Are you sweating excessively? Maybe you have hyperhidrosis
Have you ever experienced wet hands and excessive sweating while on exams, job interviews, meeting boyfriend parents, or when you're nervous? If so, you may have a medical condition called hyperhidrosis.
Sweat is needed to keep the body temperature stable and remove metabolic waste. Hyperhidrosis is a condition that occurs when excessive perspiration is exhausted even though it is not triggered by the temperature of a hot environment or heavy physical activity.
Most hyperhidrosis does not endanger health, but can have a psychological and social impact because it can cause feelings of shame and awkwardness for the sufferer. Hyperhidrosis occurs in 1% of the world's population and is more commonly found in women than men. This number can increase, because there are many cases of unreported hyperhidrosis.
What causes hyperhidrosis?
Based on the cause, hyperhidrosis can be divided into two, namely:
Primary hyperhidrosis
In most cases, the cause of hyperhidrosis cannot be clearly identified, generally due to an increase in sympathetic nerve activity.
Secondary hyperhidrosis
Hyperhidrosis is caused by other conditions or diseases, divided into three types, namely
- Emotionally triggered hyperhidrosis, such as fear and anxiety, generally attacks the armpits, palms, and soles of the feet.
- Local hyperhidrosis, caused by sympathetic nerve damage caused by trauma or birth.
- General hyperhidrosis, caused by autonomic nerve disorders or the presence of other diseases such as diabetes insipidus, malignancy, menopause, heart attack, Parkinson's, and the effects of drugs.
What are the signs and symptoms of hyperhidrosis?
Sweating is a normal thing experienced by humans, but in people with hyperhidrosis, the main characters that can be seen are excessive sweating without obvious triggers such as exercise or heat temperature around. Other symptoms that indicate a person has hyperhidrosis are:
- Avoid physical contact such as shaking hands, knowing that his hands are sweating.
- Rarely participate in physical activities such as sports or dancing, because it can worsen the conditions experienced
- Excessive sweating can interfere with your work, such as difficulty holding objects or typing with a computer keyboard because sweat on your palm makes it slippery.
- Difficulty in carrying out daily activities such as driving
- Spend a lot of time to overcome this condition, such as frequent bathing and changing clothes.
- Be aware of the conditions experienced so that they withdraw from the social environment.
Is hyperhidrosis dangerous?
Generally, hyperhidrosis is not harmful to health. Most hyperhidrosis occurs since children. In hyperhidrosis that occurs when a person is mature, it needs to be explored further about the presence or absence of the underlying disease of hyperhidrosis, such as diabetes or cancer. Excessive night sweats are also a sign of a more serious illness. So, immediately consult with your doctor if you suddenly have excessive sweating without obvious causes and if there is excessive sweating that interferes with daily activities.
Although not dangerous, hyperhidrosis that is not treated properly can cause various complications such as:
- Fungal infections. Humid conditions are a good environment for fungal growth.
- Skin disorders . Excessive sweating causes you to be susceptible to skin diseases such as boils and warts .
- Body odor . In hyperhidrosis accompanied by bacteria, unpleasant body odor can arise.
- Emotional effect . Hyperhidrosis can cause the sufferer to feel shy and not confident.
How to overcome excessive sweating?
The initial treatment for hyperhidrosis is by changing behavior and lifestyle with antiperspirant administration. Some lifestyle changes that can be recommended are the following:
- Avoid consuming products that can make you sweat like spicy foods and alcohol.
- The use of antiperspirant routine .
- Avoid tight clothing with artificial fiber materials such as nylon.
- Using white or black clothes can hide sweat marks.
- Using armpit protectors that can absorb sweat.
- Use socks that can absorb sweat, and replace it every day.
- We recommend that you wear leather shoes, and use different shoes every day
- If your hyperhidrosis is triggered by anxiety, then you can consult a mental health professional to deal with your anxiety.
If symptoms do not improve after doing the above, consult your doctor immediately. Therapies that can be given include:
- Medications, anticholinergics, antidepressants, anti-inflammatories, and botox are examples of drugs that can reduce perspiration.
- Iontophoresis, carried out by delivering fat electricity in areas that experience hyperhidrosis.
- Surgery is done if the various methods above are not effective. Surgery will be carried out to remove sweat or nerve glands in the location of hyperhidrosis.
