Excessive sweating

Hi.  Excessive sweating can be really distressing and embarrassing (can certainly say that from personal experience!) so I'm sure there are plenty of people who can relate to what you go through.

In terms of what can be done I'd say it depends on what areas you sweat through, for example aluminium-based products available on prescription (they can also be bought from chemists) can be quite effective, but I think are designed really to be used for the underarms.  I was born with excessive sweating of the hands and feet, and did not find the aluminium-based products effective, but again if you suffer primarily from underarm excessive sweating they might prove effective.

There are other treatments too, for example oral and topical medications, botox injections, iontophoresis, and surgery.  Surgery however is always stated by health services and others as a last resort (with good reason - the side-effects can be awful).  Therefore, as anyone else would tell you, it's best to consult with a health professional as a starting point I'd say.  But, as you can see, there are options out there.

Best of luck.

Ewan

Hi Mary and everyone else,

I am 52 and I have been suffering from HH since my mid twenties. At first it was just my armpits and my hands, so embarrassing to have stains on my shirt when it was hot and when I was nervous or stressed and handshakes were horrible (for the other person too)! I had a keyhole sympathectomy done in 1994 which was a disaster. Although it cured the sweating from my hands completely and my armpits to a greater extent, I then sweated from my head, torso and buttocks and have done so ever since. It is a nightmare we understand but one that is impossible to describe sufficiently to anyone who doesn't sweat. It might be a benign condition, ie one that won't cause us physical harm but it has affected every day of my life. It affects how I interact with people, it has severely limited my career and in truth has caused and continues to plague me with mental health issues. The summer months are worse, particulary when the weather is humid. June July August and September are the worst. It is such a shame as I love warm sunny weather but it is a very stressful time to manage.

My strategy for dealing with my HH is to use Probanthine which I am eternally grateful for. It does not always work and it often makes my mouth so dry I can't eat, but it does work on most days I take it and the side effects are worth it for the reassurance that even if I do sweat, it won't be as bad as it would otherwise be. The trick with these pills is not to eat for an hour before you take them. If you do, they often won't work at all. Secondly I am very careful about what I wear. A shirt that stains is a nightmare, so blue is generally out. I try and buy shirts that don't stain so obviously say a white shirt with blue checks (which I buy from Tyrwhitts). I find a slightly thicker cloth is better than the really thin cloth which you might think would be better, but isn't as they stain so quickly. Casual check shirts, possibly linen are good too.I have three trusty nylon shirts bought from Tchibo about ten years ago, which do not stain at all. They are high wicking so the best for masking any sweating and they are just passable as a business shirt. I haven't found any replacements for them and I am not sure what I will do when they finally die, but for now they are a significant crutch in really hot weather. Why doesn't someone start producing shirts for men and women like us. There must be a market?! If anyone out there knows anything (or someone who knows) about producing garments, I would really like to be put in touch. Lastly try and talk about it with someone if you can. If you are ever in a situation where someone has noticed you sweating, try and beat any comment from them with your own. "When its hot like this, I sweat so much I could hire myself out as a water feature" or "If sweating was an Olympic event, I would be on the podium for Great Britain" can work and deflect comments you really don't want.

I guess we all have different versions of this condition affecting different parts of us and causing different issues, but it has been quite therapeutic to write this to someone who understands the significance of this condition and maybe something I have mentioned will be a help to you or someone else. Very best of luck with it and finding a way of helping you deal with it.

Dominic