How to Treat Overactive Sweat Glands?

Everybody sweats. It’s your body’s natural, healthy internal “air conditioner.” Sometimes, however, something breaks down in the body and causes frequent or constant, excessive sweating. This is called hyperhidrosis, which is diagnosed when your body produces more sweat than is needed to cool the body, and generally affects your palms, soles of your feet, and underarms. Fortunately, doctors have developed several treatment methods to treat overactive sweat glands.

For less severe, localized hyperhidrosis, your doctor may prescribe an aluminum chloride antiperspirant. If you have overactive skin sweating all over, an anticholinergic drug may work better for you. These drugs block the actions of acetylcholine, which stimulates sweat glands in the body. Acetylcholine, however, has a variety of potential side effects since it affects several other structures in your body as well.

A more exotic way to treat overactive sweat glands, excessive skin sweating or the overall causes of sweating, is via iontophoresis, which temporarily blocks the glands by administering a low-level electrical current to hands or feet while you’re immersed in water. This treatment is safe and often done at home, once a day for about two weeks then less frequently thereafter.

You’ve probably heard of Botox as a way to smooth wrinkles, but did you know that Botox injections can also treat overactive sweat glands by blocking specific nerves? It’s not a permanent solution, however, and treatments can be painful.

Finally, surgical options are available for certain severe causes of sweating. Sweat glands can be removed, or the nerves that carry messages to the glands cut. Eliminating hand or armpit sweating, however, may increase sweating elsewhere. Consult your doctor on the best choices for your particular situation.

The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.