Expert tips to deal with excessive sweating

Do you sweat a lot? Excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis is a common problem faced by many individuals and can be quite distressing. It is commonly seen in palms, armpits and soles. But this condition is treatable. Dr Shefali Trasi Nerurkar ,a skin specialist, tells us more.

First things first, sweating is necessary to help keep one’s body temperature steady especially in conditions like hot weather, fever, workouts, etc. In hyperhidrosis, a person sweats more than normal even when they aren’t feeling hot.

In order to treat this condition, one needs to know which type of hyperhidrosis they suffer from. It can be classified into 3 types:

Primary (idiopathic) focal hyperhidrosis

The word idiopathic means of unknown cause. In this type, sweating occurs in one or more focal places such as both palms, both soles, both armpits, face, scalp, etc. This happens as the sweat glands in these areas are overactive than others. Both men and women can be affected by it and the severity can vary from time to time. The sweating can aggravate by triggers such as heat, anxiety, spicy food, etc but sometimes no obvious cause triggers sweating. This type is more common than the rest.

Secondary focal hyperhidrosis

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This type is quite uncommon. Here, the sweating occurs in a particular area like one palm, one armpit, etc and the likely causes are known. For example, a spinal disease or injury can cause sweating in one leg.

Generalised hyperhidrosis

In this type, one sweats more than the normal levels but there is overall sweating and not just at one or two areas. This is less common than primary focal hyperhidrosis and is mainly caused by an underlying medical condition. These can be side-effects of certain medicines, hormonal problems like an overactive thyroid gland, infections, certain cancers, anxiety disorders, etc. The actual cause will have to be diagnosed before it can be treated.

Tips to curb excessive sweating

Start using an anti-bacterial soap containing triclosan which will help prevent infection in that area.

Try to avoid common triggers of sweat like eating spicy food, going out in the heat, etc.

If your armpits are your problem areas, use antiperspirants regularly and avoid wearing clothes made of synthetic fibres like nylon, etc. You can also use sweat shields that absorb sweat and prevent sweat marks to show up on your dress.

If you have sweaty feet, wear fresh socks every day, or even change them twice a day if required. Also, use an anti-fungal foot powder which can absorb the sweat. Closed shoes are less breathable and can lead to a stink so wear open sandals. If your work demands wearing closed footwear, alternate them every day to allow them to dry completely.

A more extreme solution for excessive sweating is using an antiperspirant that contains aluminium chloride which blocks the openings of sweat ducts. Though these work best in the armpits, they also work on soles and palms. Apply it at night as the glands are less active that time and clean the area with soap when bathing. Do not shave the area for up to 24 hours before or after using it or on broken/inflamed skin. Even after the condition improves, apply it weekly once to keep blocking the sweat glands.

If your problem still persists, visit a skin specialist who can analyse the problem and suggest medications or treatments to rectify it.