Excessive Sweating Treatments

Hyperhidrosis is a condition related to excessive sweating, that's not necessarily related to heat or exercise. During hyperhidrosis, your body’s sweat glands overact. This overactivity causes you to sweat a lot, at times and places where other people wouldn’t. Sometimes, a medical condition or emotion (like anxiety) triggers excessive sweating. For many people with hyperhidrosis, controlling symptoms can be a constant challenge.

The five most common areas tend to be the armpits, hands, feet, face, and head, as well as the groin area.

Sweating helps cool your body when it’s too hot due to exercise, illness, or stress. In hyperhidrosis, certain sweat glands overwork without a clear reason, causing excessive sweating.

Causes of Focal Hyperhidrosis:

• - Certain foods (e.g., citric acid, coffee, chocolate, peanut butter, spices)
• - Emotional stress, particularly anxiety
• - Heat
• - Spinal cord injury

Causes of Generalized (Secondary) Hyperhidrosis:

• - Autonomic dysfunction (dysautonomia)
• - Heat, humidity, and physical activity
• - Infections, such as tuberculosis
• - Malignancies, like Hodgkin disease
• - Menopause
• - Metabolic disorders (e.g., hyperthyroidism, diabetes, hypoglycemia)
• - Severe psychological stress
• - Certain medications (e.g., specific antidepressants and insulins)

In secondary hyperhidrosis, excessive sweating is caused by an underlying medical condition or medication. In focal hyperhidrosis, the exact cause remains unknown.

Treatment for a problem such as excessive sweating is usually tackled with botulinum toxin (also known as Botox), it temporarily blocks the nerves that cause sweating. Your skin will be iced or anaesthetised first. Each affected area of your body will need several injections. The effects last six to 12 months, and then the treatment needs to be repeated.