Sweaty Hands - Information

Sweaty hands often starts in adolescence and there is a tendency for the problem to run in families. Affected people may have excessive sweating isolated to the hands or feet, or more commonly to both. Occasionally facial sweating or upper lip sweating also occurs. The scalp, armpit and trunk tend to have more normal sweat patterns (i.e. they sweat when you're hot in order to regulate body heat).

Hyperhidrosis can be either what is called Essential or Primary. Essential Hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating of the hands, active and feet, although not life threatening, can lead to significant personal difficulties. Many people with this diagnosis are embarrassed to shake or hold hands; they soak papers at school and work and often wear gloves or avoid public exposure altogether for fear of embarrassment. The true incidence is unknown because many people have never mentioned their symptoms to their doctor.

Palmar sweating or sweating of the hands is not a body heat regulating mechanism and is more often associated with being nervous. Some people experience profuse sweating of the hands just thinking about sweating or personal contact like shaking hands.

Hyperhidrosis of the hands may be severe enough where surgery may be considered. However, non-surgical treatments should be considered first. Consult your physician should you consider surgical alternatives.

Disclaimer - The FDA has not authorized the safety and effecitiveness of antiperspirants for use on anywhere but the armpits, regardless of how effective the product is on the armpits. If someone wishes to use an antiperspirant on other parts of their body, manufacturers can not prevent them from doing so. CORAD Healthcare makes no claims that our antiperspirants are safe and effective for use on anywhere but the armpits. The FDA does not authorize claims that antiperspirants will stop, cure or eliminate sweating problems. However, Maxim® will substantially reduce sweating.