Understanding Hyperhidrosis

Sweating is perfectly natural and normal. In fact, sweating is your body’s built-in cooling mechanism. However, not everyone sweats the same. In fact, there are some individuals who suffer from excessive sweating, especially in the underarm region. This is known as hyperhidrosis, and it can be a major threat to your self-esteem. If you have hyperhidrosis, you may even produce as much as 4 to 5 times more underarm sweat than the average person. It is important to understand this skin condition as well as learn your treatment options from a dermatologist.

What Is Hyperhidrosis?

As previously mentioned, sweating is a normal response to cool the body. In someone with hyperhidrosis, however, there are specific nerves in the body that can easily become overactive and trigger an excess release from the sweat glands. Hyperhidrosis can develop or be made worse by the following:

• Stress
• Genetics
• Underlying medical condition (thyroid or blood sugar)
• Certain cancers

A medical dermatology practice can accurately diagnose your hyperhidrosis as well as help you understand its cause.

What Hyperhidrosis is NOT

It is equally beneficial to know what hyperhidrosis is not. In other words, you should understand the misconceptions about excessive sweating. Here are some facts to be aware of:

Your excessive underarm sweat does NOT mean you are not clean. Although the auxiliary sweat glands tend to produce an odor, it does not mean there is an excess of bacteria or dirt on the body.

Deodorant does NOT solve or prevent underarm sweat in those with hyperhidrosis.
Deodorant works to mask the odor, but it cannot stop the sweat glands from excreting.

Staying cool and calm does NOT help with excessive sweating.
Hyperhidrosis is an internal condition, not an external or environmental problem. It won’t matter how light your clothes are or how cool your environment is, the sweating will likely persist.

Hyperhidrosis is NOT shown to get better on its own. In most cases, hyperhidrosis treatment is needed to help patients get relief from their excessive sweating.

We Can Help with Your Excessive Underarm Sweat

At Spectrum Dermatology of Atlanta, we offer a combination of treatment options for hyperhidrosis. Getting your excessive sweating under control may include lifestyle changes, prescription antiperspirants, topical creams, Botox® injections, certain medications and/or other therapies. Often it is a combined approach that helps patients regain the social confidence they deserve after suffering from this embarrassing skin condition. Let our Alpharetta skin care experts help you.