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Excessive
Sweating Affects Many
A
condition where people suffer excessive sweating is more common
than previously thought, says a Saint Louis University study.
The study found that about millions
of suffers have the condition, called hyperhidrosis, which can
result in anxiety, depression, isolation and reduced quality of
life. The study was based on a survey of 150,000 households.
"The fact that we had an incredibly
large response rate to our survey (80 percent) tells us this is
not a mild nuisance experienced by a few people. This is a big
problem that interests people. Frankly, I was a little surprised
at the high percentage of those affected," researcher Dr.
Dee Anna Glaser, an associate professor of dermatology, says in
a news release.
Sweating, which is regulated by
the sympathetic nervous system, helps control body temperature
during exercising or coping with hot or warm environments. But
people with hyperhidrosis have an overactive system that causes
sweating at inappropriate times in specific areas of the body,
such as the scalp, face, hands, armpits, feet or trunk.
Hyperhidrosis affects men and women
equally.
The study found 90 percent of the
respondents who had the condition said sweating interfered with
their lives. You or someone you know may suffer from hyperhidrosis
if:
- You think you sweat more than
normal.
- You have to carry a handkerchief
to wipe your hands of sweat or need to keep an extra shirt in
your office to change out of sweaty shirt.
- People comment on your excessive
sweating.
- You sweat even in cool environments.
- Your sweating waxes and wanes.
- Your sweating is brought on by
stress.
- You sweat through multiply layers
of clothing.
- You change clothes several times
a day because of sweating.
- You frequently have to buy new
clothes because sweat stains soil your wardrobe.
Topical and oral medications are
among the treatments for people with hyperhidrosis. If those fail,
surgery or botox may be options.
More information
Here's where you can learn more
about excessive
sweating.
Reference
Source 101
For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick
Prevention Resources".
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