Have you ever noticed yourself sweating too much despite not performing any physical activity and not having any type of stress? If yes, it may be a sign of hyperhidrosis. Now, you might be wondering what hyperhidrosis is. Alright, if you want to know, we are here to explain it to you.
In this piece of writing, you will explore almost everything important about hyperhidrosis, its causes, Its symptoms, and its treatments and medications. Let’s start with the basics of hyperhidrosis.
Hyperhidrosis is a condition that causes abnormal excessive sweating either in the whole body or in some specific areas of the body like the palm, feet, and armpits. It does not necessarily happen due to performing physical activity or having too much stress and being anxious. It usually happens abnormally in the daylight.
In this condition, you may sweat too much and it is possible that your clothes get completely wet and the sweat drips off your fingertip. This is not a life-threatening condition, but yes, it can cause social anxiety, stress, and embarrassment. And that’s why you must consult with a specialist doctor if you ever experience excessive sweating.
Primarily, there are two types of hyperhidrosis that are:
Primary Hyperhidrosis- This type of hyperhidrosis is more common than secondary hyperhidrosis. It is a condition that causes abnormal excessive sweating without any underlying medical condition. The causes cannot be easily identified in this condition. However, the medical experts estimate that it may be hereditary as normally it occurs in childhood and after puberty.
The following may trigger primary hyperhidrosis’ symptoms.
Secondary Hyperhidrosis- This type of hyperhidrosis is more common in adults. It is a condition that causes abnormal excessive sweating due to an underlying medical condition or due to consuming prescribed medicines and supplements that pose certain side effects.
Focal Hyperhidrosis and Generalized Hyperhidrosis
Focal hyperhidrosis is a condition in which excessive sweating is localized, meaning it occurs in specific areas such as hands, palms, armpits, feet, groin, and under the breast. This is considerably more common than generalized hyperhidrosis.
Generalized hyperhidrosis is a condition in which excessive sweating affects the entire body.
Sweating is a natural process of the human body system to cool itself. It occurs when the human body’s temperature rises. Normally, the human body’s temperature rises due to performing hardcore physical activities (such as running, exercising, lifting, pulling, etc.). Stress, anxiety, and warm weather may also increase the human body's temperature. So, these are some situations that trigger sweating.
But if we talk about excessive sweating, there are two different scenarios.
First- Primary Hyperhidrosis (Excessive Sweating)
In this case, medical causes are unknown. As we mentioned earlier, it may be hereditary.
Second- Secondary Hyperhidrosis (Excessive Sweating)
In this case, the causes can be identified.
The following medical conditions and diseases may trigger secondary hyperhidrosis.
Of course, excessive sweating itself is a sign or symptom of hyperhidrosis. Putting it into more detail, the symptoms of hyperhidrosis are:
This much wetness can lead to the following problems.
These symptoms can be noticed in the day, not during sleeping hours in the night. The reasons are unknown behind this.
The Seriousness of These Symptoms
These symptoms seem like a minor issue. However, it is not so. They are dangerous if they strike the mental health of the patients. When the patients notice these symptoms in their bodies, they feel embarrassed. And they break up from inside when they face awful reactions and comments from people due to their excessive sweating problem. They start maintaining distance from other persons, want to live alone for a longer time, and always think about how to face people. This type of situation puts them into deep sadness which turns into serious diseases. So, you should never take it lightly. You should consult a specialized doctor and take treatment and medications as soon as possible.
When you will meet a specialized doctor, he/she may ask you to show your medical history and symptoms. You will have to show him if you have any. It is important because your doctor will determine whether or not your excessive sweating condition is linked to your chronic disease. He may also ask you for a few tests such as urine tests, blood tests, sweat tests, and other lab tests for further evaluation of your condition. These tests, medical history, and symptoms will help your doctor find out the possible causes behind your excessive sweating condition.
He may also ask you several questions such as:
You will have to rightly answer all these questions so that your doctor can determine what type of treatment, surgery, and medications are the most suitable for you.
He may initially try to find out whether it is primary hyperhidrosis or secondary hyperhidrosis. If it is primary hyperhidrosis, he may try to find if it is hereditary. And if it is secondary hyperhidrosis, he will try to find if any underlying medical condition is the reason behind your excessive sweating condition. For this, he may check for low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) by taking your blood and urine samples.
Treatments
If the doctor will find any underlying condition causing your hyperhidrosis, he will treat that first. If any causes cannot be identified, he will try to control the excessive sweating by different treatments and medications.
Here are some treatments for hyperhidrosis.
Sympathectomy Surgery
According to the medical experts, this hyperhidrosis surgery Singapore is a permanent solution to axillary hyperhidrosis (sweaty underarms) and palmar hyperhidrosis (sweaty palms). During this surgery, a surgeon cuts or burns the spinal nerve that carries a message to the sweat glands to control the overproduction of sweat in hands and armpits.
Microwave Therapy
During this therapy, a device delivers high wave energy at sweat glands thereby destroying them. Normally, this treatment requires 20-30 sessions.
Sweat Glands Removal
This is an appropriate treatment if the patient only has excessive sweating in his armpits. In this treatment, a minimally invasive technique called suction curettage is used to remove the sweat glands.
Neurotoxin Therapy
In this treatment, neurotoxins injections are given to the patient at sweat glands to block the nerves that trigger the sweat glands for sweat production. This treatment provides temporary relief to the patient for up to at least six months. For receiving effective results, a patient may need a series of neurotoxins injections.
Antiperspirants- Antiperspirants can be temporary solutions for hyperhidrosis. Your doctor may suggest prescription or non-prescription antiperspirants such as aluminum chloride. This can be combined with topically applied creams for receiving effective results.
A Prescription Cream- A prescription cream may help you get relief from the face and head excessive sweating. It contains glycopyrrolate.
Nerve-Blocking Medicines- Some medicines and drugs focus on blocking the certain nerves that trigger the sweat glands for sweat production. These medicines can help in specific cases.
Medicines to Treat Underlying Medical Condition- When your hyperhidrosis is linked with an underlying condition, the doctor provides you those medicines and drugs that can treat your underlying medical condition. The underlying medical conditions can involve overactive thyroid, low blood sugar, heart diseases, diabetes, hormone imbalance, etc. Once the doctor treats your underlying medical condition, then he again examines the hyperhidrosis to see if there are more medications or treatment required.
Antidepressants- In some cases, your doctor may prescribe you some antidepressants to reduce your depression level. This can also help you reduce sweat production in specific areas of your body or the entire body.
That’s almost all the important things you must know about hyperhidrosis. If you ever face hyperhidrosis, you should not ignore it considering it a minor issue, rather you should meet a specialist doctor as soon as possible. We hope this reading has been interesting and informative for you. For such more information, keep in touch with us.
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