Excessive Sweating
- Common Excessive Sweating Areas
Do you think you sweat more than other people? Do you sweat heavily regardless of what you are doing and regardless of the temperature?
I am right now in a cool air conditioned room and as I sit down to write this article the sweat has started to pour from my right armpit almost uncontrollably. Just 5 minutes ago while I was sitting reading the newspaper my armpits were dry and I wasn’t sweating.
I suffer from excessive sweating but it didnt start until I was in my late twenties and I didn’t realise there was a condition called Hyperhidrosis until the internet came along!
Excessive sweating is a hassle and in medical terms is known as Hyperhidrosis. In some situations it can be more than just a hassle and can indicate a medical illness, however more often than not it is harmless.
If you sweat more than others in everyday situations such as heavy exertion or when it is hot and humid then that is quite normal. Excessive sweating is in quite another leaugue and can cause considerable embarrassment as well as as eroding confidence.
I like to keep perspective on my condition and realise that it is annoying but things could be a whole lot worse. In the big scheme of things suffering from excessive sweating is not such a big deal and we shouldn’t let it ruin our lives.
Most sufferes of hyperhidrosis have what is known as focal hyperhidrosis, meaning that you sweat excessively in one particular area only. For me it is my right armpit. For others it could be the chest, groin or buttocks and I would suggest that all sufferers sweat heavily on their backs. The most difficult focal hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating in the hands.
Whilst sweating in other body areas can be overcome by using sweat proof clothing or other remedies and can be tackled physcoligically by realising that the problem is annoying but not life changing, it must be recognized that sweating in the hands can, unfortunately, be a life changing hinderance. Of the customers I hear from who have had surgery to combat their hyperhidrosis it is most usually sufferers of excessive sweating in the palm of the hands.
Anxiety sweating is another form of excessive sweating but is different to hyperhidrosis although the 2 can co exist as they do in my case. I remember attending a job interview in Beijing in winter. It was minus 9 degree celcius outside and I arrived at the interview with sweat marks all the way through to my suit jacket (this was before I had my sweatshield undershirts, this would never of happened if I had them then). It was a panel interview and as the interview unfolded I was getting sweatier and wetter by the minute. One of the interviewers was looking at me with alarm and asked if I was ok. Of course that just made it worse!
If you do suffer from excessive sweating I would urge you to take as positive an outlook as possible on it. I travel frequently to a region which suffers from poverty. Whenever I visit the region I see people in far worse situations and with far worse afflictions than myself and it reminds me that in the big scheme of things suffering from hyperhidrosis, whilst a hinderance, is nothing compared to the suffering that some people are forced to endure on a daily basis with seemingly no way out. Seeing this is humbling and brings everything into perspective.
Using the right tools (such as sweat proof undershirts, clinical strength deodorant and medically recommended treatments) should be able to bring you close to a level of appearing unaffected. Please keep the problem in perspective and I hope you can avoid letting excessive sweating get you down.
All The Very Best
Tim Shaw
