Sweating is a normal and natural process, necessary for our body to be able to regulate its temperature. But when the phenomenon spirals out of control, it can become embarrassing.
The aim of this information document is to answer your most common questions about excessive perspiration, to help you understand the process and its causes, to offer solutions and to teach you how to live with hyperhidrosis from day to day.
Summary
Sweating is a natural physiological phenomenon. It allows our body to not only regulate its temperature but also eliminate waste. Sometimes the mechanism spirals out of control and produces sweat in excess. We call this hyperhidrosis, excessive perspiration or oversweating.
It is a visible and stigmatizing condition that can have a strong impact on quality of life. Hyperhidrosis affects between 0.6 and 2.8 %1 of the population, which is a lot of people.
We use the term hyperhidrosis when more sweat is secreted than required to regulate body temperature.
There are two types of hyperhidrosis:
Hyperhidrosis can either occur locally on certain areas of the body, for example the armpits, hands or feet, or affect the whole body.
There are no precise criteria for defining hyperhidrosis because oversweating has not been linked with a specific quantity of sweat. Sweating is therefore considered excessive when it poses a problem in everyday life.
We have millions of small glands on our skin surface, scattered all over our body, and it is these glands that produce sweat. We call them sweat glands. On average, an adult secretes 1 liter of sweat per day, without even realising it!
When exercising, and when it’s hot, these glands produce even more sweat to help the body cool down.
Excessive perspiration can be particularly embarrassing because it is often visible. Rings left on clothes, sweaty hands and body odor are all symptoms of oversweating and can have serious psychological and social consequences.
For example, excessive perspiration of the hands can pose a problem in daily work, when handling objects, tools or documents, carrying out certain activities or simply shaking hands.
Excessive perspiration of the feet can cause bad smells and discomfort. In addition, heat and humidity are conditions that encourage the development of bacteria and fungi.
In addition to having to cope with excessive quantities of sweat, bad smells can also pose a problem for people suffering from hyperhidrosis, and for the people around them. These unpleasant smells are caused by the bacteria found naturally on our skin surface. When in contact with sweat, they degrade certain components and produce molecules that give off a smell. Hyperhidrosis can therefore have a serious impact on the personal and/or professional lives of those suffering from it, causing distress and even a career change, social isolation, anxiety and depression.
In addition to respecting certain hygiene rules, other solutions exist to help you live with hyperhidrosis.
Antiperspirants are commonly used as a first-line treatment for localized oversweating in order to prevent hyperhidrosis.
Unlike deodorants, which simply mask odors, antiperspirants contain aluminium salts which will effectively control the amount of sweat produced.
Aluminium salts react with sweat and form a small plug at the orifices of the sweat glands on the skin surface. The more they are used, the more this mechanism will cause the sweat glands to rest, thus reducing the oversweating phenomenon.
When use of antiperspirants does not give satisfactory results or is not suitable given the severity of hyperhidrosis, other solutions may be proposed:
Do not hesitate to ask your pharmacist for advice and to consult your doctor if you are embarrassed by sweating. Solutions do exist!
(1) Stolman LP. Treatment of hyperhidrosis. Dermatol Clin 1998;16:863-9
(2) Münchau A, Bhatia KP. Uses of botulinum toxin injection in medicine today. BMJ 2000;320:161-5
