Hyperhidrosis

Hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating resulting from the body’s cooling mechanism being overactive.  A person with hyperhidrosis will sweat 4 – 5 times more that the normal person.

This degree of excessive sweating is more than just a physical problem.  It becomes an emotional and social problem also.  The sufferer will often be embarrassed and may suffer varying degrees of anxiety.  Avoidance of certain social situations may also occur.

Hyperhidrosis is a common problem

Hyperhidrosis is a common problem with 1 – 3% of the world’s population being afflicte.  This means that millions of people worldwide suffer from the condition yet almost half are never diagnosed or treated.  This is possibly due to a general lack of awareness.

Hyperhidrosis most commonly affects the hands (palmar hyperhidrosis), the armpits (axillary hyperhidrosis) and the feet (plantar hyperhidrosis).  The exact cause of the condition is not fully understood but exercise, stress or emotion may bring on the increased sweating, or it may occur spontaneously.

It is known that sweating in general is controlled by the Sympathetic Nervous System.

The Systematic Nervous System is part of the Autonomic Nervous System, a system in our body that controls the involuntary nerves.  These nerves enable many of our bodily functions to occur with out us ever thinking of them – our heart beat, breathing, sweating.

A malfunction in the Sympathetic Nervous System

In hyperhidrosis there is a malfunction of the Sympathetic Nervous System, which causes an increase in sweating.  Despite ongoing research the mechanism behind this malfunction is still not known.

There are ointments and salves available as a first line of treatment.  These are astringents that tend to dry up the sweat glands.  There are also drugs available that may be used.  However their success at decreasing sweating varies considerably from person to person.

Other slightly more invasive forms of medical treatment include iontopheresis, a treatment involving passing an electrical current through the affected area.  Or an injection of botox, a toxin that affects the nerve endings.

Surgery the last line of treatment

The last line of treatment involves surgery, which destroys or removes a specific portion of the main sympathetic nerve.  Success of surgical intervention is not guaranteed. Although it will prove effective for most patients some will experience Compensatory sweating.  As sweating is a regulatory function of the body when the ability to sweat is removed from an area of the body another area may increase its sweating to compensate.