What is Excessive Sweating

Anybody that suffers from excessive sweating can tell you it is a nightmare. This profuse sweating was so embarrassing that sufferers will go to great lengths to stop it. Some people have been known to stuff paper towels under armpits or try to stay in cold areas of a building. While it is true that excessive sweating can be hard to control at times, in general there are several ways to manage excessive sweating that are quite effective for most people.

Excessive sweating, or “Hyperhydrosis”, is a condition in which the body produces an abnormally high amount of perspiration beyond what is needed for regulation of core body temperature. Hyperhidrosis can be widespread or localized to just specific areas of the body. Hands, feet, armpits and the groin area have the highest concentration of sweat glands and are therefore the most susceptible to excessive sweating. The onset of primary hyperhidrosis can start as early as adolescence or before and is thought to be inherited as an autosomal genetic trait. Secondary hyperhidrosis on the other hand can start at any point in life and is often linked to environmental or medical conditions such as menopause, diabetes, gout, poor diet, etc. Regardless of the cause, a person affected by hyperhidrosis can have it affect their life in many negative ways.

Treating Hyperhidrosis

Treatment comes in the form of antiperspirants, medication, surgery and recently botulinum toxin has become a very popular treatment. The most well known botulinum toxin is BOTOX, yes the same stuff your dermatologist uses to get rid of those wrinkles on your forehead. In much the same way BOTOX will paralyze the muscles that cause wrinkles on your face, it can also inhibit the sweat glands that are responsible for hyperhidrosis.