make us sweat. It’s a natural phenomenon necessary to regulate one’s body temperature and is also regarded to be healthy to sweat under the above conditions. In fact, when you are exposed to emotional stress, job pressure, strenuous exercise etc, you will definitely loose a lot of fluids from your body as perspiration. But there are special cases, where you will find people sweating more than the normal and the complex mechanism of perspiration in them results in excessive sweating or Hyperhidrosis. Excessive sweating is the most embarrassing thing and in some cases it may also prove to be a more serious health problem.

Hyperhidrosis is a medical condition in which a person sweats excessively and unpredictably and people with excessive sweating can sweat under any condition, either on a cool day or when they are taking rest. The excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis is a medical condition that is seen to occur in a person’s armpit, soles of the feet, palms, face, scalp or torso. There are two types of hyperhidrosis, namely primary and secondary hyperhidrosis.

 Primary hyperhidrosis is said to begin in a person during early childhood, gets worse during puberty and is also said to last a lifetime. The primary hyperhidrosis is very commonly seen in many people. In the secondary hyperhidrosis, the person is said to have excessive sweating all over the body and not in specific areas like the primary hyperhidrosis and is also not a very commonly seen symptom. People who suffer from diabetes, obesity, menopause, hyperthyroidism, psychiatric disorders can also suffer from the symptoms of secondary hyperhidrosis. Secondary hyperhidrosis may also be caused due to certain medications.

The conditions or the situations that may lead to hyperhidrosis in a person is varied and may be due to eating spicy foods, consuming alcohol,  stressful situations or due to certain medical disorders or even  due to certain medications. Most of the physicians believe that the breakdown in communication between the brain and the mechanisms that activate sweating is the cause for hyperhidrosis or it is the over activity of the nerves linked to produce sweat in a certain area. Genetics may also be a factor that causes hyperhidrosis in many people. The symptoms of hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating vary from person to person. In some, sweating may be continuous whereas in other cases sweating may start suddenly.

The symptoms of primary hyperhidrosis vary depending on the body area that is affected:

• Palmar hyperhidrosis is a symptom where the area affected is the palms of the hands that is excessively wet or moist and also cold to touch.

• Axillary hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating in the underarm area of a person that leaves the area to be totally wet and will also cause staining of the clothes.

• Scalp hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating that is caused in the scalp of the head that may lead to dandruff and bad odour.

• Facial hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating that is seen on the face of a person, which induces him or her to think that others may consider him to be nervous and insecure.

• Plantar hyperhidrosis is a symptom where you will find excessive sweating of the soles of the feet and is often associated with hyperhidrosis in other areas of the body.

• Truncal hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating that is seen in the torso area.  A person having excessive sweating only in the torso area is considered to be a rare medical case, as it occurs usually with hyperhidrosis in other areas.

If you find yourself profusely sweating in any unrelated medical condition like high fever or physical exertion, then it is time to consult a doctor and preferably a dermatologist, as it may be symptoms of hyperhidrosis that can be determined only by physical examination. If it is diagnosed that the sweating occurs due to another medical condition then it might be a case of secondary hyperhidrosis or else it is a case of primary hyperhidrosis.

Most of the antiperspirants or the body deodorants that are available in the market these days will not be able to counteract or effectively prevent the effect of hyperhidrosis. To treat this disorder, the doctors usually prescribes Drysol solution that contains 20% of aluminium chloride hexahydrate solution, which  the patient need to apply in  the affected area during the night which is wrapped over by a plastic film  till morning. Drysol works by blocking the sweat pores. Anticolinergic drugs may also be used. Iontophoresis, botox injections or in some cases surgery is the remedy to cure hyperhidrosis. Some self care like drying your feet thoroughly after a baht, wearing clothes and socks made of natural materials, bathing daily etc will be very helpful in reducing excessive sweating.