No Need to Break a Sweat
Many people live with sweaty palms and embarrassing sweat spots despite prescription antiperspirants, making summer an extra challenge. Hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating is not an easy condition to live with. It changes how you go about your day-to-day routine and can put a strain on your wellbeing. This blog post breaks down how to treat hyperhidrosis and the various triggers that can cause it. Most importantly did you know hyperhydrosis can often be partially covered by your private insurance?
What is Hyperhidrosis and What Causes it?
Sweating occurs naturally with exercise or physically straining your body, as well as when your nervous system is hyperactive. The sweating you experience can impact your entire body.
Excessive sweating is a different story and tends to affect the under-arms, the palms and soles of the feet. It can be unpleasant and embarrassing, posing some quality-of-life issues for the individual experiencing it. Hyperhidrosis is the condition that causes excessive volumes of sweat or atypically provoked sweating.
There are two types of hyperhidrosis. Hyperhidrosis is assumed to be the outcome of a problem with the nervous system component that governs sweating in many situations because there is no apparent cause.
Primary hyperhidrosis is the term for this condition. Secondary hyperhidrosis is related to a string of factors including infections, medications, hypoglycemia, anxiety, excessive stress, or hormonal dysregulation.
Who Does it Affect?
Hyperhidrosis can occur in both men and women. Research has not proven whether men indeed experience more excessive sweating than women however men may be at greater risk.
Men tend to have more active sweat glands and can also have higher body temperature in comparison to healthy women due to their greater muscle mass.
Diagnosis and Management
We mentioned earlier that excessive sweating could impact a person's quality of life, but diagnosis and management are more than just related to comfort. Sweaty hands, for example, can be dangerous if the person's job involves operating heavy machinery.
There are a few methods to treat and manage hyperhidrosis. Your doctor will typically advise beginning with the least invasive treatment, such as strong antiperspirants, avoiding common triggers such as eating spicy meals or drinking too much alcohol. Other lifestyle modifications can include wearing loose fitting clothes, lighter fabric materials and wearing darker tones. Practicing stress management techniques like breathwork has been suggested.
Botox® for Hyperhidrosis
While the efforts above can have some effect, most of our clients have found them insufficient and are opting for Botox® injections. Medical grade Botox® is injected into the affected areas and has been hugely successful in reducing excess sweating for a 3-6 month period. Not surprisingly, Botox® for men has focused in this treatment, making it one of our most popular.
Botox® is injected into sweat glands to disrupt nerve signals and prevent perspiration. The entire treatment typically takes 30-45 minutes with the number of injections varying per person. The effects typically last 3-6 months, after which the procedure can be redone if desired. Most private insurance policies will cover some of the Hyperhidrosis treatments.
Text Us to Rid Yourself of Embarrassing Sweat
No need to live with hyperhidrosis.. To rid yourself of this and get help with insurance forms, connect with us by text at (226) 887-1208 or complete our online contact form. Our Nurse Injectors at Waterloo Medical Cosmetics can help make your summer a drier one!