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Living With Excessive Sweating
Living with excessive sweating is not only inconvenient, but it can be embarrassing. It can be hard to live with someone who has excessive sweating because they avoid social functions or even going out in public for fear of being embarrassed. It can be hard to watch a family member suffer from excessive sweating and to see what they have to go through because of it. It may be so bad for them that they stay inside whenever possible and they may even get depressed. Excessive sweating is actually a medical condition known as hyperhidrosis. It can be hereditary, and it happens when the sweat glands are in overdrive. Certain health conditions can worsen symptoms, such as endocarditis, diabetic hypoglycemia, or leukemia. Menopause, obesity, and stress can also cause profuse sweating. Sweating can also be the side effect of certain medications such as antidepressants.
When to Get Immediate Help
In most cases, excessive sweating is not life-threatening, but you should get medical attention right away if you have chills, chest pain, nausea, a fever of over 104 F, or lightheadedness in addition to the sweating.
How to Treat Excessive Sweating
There are a number of ways to treat excessive sweating. If it is primarily caused by stress, you should try to reduce the amount of stress that you have in your life. Iontophoresis has been an effective treatment for hyperhidrosis for decades. Iontophoresis treatment is used to decrease plantar or palmer hyperhidrosis by passing an electrical current through water into the surface of the skin. The treatment is repeated a few times a week, and it has been shown in many cases to reduce the amount of sweat that the patient produces.
In order for this type of treatment to be successful, it is important to get regular treatments. You can go to your doctor’s office to get the treatments done, or you can also invest in a machine so you can complete your treatments at home.
Antiperspirants are also very effective at keeping profuse sweating under control. Antiperspirants block perspiration, and they are available at most grocery and drugstores without needing to get a prescription. Most people think that they are just for the underarms, but you can use them anywhere in the body that produces an abundance of sweat. They are typically available in a stick form or a roller or even a spray. You should apply it when you get up in the morning as well as before you go to bed at night for the best results. You can use a deodorant to help mask any unpleasant odors.
You can also get Botulinum toxin injections to treat underarm perspiration as well as perspiration in the hands and feet. It helps to prevent your sweat glands from sweating. The results will last for nearly a year if you get multiple treatments.
You can also take anticholinergic drugs which require a prescription. Your doctor may prescribe them for you if other treatments did not work for you, but this type of treatment has been known to cause some unwanted side effects such as urinary problems, blurred vision, and even heart palpitations.
Surgery is another option. If you have tried many different methods but haven’t gotten the results you were hoping for, your doctor may suggest surgery. Surgery will basically take out the sweat glands so that you don’t have excessive sweating anymore.
Some other ways that you can help control your sweating is by not wearing heavy clothing or clothing that traps heat. You want to stick to clothing that is light, and that lets body heat escape. Cotton and silk are good choices. If never hurts to bring along an extra shirt as well in case you sweat in the one you are wearing. You should use antibacterial soap and shower or bathe daily to help prevent body odor. Use products such as underarm liners and shoe inserts that will help to absorb some of the sweat that your body produces. You should also try to avoid hot food that will make you sweat such as spicy foods and hot beverages. Although you can’t avoid having overactive sweat glands, there are many different ways to deal with it and to keep it under control.
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