Are you one of those people that after brisk walking for ten minutes your shirt soaked with sweat? Do you have experiences where, without any prompting of anxiety or excessive heat, but you sweat profusely? If that is the case, you belong to the 1% of the population which suffers from excessive sweating or what is called Hyperhidrosis and you need to know how to deal with excessive sweating.

What is Hyperhidrosis?

Before knowing how to deal with excessive sweating, you should know what is Hyperhidrosis. Simply put it as increase perspiration in situations that would normally not require such excessive amounts. Areas normally affected are the palmar or the hands and axillae or underarms.

Hyperhidrosis: The Basics

There are two forms of Hyperhydrosis or excessive sweating. The first kind which is called Primary Hyperhidrosis is found to begin during adolescence or even before and is said to be inherited genetically. The second kind of excessive sweating or Secondary Hyperhidrosis is formed due to a disorder in either the thyroid or pituitary gland, diabetes miletus, tumours, gout, or by certain drugs. Secondary Hyperhidrosis should be noted, can form at anytime in a person's life. With regards to the former, no exact cause can be determined.

There are theories that state that such a condition is caused by an overactive sympathetic nervous system which is in turn caused by abnormal brain function. Excessive sweating of the hands, groin, armpits, feet and face are usually the most active regions where hyperhidrosis occurs though there are cases where a more general area of the body is affected.

Sweating by the bucket full

A common problem brought about by Hyperhidrosis is having foul odor coming off from areas where sweat is usually formed in abundance. This condition is called bromhidrosis and is caused by the breakdown of sweat by yeast and bacteria. Also, such sweat areas become white, wrinkled and cracked, or become red and inflamed. These are some of the problems that are likely to occur aside from the excessive sweat that is accumulated in the above mentioned parts of the body. Thus, it is important to know how to deal with excessive sweating to avoid bromhidrosis.

How to deal with excessive sweating

Most commercial deodorants can help you deal with excessive sweating however for areas such as the palms, groin, feet, or genital area, stronger treatment is needed. One such way is through the use of aluminum chloride solution which is available in prescription and nonprescription strengths. The solution can be applied up to twice a day though for most people, once a day should be adequate. The target needs to be first, dried and later applied with plastic film which should bring relief in as little as a week. Note that if the solution irritates the skin; opt not to use the plastic film solution.

Another method that could be used to deal with excessive sweating is through the use of methenamine solution. Some drugs are also available that can alleviate hyperhidrosis such as phenoxybenzamine and propantheline, both can be taken orally. Injections of botollinum toxin into infected areas can also help you deal with excessive sweating while a more drastic measure if the drugs are not effective is through severing the nerves leading to the sweat glands through surgery.

To deal with excessive sweating with body odor problems, cleansing with antiseptic soap in combination with antibacterial creams with clindamycin or erythromycin will garner results. Also you may look into shaving the pertinent areas as hair tends to gather bacteria and yeast, thus lessening odor accumulation.