Underarm Sweating (Hyperhidrosis)

Hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating is a common condition which affects 3% of the population but more than half of those people go undiagnosed and untreated leaving them feeling embarrassed and insecure about their appearance.

It can affect your whole body or certain parts of your body including:

• Underarms

• Palms of the hands

• Soles of the feet

• Face, chest and back

Hyperhidrosis is the medical term for excessive sweating – this is not just sweating after exercise, this is a medical problem caused by overactive sweat glands producing excessive sweat patches in the underarm, hands and feet. Hyperhidrosis can adversely affect your quality of life. Heat and emotions may trigger hyperhidrosis in some, but many frequently suffer from this condition regardless of their mood or the weather. Excessive sweating is embarrassing and often complicates business and social interactions. This condition is easily treated with Botox injections.

What causes Hyperhidrosis?

Primary

In many cases primary hyperhidrosis has no obvious cause and is thought to be the results of a problem with the part of the nervous system, the sympathetic nerve, that controls sweating.

Secondary

Hyperhidrosis that does have an identifiable cause is known as secondary hyperhidrosis. This can have many different triggers, including:

• pregnancy or the menopause

• anxiety

• certain medications

• low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)

• an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism)

• infections