Excessive Sweating Causes

While sweating is the normal function of every body, it is excessive sweating that is a serious cause for concern. A condition known as hyperhidrosis, excessive sweating may be a condition in itself, or the symptom of another health condition. How do know when you are sweating excessively? The only way to find out is to compare yourself with others when exerting yourself or performing any physical activities. If you sweat more than them while doing so, chances are you are suffering from this condition, where your body is working excessively hard to cool down. Let's take a look at the causes of and treatment for excessive sweating, here.

Causes

People may suffer from excessive sweating all over their bodies, or from what is known as focal excessive sweating. Our bodies have active sweat glands in the palms of the hand, soles of our feet, armpits, and in the scalp too. When you sweat excessively in one or more of these areas, it is known as focal hyperhidrosis. There are numerous causes of this condition, all of which have been explained here.

• As mentioned earlier, excessive sweating is a condition that may be genetically transferred, and this begins to show during childhood itself. This may be one of the excessive armpit sweating causes, or causes of excessive sweating in other body parts.
• A high metabolic rate may be one of the many excessive facial sweating causes and heavy sweating in the rest of the body.
• Those who are obese are likely to face this problem because any physical activity causes a lot of exertion and the body sweats excessively to cool it down.
• Excessive sweating may be a symptoms of hypoglycemia (low sugar levels) among those who are diabetic.
• Hyperthyroidism or overactivity of the thyroid gland will show itself in the form of excessive sweating among other symptoms.
• Women may suffer from excessive sweating due to hot flashes that occur during menopause. Women at such a stage of life are likely to experience more body heat and therefore, heavy sweating.
• A heart problem may trigger excessive sweating at night or when performing any physical activity.
• Conditions such as gout, rheumatoid arthritis, or tuberculosis may be the causes of excessive sweating.
• Those who consume heavily spicy food, drink a lot of caffeinated drinks or alcohol, can suffer from excessive sweating.
• Excessive sweating may be triggered in nervous and stressful situations, or when someone suffers from panic or anxiety attacks. Simply put, it may just be anxiety sweating you are suffering from.
• Some types of cancer such as lymphoma or leukemia can also cause excessive sweating.
• Finally, sweating more than normal may be a side effect of some kind of medicine you are taking for a health problem. This may include vitamin supplements, antibiotics, or antidepressants.

With all said and done, sometimes it may just be that your nerves are oversensitive and active, or you have overactive sweat glands which is why you may have to suffer from excessive sweating.

Treatment

Usually sweating too much dispels a bad odor due to the breakdown of chemicals in sweat by bacteria present in the body. This can be quite embarrassing, as can be finding huge blotches of sweat on your clothes. This makes it important to treat this condition well. Now before you try to find a solution to your problem, it is important that you have your condition diagnosed by your doctor. If you are sweating excessively due to various health problems, then treating those first is important. On the other hand, if it is just hyperhidrosis, then you may follow simple methods that explain how excessive sweating may be stopped.

• Eat cooling foods and avoid heavily fried and spicy foods. Include aloe vera, cumin, and fruits such as cantaloupe and watermelon in your diet to cool your body.
• You may use an antiperspirant to reduce sweating. There are special antiperspirants available for those who suffer from excessive head sweating too. Use them under the guidance of a doctor.
• Wear loose, cotton clothing that absorbs sweat easily and keeps the body cool. Avoid tight clothing and closed shoes (if possible), and try to avoid wearing clothes in layers.
• There are certain yoga poses, asanas, and deep breathing exercises that are performed for this condition. Perform these under the guidance of a qualified instructor.
• Doctors suggest botox injections for focal hyperhidrosis. This treatment suggestion should be opted for only as a last resort, and after speaking to a specialist about its effects as well as side effects.
• Surgery is also an option for such sweating problems. A specific nerve in the chest triggers sweating, and simply by performing a small surgery on this nerve, excessive sweating can be terminated.

A lot of people ignore excessive sweating as something they just have. However, this condition should be reported to your doctor immediately to diagnose the actual cause of the problem. It is one of the body's way of telling you that something is wrong within. You should particularly visit the doctor if you suffer from excessive sweating while sleeping at night. Whether these causes are big or small, your doctor, and not you, will decide. This condition can also affect your self-esteem, and prevent you from socializing. Have this condition treated effectively to keep yourself feeling healthy and confident.

Disclaimer: This Buzzle article is for informative purposes only and does not, in any way, intend to replace the advice of a medical expert.