The Causes and Treatment of Excessive Sweating

 Excessive sweating, also known as hyperhidrosis as it is scientifically known, is a condition where a person’s sweat glands begin producing sweat excessively in certain parts of their body. This condition is marked by excessive sweating in the underarms, hands, soles of feet, and sweating even in pleasant weather. Underarm sweating or axillary hyperhidrosis as it is termed, is extremely common among the sufferers of hyperhidrosis.

 

This disorder causes the hypothalamus of the brain to stimulate nerves to produce excessive sweating in one’s underarms. These nerves then stimulate the sweat glands to act erratically and abnormally, causing excessive sweating.

 

Causes

           

Excessive sweating, as explained earlier, is generally attributed to abnormally functioning sweat glands. However, the basic causes for this, are yet unknown and are still a mystery. About one person in every hundred suffers from some sort of hyperhidrosis, though the severity may vary. People suffering from this disorder generally have it from childhood, but it may become more pronounced during adolescence. Anxiety and nervousness also set off excessive sweating. There are certain other diseases too, for example hyperthyroidism and a few psychiatric illnesses which trigger hyperhidrosis. There exist, however, cures for this disorder and these cures may be either medical or non-medical.

           

 

Symptoms

 

The symptoms of excessive sweating are generally identified easily, depending on which body part is affected. Obviously, sweating a lot in particular regions is the primary symptom, but it might vary with the different body parts. There are a few basic regions that are common for excessive sweating problems - the underarm, the face and the palms, and soles of one’s feet.

 

Underarm sweating is generally identified, as the name suggests, though excessive sweating around the armpits. This could cause embarrassment and discomfort, and even occur when the weather is far from hot. This sort of hyperhidrosis is also problematic as the sweat would create a stain and halo mark of salt on the clothes.
Excessive sweating in the facial region, or facial hyperhidrosis is generally identified by large beads of perspiration which pour down the person’s face and neck. Such people are sadly mistaken to be suffering from anxiety or nervousness, and are often suspected of being in some sort of distressing situation.
Palmar hyperhidrosis and plantar hyperhidrosis occur in the palms of one’s hand and soles of one’s feet respectively. These regions are thus usually extremely wet. Sever cases may even have sweat dripping from them.
 

 

TREATMENT

However, this condition is not incurable by far. There exist a large number of cures ranging from simple to difficult and temporary to permanent. Medication is one option: using anticholinergic drugs would reduce amount of perspiration that a person suffering from excessive sweating would produce. These drugs, however, are yet to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. They are currently being used only as sedatives. One might also approach this problem therapeutically, by using antiperspirants. These substances use aluminium chloride and treat excessive sweating. A last resort could be surgery. In this process, the sweat glands are excised and thus treated for abnormalities at the site.

 

 

Information on  Excessive Sweating  problems is available here. Visit this  excessive sweating  blog.