Hyperhidrosis, What is That?

That is a question I hear quite often. For as long as I can remember, I have been dealing with this condition which I used to call ”sweaty feet and hands” until I found out there was a term for it. I would not call it a disease but a condition in which your sweat glands are a bunch of workaholics and sometimes, don’t know when to take a break. I don’t know what kind of drugs/hormones my brain is releasing to boost them up like that. It’s neither life-threatening nor dangerous but it does affect our normal daily activities.

There are two types of hyperhidrosis: the Primary Focal hyperhidrosis, meaning it is not a result of a disease or another condition, it IS the condition. The second type is called Secondary Generalized Hyperhidrosis which is a result of another medical condition. This particular type affects the whole body in general whereas the primary focal hyperhidrosis affects a particular part of the body, focal body parts like hands, feet and underarms. According to some research, there are multiple ways to treat this condition such as Botox injections, nerve-blocking medications, anti-depressants, prescription creams or antiperspirant and sometimes even surgery. How effective are they? I do not know. What I do know is that these treatments may help those with a mild case of hyperhidrosis but there’s always the question of side effects and what it entails. Sweating is natural and vital for the body to regulate our body temperature, in my opinion I’m not sure I want to play with that because treating it might mean messing with another vital body function.

Hyperhidrosis varies from one person to another, some sweat less and some people feel like the river flows. Some people just have sweaty hands and some just sweaty feet. In my case it’s palmoplantar, both hands and feet. My hands are sweating right now as I type. Weird right? I’m not even stressed, nor is it hot in the house. On a hot Summer day, the river could flow to a point where I can’t even use my phone. Because my hands are so sweaty, the sensors can’t get my fingerprint; yes, it is that bad. A lot of people don’t understand what people with hyperhidrosis have to go through and they think we are blowing it out of proportion when we avoid doing certain things, wearing certain types of shoes, etc…

So if you are or know someone who is dealing with this condition, please be understanding as we already have that to struggle with. We get uncomfortable and sometimes very embarrassed to talk about it. If you did learn something new today, I’m proud and honored.

Thank you for reading this, I’ll talk more about my experiences later but right now, I need a snack…

Until then, BE KIND!

HarryElle