About 3 percent of Americans have what is known as hyperhidrosis, a condition characterized by excessive sweating primarily affecting sweat glands on the palms, underarms and soles of the feet.
“Everyone sweats, but there are some people at the extreme end of the spectrum that sweat so much it seriously impairs their lifestyle,” said Dr. Michael Reed, a thoracic surgeon with UC Physicians and University Hospital,
“Sweating is more important to people when they become more socially active and enter the workforce. For someone with hyperhidrosis, even shaking hands can become an awkward situation.”
If untreated, severe cases of hyperhidrosis can impact a person’s ability to do their job—for example, manual laborers required to use hand tools or nurses who must frequently make contact with patients when measuring vital signs.
It can also affect practical tasks such as holding a pencil to write or a steering wheel to drive.
Most cases can be treated with over-the-counter dry rubs and antiperspirants or prescription medications. For the most severe cases involving palm sweating, Reed said, surgery is the only permanent solution.
The procedure—known as endoscopic transthoracic sympathectomy—is only for a select group of patients and should be a last option. It involves making small incisions under each arm and inserting specialized tools to clip the nerve that controls hand sweating.
Side effects from the surgery include: more sweating in other areas of the body, primarily the trunk or groin.
“The patient needs to recognize and be OK with sweating more somewhere else after surgery. Most patients say they don’t care as long as their hand sweat is decreased,” Reed said.
For more information on hyperhidrosis, visit www.netwellness.org, a collaborative health-information Web site staffed by Ohio physicians, nurses and allied health professionals.