Health Matters (15); HYPERHIDROSIS

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Hyperhidrosis as it's always called deals with when there is excessive sweating happening to people. It is not because of exercise but because of a condition which most of the time affect the way the person can live his or her life. When I was doing research, I actually discovered that there are two major types of hyperhidrosis which I will like to talk about.

There is the primary and the secondary hyperhidrosis. Even though they might be similar but they also differ which I will be talking about below.

Primary Hyperhidrosis

I will like to start from the primary hyperhidrosis. When I talk about the primary hyperhidrosis, it is the chronic condition which also comes with sweating in excessive level. But the excessive sweating is not associated with any medical issues. Sometimes it affects areas like the hands, the feet and even our faces.

Causes of Primary Hyperhidrosis

When I talked about the primary hyperhidrosis, there are few causes below.

• Overactive Sweat Glands: Most of the time, whenever there is an overactive sweat glands in our nervous system, it can lead to the cause of primary hyperhidrosis.

• Genetics: The second cause as it were is genetics. Most of the time, whenever there is a trait of primary hyperhidrosis in the history of the family, it can be passed to the individual and to generations over and over again.

Secondary Hyperhidrosis

Now let me talk about the secondary hyperhidrosis. In this condition, it is also an excessive sweating but in this case it is associated with a medical condition, sometimes it can be as a result of medications or even a lot of external factors.

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Causes of Secondary Hyperhidrosis

• Medical Conditions: This is the first cause of secondary hyperhidrosis which I would like to talk about. There are some medical conditions like the endocrine disorders or even some neurological disorders that can lead to the cause of secondary hyperhidrosis.

• Medications: The second cause I will like to talk about is medications. There are some medications which are very dangerous like the antidepressants, painkillers which can cause the condition.

• Substance Use or Withdrawal: The last feature I would like to talk about is the substance use or withdrawal. There are some substances that if we take them into our body. Examples like alcohol, caffeine and even some drug use can cause the condition also in our body.

Key Differences Between Primary and Secondary Hyperhidrosis

There are a whole lot of ways that I believe strongly that Hyperhidrosis affect the daily lives of those who are actually experiencing it which I will like to discuss about actually.

• Physical Challenges: The first is the physical challenge it will cause to them in aspect that most people who suffer from the conditions always experience discomfort and also skin problems. Some can have issues with clothing issues due to their consistent sweating and while some of them might even have issues carrying out some manual tasks because their Palms are sweaty in nature.

• Emotional and Psychological Impact: The second aspect is it might affect their emotions and mental health. Starting from their self esteem, for some people suffering from the conditions, it can lead to them having low self esteem, it can even lead to social anxiety and most of the time leads to depression and stress which might be so difficult to recover from it at times.

• Impact on Social Life: The last aspect I would like to talk about is the fact that it will affect their social life because some individual might want to isolate themselves from any social interactions. Some might even have relationship strain and which at the end of the day might even lead to social isolation also. It can be difficult to recover from it most of the time if one is not actually careful.

• Financial Impact: Lastly, it might affect their financial life because they will need to spend more money either on treatment or even changing their wardrobe due to the excessive sweat most of the time.

Managing hyperhidrosis is not as difficult as many of us think but we just need to be technical which I will like to explain much more better.

1. Topical Treatments

• Antiperspirants: Making use of antiperspirants can go a long way to treat the condition and that is done because those antiperspirants contain huge strength that can help block the sweat glands which can go a long way to reduce sweat or most especially excessive sweat

• Effectiveness: Now the effectiveness is that it is so effective when the condition is still in the moderate levels but you will need to always apply it regularly so that you can see the change. And you must be very careful of the dosage you apply because it can also cause skin irritation.

2. Oral Medications

• Anticholinergic Drugs: The second way is through anti chronic drugs as it were. There are some medications like the glycopyrrolate that can also help to block the nerves which will help to reduce the excessive sweat happening.

• Effectiveness: It is used mostly for the primary hyperhidrosis and it goes a long way to manage the symptoms and help to give massive relief for the individual suffering from the condition.

3. Microwave Therapy (MiraDry)

• Microwave Therapy (MiraDry): This is the last form of treatment. It actually delays using microwave energy for the treatment and most of the time is used in order to destroy the sweat glands around the arms.

• Effectiveness: The effectiveness works in away whereby there will be a massive reduction around the underarm. Of course this type of treatment is always prescribed whenever the condition has become so severed and can't be treated again.

There are some lifestyle changes which I strongly believe can be applied which can help the individuals to deal with the hyperhidrosis symptoms.

• Identifying and Avoiding Triggers: I think the first lifestyle changes is for them to identify triggers and work on avoiding them. They can also work on their dietary adjustments. They should reduce the rate at which they consume spicy foods and also help to stay hydrated. Also they should work on something called the stress management because the more there is stress, the more there is a tendency for the excessive sweat.

• Choosing Appropriate Clothing: Now this might not look like a major lifestyle changes for many of us but that is just the truth. There should be changes in the type of clothes they put on. They should always put on breathable fabrics. They should also work on putting on patterning clothing or even dark clothing to help them deal with stress. I strongly believe in changing clothes can go a long way to help.

• Maintaining a Hygienic Routine: Then this is the last one I will like to talk about. They should make sure that they always maintain a good hygiene routine. They should always take showers frequently, they should make use of antiperspirants and much more also. This is very vital and needed actually.

In my few experience, I believe there are a lot of misconceptions about the hyperhidrosis which we did not always pay attention to that I believe people are suffering from.

1. Misconception: Hyperhidrosis is just sweating too much.

This is the first misconceptions. There is always this feeling that it just means sweating too much unknown to many people that it is a medical condition. It is not just about sweating alone. It is also associated with medical conditions which if not treated can lead to more severe issues for the body.

2. Misconception: Poor hygiene causes hyperhidrosis.

The second misconceptions I will like to talk about is the fact that it is always caused because there is poor hygiene. Well I don't really believe that. In fact, according to my research I discovered that it is not even associated to your personal hygiene. It is called by Overactive sweat glands, medical factors or even neurological factors also.

I think these are the two misconceptions I can actually point out that I must confess.

I invite @suboohi @khursheedanwar and @sahmie to drop very constructive comments on this post and also to participate in this contest.