Excessive Sweating on Face

One very embarrassing problem that people face is excessive sweating. Face sweating or hyperhidrosis of the face is particularly embarrassing for young adults. Read on to know what causes excessive sweating on face and how to deal with it...
All of us sweat when we are in a situation where either the atmospheric temperature is high or when we workout. Sweating is the body's natural mechanism of controlling and regulating the body temperature. There are sweat glands present all over the external body that help in carrying out this function. However, sometimes, when these sweat glands are hyperactive in nature, then it is known as hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating. Face is one of the places of the body that is usually spared of hyperhidrosis, but at times, a person may complain of excessive sweating on face and head. Given below are details about the causes and treatments for excessive facial sweating.

Causes of Excessive Facial Sweating
Unfortunately, it is not exactly understood as to what causes excessive facial sweating in an individual. There are many causes that have been put forth and they vary greatly from person to person. In many cases, it is seen that one of the main causes of excessive head sweating is that it is simply, all in the genes, that is, it is genetic in nature. However, if one were to analyze the pathophysiology of excessive sweating, face being the most commonly affected part, then, this is usually due to malfunctioning of the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is actually that part of the nervous system that is responsible for the 'flight and fight' action of the body. It leads to an increase in pupil dilation, sweating and also increases the blood pressure of individuals.

Symptoms
The hyperhidrosis symptoms or symptoms of excessive sweating on the face, are well, patchy and wet look on the face at all times. People that have this problem are not able to wear make-up and so, they tend to avoid parties and functions. Also, as this is an embarrassing enough condition, people tend to by principle, avoid social gatherings as they are perpetually sweating too much. These people often have a towel in their hand or more conveniently, around their neck, at all times. Due to sweating on face and head, they prefer to keep their hair short and cropped and prefer to stay in cold rooms and environment. Due to this condition, sometimes, they may have very low self-esteem.

Treatment
There are many ways of dealing with the problem of excessive sweating. Face treatment involves creams that are available which contain aluminum chloride. If this does not work, then there are many anti-cholinergic drugs that can help to suppress the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. If the sweating is due to a person that is very anxious or who has a temperament that makes him anxious, then anti-anxiety drugs can be given.

If all the conservative methods of dealing with facial sweating are exhausted, then surgical options can be evaluated. If you're wondering about how to stop excessive sweating on the face, then one simple way is by getting botox treatment done, which aids in temporarily disabling the functioning of sweat glands in that region. However, the only way of permanently treating excessive sweating in the face is with the help of a procedure known as endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy. In this procedure, the thoracic ganglion of the main sympathetic chain is either cut, burnt or clamped, so as to prevent impulses from reaching the sweat glands of the face. However, the results greatly vary and this treatment is said to be more successful for patients suffering from excessive underarm sweating, when compared to facial sweating.

This was all about excessive sweating. Face is the most visible part of the body, so this can be quite an embarrassing and discomfiting condition to deal with. However, it is best to visit a dermatologist and evaluate all the options present before you when it comes to excessive sweating on face, before you take a decision regarding what treatment option to go in for.
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Published: 11/29/2010
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