Hyperhidrosis

Hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating, is manifested by a marked increase in sweat secretion above the norm. Persons suffering from hyperhidrosis expel up to 5 times more sweat than is needed to maintain thermoregulation. Very often, the fact that a person suffers from this problem can result in significant psychological problems and depression due to the difficulty of the affected individual to integrate into society or to completely close himself off from the community.

Types of hyperhidrosis

Primary - hereditary (heritable), more common

Secondary - induced by external influences

Causes of hyperhidrosis

• Obesity - Leads to poor heat tolerance, excessive sweating even with minimal exertion, especially in the axilla, back and hair.

• Thyroid disease - Manifested by sweating all over the body. This can be caused by hyperthyroidism, thyrotoxicity or less commonly hypothyroidism.

• Neurological diseases - sweating is one of the symptoms of e.g. Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.

• Pheochromocytoma - a tumour of the adrenal gland manifested by excessive production of adrenaline and noradrenaline.

• Hypoglycemia - low blood sugar

• Acute or chronic diseases of bacterial and viral origin - these diseases cause sweating especially at night.

• Carcinoid - a rare tumour of neuroendocrine origin, the presence of which is also accompanied by heavy sweating.

• Premature ovarian failure, acquired hypogonadism

• Lymphoma - one of the symptoms is significant night sweats along with lymph node enlargement, weight loss, etc. This is an alarming symptom for the diagnosis of lymphoma.

• Medication

• Diet, Alcohol - Ingestion of alcohol and certain diets causes vasodilation (dilation of blood vessels) leading to increased sweat secretion.

• Deficiency of vitamin D

• Menopause - Also known as climacterium, menopause is the period when women lose their menstruation. It is accompanied by frequent hot flashes with sweating and facial flushing.

Treatment of hyperhidrosis

The main aim of treatment is to reduce the patient's sweating to a level that is acceptable both from a health and comfort point of view. Reliable methods to address secondary hyperhidrosis are primary compensation for the disease of which the excessive sweating is a symptom.