The term hyperhidrosis comes from the Greek and refers to an excessive production of sweat. But not every person who sweats a lot necessarily suffers from chronic or. pathological sweating.
Therefore, one must learn here to successfully recognize the symptoms and, if necessary, take the necessary steps to minimize the unpleasant consequences.
In general, sweat is our friend, because without sweat we would not be able to perform at our best, which we do on a permanent basis.
Sweating cools the body and the sweat glands eliminate unwanted substances from the body.
Therefore, one should not always try everything to suppress sweating.
The situation is different, of course, in the case of pathological perspiration, because here there is an increased formation of sweat even in situations in which there is neither physical nor mental stress.
How to recognize this situation, we explain below.
Sweating on unusual parts of the body can be an indication of hyperhidrosis
There are numerous methods for a doctor to detect hyperhidrosis. There are various tests for this.
But before you panic and run to the doctor, you should first consider whether it can really be hyperhidrosis. Here you can first look in which situations and on which parts of the body the sweating occurs.
If increased physical or psychological stress leads to heavy perspiration, this is definitely not an indication of pathological sweating. Hyperhidrosis is a condition in which sweating is not triggered by external factors.
Recognize hyperhidrosis by the size of the sweat patches
This is the case, for example, if one sweats heavily despite physical and internal rest. The diameter of the sweat patches under the armpits can be used to measure how severe the form of hyperhidrosis is:
- Light form: 5-10cm
- Moderately severe form: 10-20cm
- Strongly pronounced shape: Over 20cm
However, this is far from being an accurate method of determination. Other indications are sweating in more unusual places on the soles of the feet, the backs of the feet and the backs of the hands. Especially the formation of sweat beads at rest could be hyperhidrosis.
The best recommendation we can give you here is to visit your family doctor, who can help you with various recommendations or even treatment methods to get the problem under control.
But even without your doctor, there are a few tips and tricks that can make your everyday life easier. More about this in the next section.
Combat excessive sweating with simple means
With simple and inexpensive remedies, especially mild forms of hyperhidrosis can be controlled without further intervention or medication. First of all, you should pay attention to your own health – despite sweating, you should always drink enough water.
Lack of water only stresses the body more and does not prevent sweating. Even worse, the sweat is no longer diluted by a lot of water, resulting in a much stronger odor formation. A lot of minerals are lost through sweat, so a balanced diet is very important to prevent deficiencies from aggravating the problem.
Remedy for hyperhidrosis
Furthermore, there are numerous products that can regulate sweating.
Starting with antiperspirant deodorant, this is a good way to regulate perspiration. Sweat pads, available in pharmacies and drugstores, can trap underarm sweat and reduce odors.
How to avoid unpleasant sweat stains. Lastly, some vendors, such as DryWear offer anti-sweat clothing. It absorbs sweat through a specialized membrane and slowly evaporates it through the outer membrane.
The advantage here is that several affected regions are covered at the same time, and these T-shirts, tank tops and underwear can be easily worn under everyday clothes.