Causes of Excessive Sweating

Nothing can be more embarrassing than to be at a special event with other people surrounding and suddenly sweat starts pouring down your face as if someone turned on the shower over your head. The more people express concern as to whether you're feeling well, the more embarrassment you feel about your extreme facial sweating.

Many people who suffer through heavy sweating are reluctant to seek treatment or even talk about their condition. What they don't realize is that their excess perspiration isn't a personal failure of some sort; it's a real medical condition that only recently has begun to get the attention it deserves. Based on a medical survey published in 2004, it is now believed that more than 8 million Americans suffer from excessive sweating. Worldwide, the number of sufferers is nearly 176 million.

Excessive sweating is known by the medical term “hyperhidrosis”. It can occur in many parts of the body such as armpits, hands and feet, but it's especially difficult to endure when it's facial sweating. Sufferers don't usually feel physically ill with the condition, but they do suffer psychological and emotional stress from it. Facial sweating victims are reluctant to attend social functions for fear of an embarrassing episode.

Most people don't regard their “problem perspiration” as an authentic medical disorder that should be seen and treated by a doctor. Faced with the embarrassment of appearing in public while suffering through an episode, many people would rather become hermits than risk humiliation.

More research into the condition has shown that some cases of excessive sweating appear to be related to a genetic disorder that spurs the body's sympathetic nervous system - the system that controls perspiration -- to overreact. Overweight people tend to experience excessive sweating more, but not exclusively. Sometimes excessive sweating has been found to be a side effect of certain medications such as those prescribed to treat high blood pressure and clinical depression. In these instances, relief can be found by changing the primary medication.

Recent research has led medical experts to seek better treatments for facial sweating using both surgical and non-surgical techniques. Surgery is typically only recommended as a last resort since removal of sweat glands can cause other problems and may trigger compensatory sweating elsewhere.

For many patients the first line of non-surgical treatment for facial sweating is to try certain medications and/or prescription antiperspirants to reduce overall sweating. Other sufferers, especially women, prefer to try more natural remedies at first, including herbal remedies frequently used by women who experience "hot flashes" during menopause.

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