Sweating is a natural bodily function that helps regulate your body temperature by releasing salt-based fluid from your sweat glands. But According to a report in healthline.com, sometimes, your body produces too much sweat which causes a condition known as hyperhidrosis. This condition can affect the sweat glands in your palms, feet, underarms, face, hairline or any combination of these areas. But hyperhidrosis mostly effects the sweat glands of the underarms.
It’s estimated that excess sweating affects approximately 7.8 million in the world and more than 4 million in the United States. According to the National Institute of Health, a normal amount of sweat is one quart of liquid per day. People suffering from hyperhidrosis can sweat up to two to eight times more!
If you feel like you are suffering from excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis), there are several different treatment options available to you ranging from over the counter drugs, prescription treatments, natural remedies and cosmetic procedures. But with each type of treatment come certain pros and cons.
What Causes Excessive Sweating?
Sweating is primarily a natural function of the body to eliminate excessive heat to regulate body temperature. In addition the natural function to keep your body cool, heavy sweating is also a reaction to your nervous system in response to a perceived threat. The most common threats that can result in heavy sweating are:
- Fear
- Anger
- Worry
- Excitement
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Paranoia
Excessive sweating can also be due to a health condition, such as:
- Diabetic hypoglycemia
- Heart attack
- hyperthyroidism
- Obesity
- High Blood Pressure
How to Stop Excessive Sweating
- The first logical excessive sweating treatment would be to purchase stronger antiperspirant/deodorant from your local drug store. There are certain brands that contain aluminum chloride. This compound interacts with your skin cells and causes a temporary blockage of sweat glands (thus producing less sweat). When, this fails, many people seek prescription strength deodorant that contains aluminum chloride hexahydrate. The prescription strength deodorant is applied to the underarms every night for 7-10 days in a row, then the treatment continues to about once or twice a week. This doesn’t seem like a very cost effective or long-term solution to hyperhidrosis.
- When over the counter and prescription drugs are ineffective, many people switch to home remedies. One of the most common home remedies for excess sweating is sage tea. This proves to be effective because sage contains high concentrations of magnesium and Vitamin B, which both help reduce the activity of sweat glands. If you can’t handle the taste, sage is sometimes sold in capsule form. The recommended dosage is 1,000mg a day. If you are currently pregnant, sage tea should be avoided as a treatment because it has been known to cause uterine contracting. Similar to the over the counter and prescription drugs, you will need to continuously drink sage tea to prevent excessive sweating.
- When excess sweating is impacting your life, making you uncomfortable in public and afraid to go outside, then it might be worth investigating more aggressive treatments. There are currently several different cosmetic procedures available if you are suffering from hyperhidrosis.
- The most common cosmetic procedure used to treat excess sweating is Botox injections. Botox is is actually a neurotoxin produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. This toxin can cause paralysis, which is how it’s a beneficial excessive sweating treatment. Botox is injected directly into the tissues of the armpit with a very fine needle, blocking the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, a chemical our nerve cells make to communicate with each other. When this chemical is blocked, it doesn’t signal our brain to start producing sweat. Although effective, Botox eventually wears off, so you will need to keep getting injections every 4 to 6 months. Therefore, this isn’t a long term solution either.
- The best permanent solution for an excessive sweating problem is through laser removal of the sweat glands themselves. The laser is pointed directly at the sweat glands and destroys them, creating a permanent long-lasting solution. Although this sounds scary, your sweat will be released from other areas of your body – so you will still sweat – just not from your underarms! It’s also minimally-invasive and only one treatment is needed!
Conclusion
How to Stop Excessive Sweating Once and For all depends on the severity of the situation and your budget. If an excessive sweating treatment is deemed medically necessary it may be covered by your health insurance, otherwise it is usually considered a cosmetic procedure. If you are looking for a long-lasting solution for problem hyperhidrosis, then finding a medical spa that offers laser removal of sweat glands to eliminate excessive sweating might be the best avenue.
Author Bio:
Julie Katz is the content marketing manager for AgeFocus, a Long Island Medical Spa that offers “Age Management” solutions such as low testosterone treatment, hair loss treatment, bone density and neurocognitive exams. She loves to write blogs about how people can live a longer and happier life.
Ken Weiss is a health blogger who is passionate about natural and holistic cures for men’s health issues. He is the founder of menshealthcures.com
Hi Ken Weiss,
Nice Informative Post! I never knew there could be so many reasons for excessive sweating. I think eating more spicy food can also lead to sweating problems. Constant sweating can become a very troublesome condition, especially if you sweat more than other people do.