Sweating excessively? Don't sweat it!

Sweating is a normal and a common reaction of your body to maintain its temperature and eliminate toxicants. However, if you have continual sweaty hands or experience excessive sweat in other parts of your body, you might be suffering from Hyperhidrosis, a condition marked for excessive sweating.

"Once, I was writing my history paper with a gel blue pen but by the time I completed it, the text on the paper was smudged due to my sweaty hands. Even while choosing what to wear, I have to keep in mind that I sweat excessively in and around my underarms and dress accordingly. I don't wear open sandals or other summer footwear. I just wear sports shoes which help me walk comfortably and help with my sweat condition," said Ankita Deshpande, a 22-year-old student in Delhi. 

"I don't like shaking hands with anyone because of my sweat problem. They make me embarrassed and I hate summers because of this," said Kanika Sharma, a second-year student in Delhi University. 

"I suffer from hyperhidrosis. My hands drip sweat and believe me, living with this is absolutely horrible. My hands leave huge wet marks on papers, clothes, phones, mirrors, and almost everywhere. I can't hold my phone or anything for long, I have to type a long message with a cloth in my hand, my fingerprint sensor on cell phones takes 2-3 attempts to recognise my fingerprint. There's no particular season for this problem but in summers, it gets worse. Whenever I have an interview or a presentation, it is very noticeable that I am uncomfortable because of my sweat situation. It is embarrassing, tiring and torturing and extremely difficult to live with it," said Maya Shahid, another 21-year-old student in Delhi.

Hyperhidrosis is simply diagnosed by the patient's history of excessive sweating by the dermatologist. It heightens under stressful and emotional circumstances. The treatment is difficult and also depends on the severity of the condition. Some of the causes could be diabetes, menopause, low blood sugar, heart attack, infections, and overactive thyroid. It can be genetic also but not always. 

You can try these general measures to minimise sweating:

1.     Stress can worsen your condition, hence stress-management is the way to go. 
2.     Make sure you have a collection of cotton clothes in your wardrobe as they are appropriate to wear to deal with excessive sweating. 
3.     Avoid using underarms pads or sponges as they develop infections. 
4.     You can use cotton gloves when you’re doing something under stress like examinations, interviews etc. 

Make sure you visit your skin doctor and get the required treatment before the situation worsens.