What Are The Main Excessive Sweating Causes
Excessive sweating happens when body releases more sweat than it normally requires. Don’t worry if you are sweating too much, it is typically harmless. Excessive sweating is just embarrassing and may interfere with your social life.
For most people sweating is caused by doing exercises, hot environment, sometimes by eating hot and spicy foods and it is normal reaction to balance the body’s temperature.
Yet, around 2 % of people sweat much more than the body’s natural needs, even when there are no outside reasons for sweating. Usually, it is uncontrollable and not anticipated sweating of armpits, feet, palms or face. Sometimes, people sweat all over the body without apparent reason. This condition is medically referred as excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis.
Excessive Sweating Causes for Each Type of Hyperhidrosis
First of all, it is necessary to distinguish two types of excessive sweating:
Localized sweating (Primary Focal Hyperhidrosis) is when sweating occurs only on specific parts of the body – underarms, palms, face, neck or feet. This is the most typical form of excessive sweating.
Generalized sweating (Secondary General Hyperhidrosis) is less common. Here the excessive sweating occurs all over the body. One of the classic signs of this type is sweating during the night’s sleep.
What Triggers Excessive Sweating?
It is still not very clear about the excessive sweating causes for localized sweating that occurs on specific parts of the body. Experts think that the primary cause is some minor malfunction in the sympathetic nervous system. It is an autonomous part of our nervous system over which we have no control. Sympathetic nervous system regulates such body functions as the heart rate and blood pressure. There is some evidence that this condition may be hereditary.
It is much easier to locate the excessive sweating causes for generalized sweating that occurs all over the body. Generalized sweating can be caused by
- Diabetes
- Puberty
- Menopause
- Pregnancy
- Alcoholism
- Heart malfunction and stroke
- Thyroid
- Rheumatism and arthritis
- Hypoglycemic attack
- Certain medications, such as antibiotics, medications for blood pressure, dry mouth and psychiatric medications
Occasionally, generalized excessive sweating can be caused by psychological factors such as anxiety, anger and other intensive emotional states.
What can be done to stop excessive sweating?
For those who experience too much sweating all over the body, the best approach is to visit doctor and to check whether there are some underlying health problems that cause uncontrollable sweating all over the body.
For those with only local excessive sweating on particular parts of the body, there are 3 main options.
First is to use prescription strength antiperspirants. These usually work, but with some potential downside. These types of antiperspirants contain high doses of aluminum sulfate hexahydrate and there is increased evidence in scientific community that link aluminum to many nervous diseases, including Alcheimer’s disease.
Another option, especially for more severe excessive sweating situations, is medical treatments – Botox injections, laser or electromagnetic treatments for armpits, iontophoresis electro procedure for feet and palm sweating or even more drastic procedure of nerve root cut. All of these treatments are costly and usually not covered by insurance. Also, there is reported average 80 % success rate of these procedures.
Third alternative is to follow the natural route without expensive medical treatments and putting harmful chemicals in your body. Natural alternatives to stop excessive sweating are explained in the study called Stop Sweating and Start Living. If you want to learn more about it, click HERE.
