Let me start off by letting you in on a little secret, everyone sweats. Sweaty hands, feet, and armpits are all common factors in the equation. But, you must realize that it’s not abnormal. Sweating is simply nature’s way of controlling the body’s temperature. The only question is, why do some people experience extreme cases of profuse sweating to the point where it’s uncontrollable?
Sweaty hands, sweaty palms, sweaty feet, and armpit sweat are all unpleasant symptoms of excessive sweating (gross stuff, I know). This perspiration condition of sweating in excessive amounts is medically known as hyperhidrosis. This condition is known to make healthy individuals perspire rapidly for little or even no reason. Sweating may even occur when the individual is inactive or resting comfortably in a cool environment. This condition is currently known to impact a little over 3% of the world’s population (I used to be one of them).
According to medical experts, the initial cause of hyperhidrosis is unknown, while some doctors have given unofficial statements claiming that it may be caused by over-activity or dysfunction in our sympathetic nervous system. Nobody is 100% sure of what causes these symptoms to occur over and over again.
Now many people assume that this excessive sweating condition tends to be more common with men, but studies show that an almost identical number of women share these same symptoms. Ironically, most individuals with this condition are too embarrassed to seek professional help in order to learn how to sweat less, so the real number of people with this condition is probably much higher than what doctors are aware of.
Sweaty hands, feet, and armpits are terribly embarrassing. If you too are one of them, you can now completely get rid of sweaty hands by using Iontophoresis machine at home.
Types of Hyperhidrosis
Primary Hyperhidrosis – This type of sweating is found to start during adolescence and seems to be inherited. People with primary hyperhidrosis seem to suffer embarrassing excessive perspiration on select focal parts of the body only, which is why it’s sometimes also called “focal” hyperhidrosis. Hyperhidrosis commonly affects the face, underarms, palms, and feet.
Secondary Hyperhidrosis – Heavy sweating of this nature is usually due to a medical condition, such as menopause or from side effects of medicine. Secondary hyperhidrosis is characterized by sweating that occurs over large areas of the body, not concentrating in a specific area.
Plantar Hyperhidrosis – Severe sweating of the feet, usually happens in conjunction with excessive sweating of the hands/palms as a result of an overactive sympathetic nervous system. Those who suffer from plantar hyperhidrosis also complain about terrible foot odor. Dry skin and itchiness of the feet may also occur as a side effect.
Palmar Hyperhidrosis – Excessive sweating of the hands/palms can be super embarrassing and is commonly caused by hyperactivity of the sweat glands in the sympathetic nervous system or could possibly be hereditary on rare occasion. This specific form of hyperhidrosis can be aggravated by stress and can have serious social and psychological impacts on patients afflicted with this condition.
Facial Hyperhidrosis – Excessive sweating of the face usually includes perspiration of the scalp and neck also. Most victims of facial hyperhidrosis tend to suffer from high anxiety levels and have low self-esteem at some point.
Axillary Hyperhidrosis – Extreme sweating of the armpits is usually triggered by an overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system and frequently starts during the early teen years. Although, one of the most disturbing symptoms of axillary hyperhidrosis for those affected is body odor.
I hope that this article served you in helping you understand more about the causes and specific symptoms that come with excessive sweating and hyperhidrosis.
