Sweating, as a bodily function, helps in the regulation of your body temperature. It is also called perspiration which is a result of changes in the body and outside temperature, or your state of emotion. In normal amounts, sweating is essential. But abnormally excessive sweating, otherwise known as Hyperhidrosis, is a health condition that needs medication attention. It can be both physically and psychologically damaging.
Sweating is usually a result when one exercises or exerts themselves. A hot environment or anxiety and stress can also cause sweating. But the extreme sweating brought by hyperhidrosis far overshadows normal sweating.
When one suffers from hyperhidrosis, his sweating is abnormally excessive independent of exercise or heat. Sweating in hyperhidrosis will soak through your clothes, and sweats drip off your hands to the point of interfering with your normal diurnal activities. It may cause you embarrassment and social anxiety.
To understand hyperhidrosis, it is necessary to grasp the distinction between its two types – primary focal and secondary hyperhidrosis.
Primary focal (essential) hyperhidrosis is the most common form. It refers to too much sweating that is not produced as a result or consequence of another medical condition. It is also not a side effect of medications. It is seen to have a hereditary component since it periodically runs in families.
With this type, the nerves that signal your sweat glands have become overactive despite not being stirred up by physical activity or a temperature increase. The problem will even worsen with stress or anxiety. It usually affects the palms, soles, and at times the face.
On the other hand, secondary hyperhidrosis is a less common form. Here, excessive sweating is caused by a medical condition. Most probably, a person with secondary hyperhidrosis will sweat all over the body. And the conditions that lead to this excessive sweating include low blood sugar, menopause hot flashes, diabetes, some type of cancer, thyroid problems, infections, nervous system disorders, heart attack, certain medications, and even opioid withdrawal.
According to the estimate made by the International Hyperhidrosis Association, there are about 2.8 percent or 7.8 million Americans who are suffering from hyperhidrosis.
Although it is not a life-and-death matter, hyperhidrosis can be unbearable and may cause psychological trauma and embarrassment. It may affect the individual’s career choices, interpersonal relationships, free time activities, self-image, and emotional health.
What are the symptoms of hyperhidrosis? Usually, episodes of excessive sweating happen once a week at the very least with no apparent reason. Other signs and symptoms include wet palms of the hands and soles of the feet, successive sweating, and noticeable sweating that wets through the clothes.
A person with hyperhidrosis may also experience irritating and sore skin like bacterial or fungal infections, anxiety over having stained clothing, hesitation to make bodily contact, being self-conscious, and socially withdrawn which at times will lead to depression. He is likely to select a job where interpersonal interaction is not required, spend much time in a day dealing with his sweat, or worry much about body odor.
To help ameliorate the symptoms, you can make use of natural remedies. Changing your lifestyle and some alterations of your daily activities can also help. For instance, you can use antiperspirant sprays containing aluminum chloride since it plugs the sweat glands. Armpit shields can also be worn to protect your clothing from sweat.
As for your clothing, you should avoid wearing certain synthetic fibers like nylon since it can worsen sweating. Instead, wear loose clothing. For your shoes, natural materials like leather are recommended since synthetic materials would most likely worsen the symptoms. For your socks, you should choose the one that better absorbs moisture. Usually, it is the thick and soft ones that are made of natural fibres. Medical treatment will be your last recourse should all these measures fail.
Luckily, hyperhidrosis can be dealt with several options which can effectively treat the symptoms. However, what remains the biggest obstacle in treating it is people’s reluctance to seek medical advice or intervention. On average, it would take nine years for a person with hyperhidrosis to seek medical treatment. The reason behind this could either be embarrassment or simply not being aware that there exists an effective treatment. So it is necessary to spread the information that this condition can be treated.
So when do you see a doctor in relation to that excessive sweating? You should seek medical attention right away if such excessive sweating is accompanied by chest pain, nausea, or lightheadedness.
You may also visit the walk-in clinic in Edmonton if your sweating has been unmanageable to the point of burdening your daily routine, if it causes emotional distress or social withdrawal, when you sweat more than you normally would, or when you have night sweats for no clear reasons.
Just be reminded that if hyperhidrosis is not treated, complications could develop which include: infections of the nails especially the toenails, warts caused by the human papillomavirus, and bacterial infections especially between toes and around hair follicles. Untreated hyperhidrosis will also lead to heat rashes which develop when perspiration is trapped under the skin because the sweat ducts are blocked. Again, it has also a damaging psychological impact that may lead to depression.
