Excessive sweating can take place in the palms or the hands, in the armpit area or in the feet. It is not completely understood what exactly causes excessive sweating. It is known, however, that the Sympathetic Nervous System runs at an extremely high activity level for those people who experience hyperhidrosis. This leads to stress and sometimes even socially debilitating situations in both the professional and ordinary life.
Excessive sweating usually starts during childhood or during early adolescence. This situation, unfortunately, will continue for the rest of their lives. Anxiety, nervousness and stress can all be causes that aggravate sweating. However, the psychiatric or psychological situations are rarely the cause of excessive sweating
The secondary causes of excessive sweating are not yet fully known. Certain conditions or situations in our bodies can often increase excessive sweating. Some of these secondary causes may include the following: hyperthyroidism, endocrine therapy in relation to some forms of malignant disease, acute psychiatric disorders or conditions, obesity and menopausal symptoms.
The very first line of treatment for hyperhidrosis is medical in nature. Ointments and salves are available that are also astringents which tend to dry up sweat glands. Electrical shock therapy is also another treatment. This consists of light electrical stimulation which is typically applied to the hands. The patient's hands are put in a shallow bath that has an electrical current. This tends to "stun" sweat glands, and the treatment can last anywhere from six hours up to once week. A most recent treatment is injecting Botox into the affected area. This usually requires several injections to notice a difference and its effectiveness lasts for one to six months.
Many other medicines have been tried to try to eliminate or curb excessive sweating with varying amounts of success. These include sedative and medications that have a direct effect on the nervous system. The first phase of treating hyperhidrosis is usually begun by doctors, interns or nurses. If the patient remains unaffected by the simple treatment measures, then he or she is usually referred to a specialist. This may be a dermatologist or a neurologist. In all cases, surgery should be considered as a last resort when all other methods have failed to stem excessive sweating.
Many patients become disillusioned with treatments that are provided by the established medical industry. They turn to other natural therapies or alternative medicine treatments. They may try such things as homeopathy, acupuncture, massage and phytotherapeutic drugs. It has led us to believe that these things show no measurable improvement for excessive sweating.
It is also found that psychotherapy does not appreciably improve the conditions of patients who suffer from hyperhidrosis. Psychotherapy does, however, help some patients accept the everyday challenges that they have to face living in this world with the problem of excessive sweating.