Everyone produces sweat. It is our body’s natural cooling mechanism, which can be triggered during a stressful situation or when the physical environment heats up. However, some people have overactive sweat glands. Hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating, affects about 3% of the population.
Excessive sweating can be embarrassing, disruptive and challenging to deal with on an everyday basis. You may find it difficult to attend a party without worrying about others seeing your armpit stains, others may fear that their sweaty palms interfere with client interactions during a business engagement. In addition to psychological drawbacks, excessive sweating can also lead to skin problems, such as bacterial or fungal overgrowth and infections.
How do you know if you have excessive sweating?
One of the best ways to determine if your sweating is excessive or just normal is to keep track of how and when your sweating is interfering with your daily life. In addition, the following questionnaire provided by the International Hyperhidrosis Society can be an excellent tool to help identify your condition:
- How many times per day do you think or worry about sweating?
- How many times per day do you change clothes? Bathe?
- Do you carry “supplies” (such as pads, extra clothes, napkins, powders, antiperspirants, or towels) to help you manage your sweat?
- How often do you have to purchase new clothing or shoes? Do you find that you make such purchases more frequently than other people?
- How many minutes or hours per day do you spend “dealing” with sweat?
- Have you tried any topical solutions (antiperspirants, powders, or deodorants) designed to control sweating? If yes, how many different types?
- Do you ever change your social plans due to excessive sweating or fear of excessive sweating?
- Have you ever damaged reading or writing material, artwork, paperwork, a musical instrument, or an electric or metallic device due to sweating?
- Does excessive sweating affect your work performance or career choices?
- Have you experienced skin irritation or infections due to excessive sweating or your attempts to manage excessive sweating?
- Does sweating in public cause you distress?
- When you are in a situation involving contact with other people, or when you think about such a situation, do you experience sweating?
- Have you ever lost friends or a job due to excessive sweating?
Hyperhidrosis Treament in Atlanta
While hyperhidrosis causes significant disruptions to your daily life, the good news is that you don’t have to suffer. The latest advancements in technology now offer hyperhidrosis patients an easy way out to their embarrassing condition.
Olansky Dermatology & Aesthetics is proud to offer miraDry, a revolutionary, FDA-approved treatment that can permanently reduce underarm sweating by up to 86%! Contact us today to learn how miraDry works.
