Sometime back on my YouTube channel We R Stupid , I made one of the most extensive video series on sweat. I gave the basics of sweating , and the myths and research associated with sweating . But eventually, a lot of people questioned me about ‘sweaty palms’, which I did not cover.
Let’s get the basic concept of hyperhidrosis, which is extremely vital to know before we know about sweaty palms .
Hyperhidrosis is the excessive excretion of sweat above the quantity needed for thermoregulation. Sensors in our skin can detect changes in temperature and relay signals to our brain when we exercise or when it is hot outside. In turn, our brain signals the sweat glands that it’s time to start producing sweat. In people with hyperhidrosis, it is believed that overstimulation of nerve fibres in sweat glands causes excessive sweating.
Acc. to a 2016 study in the Journal of Neurology & Neuromedicine, Swedish research team led by Alma Rystedt , Hyperhidrosis is a social, emotional and occupational disability. Patients with hyperhidrosis suffer an extremely negative impact on their quality of life.
Hyperhidrosis are of the following types: face and scalp (craniofacial hyperhidrosis), palmar region (palmar hyperhidrosis), armpits (axillary hyperhidrosis), inguinal region (inguinal hyperhidrosis) and plantar regions (plantar hyperhidrosis).
Acc. to a 2009 study in the German journal Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, led by Tanja Schlereth, there are two types of hyperhidrosis, Focal & Generalized hyperhidrosis.
Generalized hyperhidrosis affects the entire body and is caused, by:
Focal hyperhidrosis develops “idiopathically” in otherwise healthy persons. The onset is mostly in puberty. There does seem to be a genetic predisposition because patients have a positive family history. Primary hyperhidrosis affects mainly the axillae (armpit), but the feet, hands, and face can also be affected; often, several areas are affected.
Hyperhidrosis is a complex dysfunction of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Patients are often subject to severe psychosocial problems. They often avoid shaking hands or have unwanted sweat patches under their arms. Secondary focal hyperhidrosis is the result of central or peripheral neuronal defects. Peripheral causes are neuropathies—e.g., diabetic neuropathy.
Schlereth & team suggests that, especially in focal sweating disorders, Minor’s starch iodine test is appropriate. Iodine solution is applied to the skin and starch powder is applied on top of this. As soon as those substances are in contact with sweat, they assume a violet colour. The distribution pattern of the colour (or absence of it) often allows conclusions about the cause of the focal sweating disorder.
Treatment options include topical medications, oral medications, surgical procedures, or botulinum toxin injection.
When we talk about ‘sweaty palms’ it is medically termed as ‘Palmar Hyperhidrosis’. Acc. to a 2016 study in the Brazilian journal Anais Brasileiros De Dermatologia, by a research team, led by Flavio R. Romero , the natural history of sweaty palms is the onset of excessive sweating in childhood for mostly individuals, manifesting itself more strongly in ages of hormonal and sexual maturation during adolescence. Improvement after the fourth decade of life is common, and cases that persist after the fifth decade of life are rare. There seem to a genetic reason behind development of sweaty palms .
Romero & team found that, the episode of sweating has abrupt onset, related or not with emotional stressful events, and presents more intensely on the palms and fingers and less intensely in the posterior regions of the hands. Rapidly, the hands are wet by the droplet detachment, and in some cases there may be swelling of the fingers. The main diagnostic criteria include visible sweat, exaggerated and located, lasting at least six months, without apparent cause, and with at least two of the following characteristics:
Palmar hyperhidrosis can be evidenced from the Minor test (starch-iodine), in which an alcoholic solution of iodine 2% is applied in the test area and subsequently starch (e.g. corn-starch) is sprinkled.
There can also be several secondary hyperhidrosis conditions, due to which palmar hyperhidrosis can develop:
Here are the suggested treatment options in the research:
Every few years, every few months, there is new group or a set of population that needs to know how to make a start….this article focuses on that set of people, who wish to make a start. A fitness lifestyle, is a choice. Fitness, is a choice. It requires commitment, hard work and discipline. The […]
Human body is made of water. Water is the fourth element amongst the five elements that make our body. Water is a medicine for the proper functioning of body parts, especially the vital organs. The benefits of having water are innumerable, and the lack of optimum water leads to many a issues in ones body. HYDROTHERAPY– Hydrotherapy, […]
Most of the people who train well, suffer from back pain, sometimes or the other. It is not that exercises cause back pain, but incorrect movement and bad posture does! Read on, to find out how to avoid back pain. LOWER BACK PAIN, an issue that has only and only targeted more and more people, […]