HYPERHIDROSIS

If you have a problem with profuse sweating, then you are not alone. There are millions of people that have the problem of sweating too much, but they tend to suffer in silence. There are several people that have had a problem with sweating and many of them just did nothing about it. The pain and the trouble that these people go through because of their sweating problems could also classify it as a social disease. Some of them come right out of the shower sweating and needing another shower, while others sweat or perspire with just the slightest exertion.

Sweating is a natural phenomenon necessary for the regulation of an individual's body temperature. The secretion of sweat is mediated by a portion of our vegetative nervous system (the sympathetic nervous system). In some people, the system is working at a very high activity level, far higher than needed to keep a constant temperature. This condition is referred to as hyperhidrosis.

Hyperhidrosis or profuse sweating or perspiration affects millions of people around the world - nearly 3% of the population according to some studies. So what's new you might ask. Well this is no ordinary sweat problem; it is a scenario in which your hands, feet or underarms are damp, sticky or even drenched with sweat from morning to night through to the next morning. In other words, you are sweating excessively at all times in different external conditions. This kind of excessive sweating typically occurs either on your palms, in your underarms (axillary hyperhidrosis), on your face (facial hyperhidrosis), or in your feet (plantar hyperhidrosis).

• Primary or Essential or Idiopathic Hyperhidrosis : Unknown cause.
• Secondary Hyperhidrosis : Known cause.
• Locations :
  • Palmar hyperhidrosis (hands)
  • Axillary hyperhidrosis (armpits)
  • Plantar hyperhidrosis (feet)
  • Facial hyperhidrosis (face)
  • Truncal hyperhidrosis (Trunk)
  • General hyperhidrosis

1. Secondary hyperhidrosis; hyperhidrosis as part of an underlying condition; some conditions can promote excessive sweating, as a rule involving the whole body :
   • Hyperthyroidism or similar endocrine diseases
   • Endocrine treatment for prostatic cancer or other types of malignant disease.
   • Severe psychiatric disorders.
   • Obesity.
   • Menopause.
2. Primary or essential hyperhidrosis; hyperhidrosis without a known cause:
   
   This is a far more frequent condition than secondary hyperhidrosis or profuse sweating and appears, generally or localized in one or several locations of the body (most often hands, feet, armpits or a combination of them). It usually starts during childhood or adolescence and persists life long. Nervousness and anxiety can elicit or aggravate sweating, but psychological / psychiatric disturbances are only rarely the cause of the disorder.
   
   Primary hyperhidrosis is estimated at around 3-4% of the population, afflicting men and women equally. It commonly has its onset in adolescence. About 30-40% have another family member afflicted, demonstrating a genetic transmission.
   
   Manifestations of Primary Hyperhidrosis :
   • Facial hyperhidrosis : Sweat pouring down from the forehead in conditions of stress can be very distressful, inducing the patient to think that others may consider him / her nervous or insecure.
   • Palmar hyperhidrosis : Excessive sweating of the hands is, generally, by far, the most distressing condition. The hands are much more exposed in social and professional activities than any other part of our body. Many individual with this condition are limited in their choice of profession, because they may be unable to manipulate materials sensitive to humidity (paper and so on) or reluctant to shake hands; some patients arrive to the point of avoiding social contact. The degree of sweating varies and may range from moderate moisture to dripping. Most patients notice that their hands not only feel moist, but also cold.
   • Axillary hyperhidrosis : Hyperhidrosis or profuse sweating of the armpits can be embarassing, causing large wet marks and sometimes a white halo of salt from sweating on the clothes.
   • Plantar hyperhidrosis
   • Other locations : Less frequently, it is restricted only to the trunk and / or thighs. Other patients suffer from copious sweating in the face.

   Many individuals suffer from a combination of the above categories. Sweating can appear suddenly or manifest itself more continuously. It can be elicited by high outside temperatures or emotional stress, or appears without any obvious reason. Generally, it worsens during the warm season and gets better during winter.

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