Attention Excessive Sweaters - are you suffering from hyperhidrosis?

Hyperhidrosis often starts in the teen and young adult years, as the body transitions into adulthood.

Typically, no cause is found and as yet, thought there does seem to be a hereditary component to it’s development. Medical science can offer no further explanation for this condition as yet.

However, there are underlying conditions that can produce excessive sweating, such as thyroid conditions, some cancers, heart attacks, diabetes, infections and of course, menopausal hot flushes.

It’s important to get checked for these underlying conditions. They can be serious problems that need a specialist treatment path that is different to that of hyperhidrosis.

Our bodies sweat to keep us cool. Evolutionarily, this has been a great advantage to humans. It gives our bodies a cooling system while we move, allowing us to keep moving without overheating, for long periods. This gave us an advantage over the animals our ancestors would hunt, who had to stop running away when they overheated.

Modern life, however, means sweat is often an annoying side effect of Summer. For most of us, it’s one we treat simply with deodorants.

But when a patient suffers from hyperhidrosis, normal daily sweating can be excessive, particularly under the arms, from the palms, the forehead and the feet.

And like most people, the sweating is worsened by heat, nervousness and stress. This can often mean soiled clothing, smelly feet and frequently clammy hands.

Do I need treatment for my hyperhidrosis?

It’s important to realise that hyperhidrosis does not present a medically serious condition, so treatment is not necessary.

However, as previously mentioned, because excessive sweating can be a sign of a more serious condition, it’s important to rule those out before assuming no treatment is required.

More commonly, those who suffer from hyperhidrosis tend to face social anxiety and limitation, specially during summer. Therefore, treatment is often desired.

Treatment options for hyperhidrosis

Hyperhidrosis can come in varying degrees of severity, so we encourage patients to try less invasive treatment options first.

The most obvious of these is using antiperspirants. This form of deodorant uses ingredients that are designed to stop the sweat glands from releasing moisture and can be effective in milder forms of hyperhidrosis.

If antiperspirants have not been effective, several other options are available.

Prescription medications, in the form of creams and oral medications, can be effective on certain parts of the body affected by hyperhidrosis. As with many medications, there can be side effects which your prescribing doctor should discuss with you before you begin to take them.

Microwave therapy, while rare and expensive, seeks to stop the sweat glands in the affected area from performing their normal function. In so doing, they cease to produce sweat. This treatment is not particularly common.

Surgical treatments can remove sweat glands from your arm pits in a minimally invasive procedure, but is usually only conducted when other treatments are not working.

Nerve surgery can cut or clamp the nerves that cause sweating in the palms, which can be very effective. However, it can produce further excessive sweating in other parts of the body, because the body compensates for the lost ability to sweat from the palms.

Want to know more about treatment for hyperhidrosis?

Why not make an appointment with our dermatologist, Dr Terence Poon, to have your condition checked before the summer sets in? Call our friendly receptionists today to make your appointment on (02) 9953 9522.