Definition and description of Hyperhidrosis

Hyperhidrosis can be defined as the sweating, which is more than it would be expected under the normal temperature of normal environment. The condition features constitutional over productivities or hyperactivities of the eccrine sweat glands. The disorder might be generalized and can consist of profuse body sweating or localized, with sweating occurring more to the palms, soles, underarms, groins, and under the breasts.

As the rule, onset of this condition is generally during the childhood or during puberty. Patients feel heightened reactions to the sweating stimuli like anxiety, pains, exercises, tensions, caffeine, and nicotine. The sweat-prone bodily sites might be localized or generalized but when the palms and soles get involved, the skin might appear pinkish or bluish-white, and might even macerate, crack, or scale, especially when they are on the feet. These patients often feel spontaneous relief in their adult lives.

Causes of hyperhidrosis

The sweating is normal physiological process that assists the body staying cool. In most of the cases, it is obviously natural. People sweat more in hot temperatures, when they perform certain physical workouts such as physical exercises or in response to situations that turn them nervous, furious, abashed, or afraid.

However, excessive perspiration can occur without those triggers. The people with hyperhidrosis are likely to have overactive sweating glands. The uncontrollable sweating can turn to significant discomforts both; physical and emotional.

When there is profuse sweating affecting the hands, feet, and axilla, it is called as primary or focal hyperhidrosis. Primary hyperhidrosis will affect 2 - 3% of the population, yet less than 40 per cent of people having this condition require medical advice. In the majority of primary hyperhidrosis cases, there is no cause detected though it seems running in the families i.e. hereditary.

If the sweating happens as a result of other medical conditions, it is known as secondary hyperhidrosis. The sweating might be all over the body or it could be just in one area.

The conditions causing secondary hyperhidrosis include:

1. Acromegaly
2. Anxiety situations
3. Cancerous growth
4. Carcinoid syndromes
5. Certain medicines and substances of abusing
6. Glucose control problems
7. Heart diseases
8. Hyperthyroidism
9. Lung diseases
10. Menopausal problems
11. Parkinson’s disease
12. Pheochromocytoma
13. Spinal cord injuries
14. Strokes
15. Tuberculosis and/or other infections

The treatment for hyperhidrosis

Before going for any sort of remedy for generalized hyperhidrosis, one should rule out any possible primary disorder. For patients suffering from palmer-plantar-type hyperhidrosis, cotton socks and shoes that improve and never interferes the blood circulation and hence air preventing overheating of the feet are recommended. Alternating footwear is also found to be helpful.

Some of the health experts suggest that an application of medicated powder formulated for hampering bacterial growth is also beneficial. For refractory cases, topical agents like aluminum chloride in ethyl alcohol might be indicated for underarm sweating but is often ineffective for sweating hands. Short-term courses of anti-cholinergic medications are also beneficial in severe conditions in patients but the side effects of having dried mouth, drowsiness and constipations are generally seen.

Heavy antiperspirants might be of some help and such drugs are essentially super-strength formulas to treat regular armpit antiperspirants. The active ingredient, aluminum chloride, in reality, reduces the sweats’ output (unlike deodorants those just deal with odor). Heavyweight formulas are readily available as OTC (over the counter) in concentrations up to 12% as compared with 4-6% in regular antiperspirants, if this is not enough, one can even go for stronger concentrations those too, are available but one might require some prescription for that. The trick is to use them in a right manner. They work only when they are applied onto the dry skin.

Some tips using treating products

One should not apply them onto broken skin or freshly shaved armpits. For increasing their effectiveness, one should make their application at night just before hitting the sack since the nervous system is active to a lesser extent during sleep. Early in the next morning, shower as usual and then make an application of regular antiperspirant to the armpits. Two or three applications of such combined remedy should keep one dry for another 3-4 days.

Another tip to the effective remedy is to control stress. Whether or not emotional stress is the provoker, stress makes the sweating badly. The stress management experts take three main approaches to help patient calming their overactive sweat glands. First is using daily relaxation tapes or meditations. Second - using biofeedback training; and lastly, using traditional psychotherapy that looks into and aims removing the causes of stresses.

In some extreme case, surgery remains as last option wherein the sweating glands are removed from armpits or the nerves triggering the sweat glands in the hands can be removed.

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