A disorder that is characterized by prolonged sweating, is hyperhidrosis, also known as polyhidrosis or sudorrhea. Sweating can affect either one or the whole body. Albeit not life-threatening, it can be uneasy and trigger psychological distress and humiliation. Sweating that disrupts normal activities is known as hyperhidrosis. Excessive sweating happens for no apparent cause at least once a week and impacts social life or everyday activities. Hyperhidrosis signs and symptoms can include:
- Wet or clammy palms of hands
- Clammy or wet leg soles
- Visual Sweating: Do you ever have beads of sweat on your face or have sweat-soaked clothes when you are not exerting yourself? When you’re sitting, do you sweat?
- Sweating that soaks through fabric, visible.
- Sweating interferes with daily activities: Does sweating make it difficult to carry a pen, walk, or turn a doorknob? Does sweat spill heavily on your screen or papers?
The following may be encountered by people with hyperhidrosis:
- Irritating and uncomfortable skin conditions such as infections with fungi or bacteria. In some areas, the skin becomes elastic, white, and peels: Does your skin remain moist for long periods?
- Worrying about getting clothes stained.
- Reluctant to create physical contact.
- Self-aware.
- Socially removed, leading to depression often.
- Select jobs where physical contact or human interaction is not a prerequisite for employment.
- Spend a great deal of time coping with sweat every day, such as changing clothes, cleaning, putting napkins or pads under your arms, shaving, wearing heavy or dark clothing.
- Worry more about body odor than other individuals.
- Skin Infections: Do you get regular skin infections that sweat heavily on areas of your body? Popular skin infections are athlete’s foot and jock itch.
Experts are not sure why, but for people with primary hyperhidrosis (the type not connected to any underlying medical condition), excessive Sweating during sleep is not usual.
Focal early hyperhidrosis
Typically, this form of hyperhidrosis starts when the individual is a child or adolescent. Most individuals who have this type are otherwise well. The word “key” implies, in medical terms, that the cause is not some health condition. You can sweat when you have this form of hyperhidrosis:
‘Focal’ means that excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis) impacts one or some of areas of the body in one or more parts of the body. The underarms, hands and/or feet, and forehead are the most frequently affected areas of the body. In both sides of the body: If there is excessive sweating in the underarms, the person normally notices excessive sweating in both underarms. For hands and feet, the same holds true.
After waking up: Sweating may start soon after the person wakes up, but unless the room is hot, the person typically does not feel damp sheets or wet clothes.
At least once a week: it happens even more often for many individuals.
Similar to sitting in the bath for too long, the feet and toes will still look prune-like, and the skin on the feet may turn red or white or it may peel or itch. Sweating from hyperhidrosis appears to take place on both sides of the body. But if you have excessive sweating under your right armpit, under your left armpit, too, you will have excessive sweating. Hyperhidrosis-associated sweating mostly happens when you’re awake and ceases while you’re asleep.
