Hyperhidrosis, which means excessive sweating, is a rare disease. This disease is not life threatening but it is life altering. Hyperhidrosis may occur in hands, armpits, feet, and face. It usually begins as a child or during young adulthood, and impacts all genders. However, it is twenty times more prevalent in Japanese people than in any other ethnicity. When a study was done of 850 patients with hyperhidrosis, 62 % reported that their sweating began so long ago they could not even remember, 33% reported since puberty, and 5% reported since their adulthood (Altman and Schwartz). Usually, sweating occurs in most people when they are hot or when exercising.
People suffering from hyperhidrosis, however, sweat regardless of the temperature and in the absence of exercising. “. . .They (her hands) would sweat from morning to night, for no reason at all; nothing would trigger it, not even temperature. Even in the freezing cold of winter, they were sweaty (The Center of Hyperhidrosis).” Although many medical doctors disagree on the reasons for hyperhidrosis, it is thought by many, that over activity of the sympathetic nervous system is the cause.
Physicians have two categories for hyperhidrosis, generalized and localized. General hyperhidrosis is where the entire body sweats and is usually a result of a larger problem: infection, metabolic disease, severe stress and menopause. It is present during wakeful and sleeping hours. On the other hand, localized hyperhidrosis usually appears during adolescence, and is specific to a certain location of the body. Unlike generalized hyperhidrosis, localized hyperhidrosis is only present during wakeful hours. There are four particular areas of the body where localized hyperhidrosis is present, which are: palmar, pedal, axillary, and cranio-facial (Cleveland Clinic).
Palmar Hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating of the hands. This may cause a person to have trouble writing, shaking hands, and even force them to avoid social contacts. As a teen this especially becomes hard because they are embarrassed to date or even participate in school activities. Palmar hyperhidrosis may also affect one’s work ethics. Prior to the onset of hyperhidrosis a person may feel a tingling sensation. These individuals experience difficulty handling money or playing instruments, difficulty with getting a manicure, difficulty with typing, and also difficulty putting on make-up or wearing clothes (Hyperhidrosis).
Pedal hyperhidrosis, which is excessive foot sweating, is usually paired with palmar hyperhidrosis. It is not as obvious as palmar, but it still has negative personal and social effects, such as odor problems, infections, athlete’s foot, and slipping in shoes. Many people with pedal hyperhidrosis may also avoid getting pedicures (Hyperhidrosis). The odor from pedal hyperhidrosis causes the sufferer to become anti-social. They may dread spending the night with friends because of the horrible moment when they take their shoes off and an odor is prevailed. One victim stated “My feet sweat so bad that if I was wearing shoes with leather at the bottom, the leather would turn into mud. The little things that were supposed to be fun were never fun (The Center of Hyperhidrosis).”
Something that most of us take for granted, simply putting on a pair of shoes, elicits great anxiety in a person with hyperhidrosis. Sufferers of hyperhidrosis are limited to the type of shoes they can wear; where others may look for an attractive and stylish shoe, those who suffer from hyperhidrosis shop for something that will both contain the odor of their feet and absorb the excess moisture. Sandals, heels, and just plain flip-flops are out of the question for those with hyperhidrosis.
People suffering from hyperhidrosis, however, sweat regardless of the temperature and in the absence of exercising. “. . .They (her hands) would sweat from morning to night, for no reason at all; nothing would trigger it, not even temperature. Even in the freezing cold of winter, they were sweaty (The Center of Hyperhidrosis).” Although many medical doctors disagree on the reasons for hyperhidrosis, it is thought by many, that over activity of the sympathetic nervous system is the cause.
Physicians have two categories for hyperhidrosis, generalized and localized. General hyperhidrosis is where the entire body sweats and is usually a result of a larger problem: infection, metabolic disease, severe stress and menopause. It is present during wakeful and sleeping hours. On the other hand, localized hyperhidrosis usually appears during adolescence, and is specific to a certain location of the body. Unlike generalized hyperhidrosis, localized hyperhidrosis is only present during wakeful hours. There are four particular areas of the body where localized hyperhidrosis is present, which are: palmar, pedal, axillary, and cranio-facial (Cleveland Clinic).
Palmar Hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating of the hands. This may cause a person to have trouble writing, shaking hands, and even force them to avoid social contacts. As a teen this especially becomes hard because they are embarrassed to date or even participate in school activities. Palmar hyperhidrosis may also affect one’s work ethics. Prior to the onset of hyperhidrosis a person may feel a tingling sensation. These individuals experience difficulty handling money or playing instruments, difficulty with getting a manicure, difficulty with typing, and also difficulty putting on make-up or wearing clothes (Hyperhidrosis).
Pedal hyperhidrosis, which is excessive foot sweating, is usually paired with palmar hyperhidrosis. It is not as obvious as palmar, but it still has negative personal and social effects, such as odor problems, infections, athlete’s foot, and slipping in shoes. Many people with pedal hyperhidrosis may also avoid getting pedicures (Hyperhidrosis). The odor from pedal hyperhidrosis causes the sufferer to become anti-social. They may dread spending the night with friends because of the horrible moment when they take their shoes off and an odor is prevailed. One victim stated “My feet sweat so bad that if I was wearing shoes with leather at the bottom, the leather would turn into mud. The little things that were supposed to be fun were never fun (The Center of Hyperhidrosis).”
Something that most of us take for granted, simply putting on a pair of shoes, elicits great anxiety in a person with hyperhidrosis. Sufferers of hyperhidrosis are limited to the type of shoes they can wear; where others may look for an attractive and stylish shoe, those who suffer from hyperhidrosis shop for something that will both contain the odor of their feet and absorb the excess moisture. Sandals, heels, and just plain flip-flops are out of the question for those with hyperhidrosis.
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