All you need to know about Hyperhidrosis.
Know your ailment well, so you can manage it better!!
Here we come with Hyperhidrosis today!
What is Hyperhydrosis?
Hyperhidrosis is also known as Excessive Sweating.
Hyperhidrosis is abnormally intense sweating which is not usually associated with exercise or heat. You can sweat so much that it drips off your hands or soaks through your clothes. This form of intense sweating, in addition to disrupting regular daily activities, can cause social anxiety and embarrassment.
Hyperhidrosis therapy typically works, starting with antiperspirants that are prescription-strength. You may need to try various drugs and treatments if antiperspirants don’t work. Your doctor may recommend surgery in extreme cases, either to remove the sweat glands or to isolate the nerves that are responsible for sweat overproduction.
An underlying cause can often be found and treated.
What are the types of Hyperhidrosis?
Focal hyperhidrosis: When excessive sweating is localized. For example, palmoplantar hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating of the palms and soles.
- Generalized hyperhidrosis: Excessive sweating affects the entire body.
- Primary idiopathic hyperhidrosis: “Idiopathic” means “of unknown cause.” In the majority of cases, the hyperhidrosis is localized.
- Secondary hyperhidrosis: The person sweats too much because of an underlying health condition, such as obesity, gout, menopause, a tumor, mercury poisoning, diabetes mellitus, or hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland).
What are the causes of Hyperhidrosis?
Primary hyperhidrosis causes:
- People used to assume that primary hyperhidrosis was related to the mental and emotional state of the patient, that the disorder was neurological, and that depressed, anxious, or nervous individuals were only affected.
- Recent research has shown, however, that when exposed to the same stimuli, people with primary hyperhidrosis are no more vulnerable to symptoms of anxiety, nervousness, or emotional stress than the rest of the population.
- It’s actually the other way round, because of the excessive sweating, the emotional and mental feelings experienced by many patients with hyperhidrosis.
- Studies have also shown that in hyperhidrosis, certain genes play a role, making it more likely that it could be inherited. The majority of primary hyperhidrosis patients have a relative or parent who has the disorder.
Causes of hyperhidrosis of secondary origin:
- Injury to Spinal Cord
- Abuse of alcohol
- The Fear
- With diabetes
- Gout
- Cardiac disease
- Hyperthyroidism-an overactive gland of the thyroid
- Obesity
- Parkinson’s disease
- Pregnancy
- Respiratory insufficiency
- Shingles
- Other types of tumors, including Hodgkin’s disease
- Some HIV, malaria, TB (tuberculosis) infections
- Any drugs, including some antidepressants, anticholinesterase (for Alzheimer’s disease), propranolol (for high blood pressure), pilocarpine (for glaucoma)
- Abuse of substances
What are the complications of Hyperhidrosis?
Complications of hyperhidrosis include:
- Infections. People who sweat profusely are more prone to skin infections.
- Social and emotional effects. Having clammy or dripping hands and perspiration-soaked clothes can be embarrassing. Your condition may affect your pursuit of work and educational goals.
What are the symptoms of Hyperhidrosis?
Signs and symptoms of hyperhidrosis may include:
- Clammy or wet palms of the hands
- Clammy or wet soles of the feet
- Frequent sweating
- Noticeable sweating that soaks through clothing
People with hyperhidrosis might experience the following:
- Irritating and painful skin problems, such as fungal or bacterial infections
- Worrying about having stained clothing
- Reluctant to make physical contact
- Self-conscious
- Socially withdrawn, sometimes leading to depression
- Select employment where physical contact or human interaction is not a job requirement
- Spend a large amount of time each day dealing with sweat, such as changing clothes, wiping, placing napkins or pads under the arms, washing, wearing bulky, or dark clothes
- Worry more than other people about body odor
Experts are not certain why, but excessive sweating during sleep is not common for people with primary hyperhidrosis (the type not linked to any underlying medical condition).
How is Hyperhydrosis diagnosed?
Initially, by ordering blood and urine tests, a doctor can attempt to rule out any underlying conditions, such as an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) or low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
Patients will be asked about their sweating habits, which areas of the body are affected, how frequently episodes of sweating occur, and whether sweating occurs during sleep.
A variety of questions must be asked by the patient or a questionnaire on the effect of excessive sweating must be filled in; questions may include:
- Do you bring something like napkins, antiperspirants, towels, or pads around to cope with periods of heavy sweating?
- When you are in public, does hyperhidrosis affect your actions or mental state?
- Have there been any effects of hyperhidrosis on your employment?
- Because of hyperhidrosis, have you ever lost a friend?
- How much do you have your clothes changed?
- How much do you wash or shower/bathe yourself?
- How much do you worry about sweating excessively?
Thermoregulatory sweat test: a coating is applied to the skin that is sensitive to moisture. The powder shifts color when prolonged sweating occurs at room temperature. In a sweat cabinet, the patient is then subjected to high heat and humidity, which causes sweating throughout the entire body.
When exposed to heat, people who do not have hyperhidrosis tend not to sweat excessively in the palms of their hands, but patients with hyperhidrosis do. This examination also helps the physician measure the seriousness of the disease.
What is the treatment for Hyperhidrosis?
Drugs used to treat hyperhidrosis include:
- Prescription antiperspirant. An antiperspirant with aluminium chloride (Drysol, Xerac Ac) may be recommended by your doctor. Skin and eye irritation may be caused by this product. Before you go to bed, it is normally applied to the affected skin. Then when you get up, you wash the substance off, taking care to not get it in your eyes. If your skin becomes irritated, it might help with hydrocortisone cream.
- Prescription creams. Hyperhidrosis that affects the face and head can be improved by a prescription cream that includes glycopyrrolate.
- Medication for nerve-blocking. The chemicals that enable those nerves to connect with each other are blocked by certain oral medications. In certain individuals, this can minimize sweating. Possible side effects are dry mouth, blurred vision, and trouble with the bladder.
- Antidepressant drugs. Sweating can also be reduced by some medications used for depression. In reality, they can help reduce the anxiety that makes hyperhidrosis worse.
- Injections of Botulinum Toxin. The nerves that cause sweating are temporarily blocked by treatment with botulinum toxin (Botox, Myobloc, others). Second, the skin will be iced up or anesthetized. Several injections will be required in each affected region of your body. The results last six to 12 months, and it is important to repeat the procedure afterward. This treatment can be painful, and in the treated area, some individuals experience temporary muscle weakness.
References:
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https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hyperhidrosis2#1
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/182130#natural_remedies
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyperhidrosis/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20367173
By,
Gopala Krishna Varshith,
Content Developer & Editor,
Clipo.
