This is the Year of Prevention and Maintenance. : Is Excessive Sweating Causing a Problem in Your Life?

Health Tip - Excessive Sweating

What is Excessive Sweating?

Excessive Sweating is a medical condition called Hyperhidrosis.

The clinical definition of the disease is when the body creates more sweat than the body needs.

Excessive Sweating can cause an imbalance in the body as well as embarrassment for an individual.

It usually begins at puberty and affects the palms, soles of feet and armpits.

Excessive Sweating, may be localized or generalized, chronic or acute, and often accumulating in visible drops on the skin.

Some causes of Excessive Sweating: Anxiety, substance abuse, acute and chronic health problems or related to exercise, hot environment, wearing inappropriate clothing, fever or certain hormonal conditions (hyper activity of the thyroid gland).

There are Two Types of Hyperhidrosis:

Primary Focal Hyperhidrosis- refers to Excessive Sweating that is not caused by a medical condition or side effect of medications. This effects hands, feet, underarms, and head or face.

Secondary Generalized Hyperhidrosis- is caused by a medical condition or the side effect of a medication. The sweating is experienced on larger areas of the body and experienced while sleeping.

Hyperhidrosis "Excessive sweating" is a common problem that affects approximately 1-3% of the population.

There are three basic forms of Hyperhidrosis:

Emotionally hyperhidrosis induced affects the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and armpits. This is an inherited disorder of the eccrine sweat glands in which emotional stimuli cause axillary or volar sweating.
Localized hyperhidrosis affects the palms, armpits, groin, face, and the area below the breast in women.
Generalized hyperhidrosis affects the entire body.

Excessive Sweating in men have higher "Sweat output" than women.

Some more Causes of Excessive Sweating:

Alcohol
Caffeine
Cancer
Certain medications:

Thyroid hormone
Morphine
Drugs to reduce fevers
Medications to treat mental disorders

Emotional or stressful situations (anxiety)
Exercise
Fever
Infection
Low blood sugar
Menopause
Overactive thyroid gland
Spicy foods (known as "gustatory sweating")
Warm temperatures
Withdrawal from alcohol or narcotic pain killers

Home Remedies to Combat Excessive Sweating:

Wash your face and body
Change clothes and bed sheets
Drink plenty of water to replace lost body fluids
Slightly lower room temperature to prevent more sweating

Contact a Medical Professional if Sweating is accompanied by:

Fever
Weight loss
Chest pain
Shortness of breath
Rapid, pounding heartbeat
Sweating for long periods of time
Sweating occurs with or is followed by chest pain or pressure
Sweating is accompanied by weight loss
Occurs during sleep

Diet for people with Excessive Sweating:

Drink lots of water - the more you drink, the lower your core body temperature will be.
Tea - it raises anti-oxidant levels in the body thinning the blood (green and sage)
Stay away from Stimulants :

Caffeine - coffee
Sugar - soft drinks

Stay away from Spicy Foods (they raise your core temperature):

Garlic
Onions

Eat Stress-Reducing Foods:

Vitamins B and C - based fruits and green vegetables

Treatments for Excessive Sweating:

Use a prescription antiperspirant for mild to moderate sweating (Drysol).
Surgically place small tubes into armpits areas and have sweat glands sucked and cut to decrease the amount present to decrease armpit sweating.
Inject Botox into armpit area, this stops sweating for three to six months.
Oral medications, which can reduce sweating (Ditropan, Robinul and Probanthine) are medications that block the chemical production of sweat.
Receive electric shocks or currents through the skin using iontophoresis equipment.