Exercise, humid weather, strenuous movements, or warm environment trigger your body to excrete fluid called sweat. Sweat is our body’s reaction to heat and helps regulate our body temperature. It is a standard body mechanism that is vital in our bodily process to cool down. It is like a car overheating that needs to be cooled down; otherwise, the engine won’t function correctly and will be damaged. Although sweating is a normal process of our body, minimal or excessive perspiration can cause a problem and affect your daily lifestyle. This is called Hyperhidrosis and there are some ways you can battle with excessive sweating. Nuance Aesthetics in Salt Lake City can help you treat this problem.

Why does our body sweat?

Sweat is the secretion of salt-based fluid through the glands of the skin. It helps balance the body’s temperature to avoid medical conditions such as heat stroke, fever, and the like. The moisture of the sweat does not cool down the body temperature. Instead, the evaporation process is the one that regulates the temperature by transferring the body heat to the atmosphere. There are two recognized glands that excrete sweat – Eccrine glands and Apocrine glands. Eccrine glands are odorless sweat that is located all over our body. Apocrine glands are usually in the scalp, armpits, and groin. They are typically associated with body odor because of the presence of the hair follicles. Pure sweat is odorless but, when mixed with bacteria in the body, causes the foul smell. Different factors cause each gland to react and produce sweat. Physical activity triggers the eccrine gland, while emotional reactions like nervousness, anger, anxiety, or emotional stress trigger others.

Why do we sweat so much?

Hormonal changes and imbalances can be one of the causes of why our bodies excrete more fluid. They are generally associated with menopause, pregnancy, or puberty. Food and drinks like those that are spicy are also some of the triggers. It contains capsaicin chemical that creates an illusion to signal your body that you are experiencing heat thus, activates sweating. Drinking caffeinated drinks increases your blood pressure and heart rate, which also triggers perspiration. Another prominent factor is exercise or doing any heavy physical activity. When you lift or run, your body starts to rev up, and your body begins to heat up, triggering the sweat response. The environment plays a part in it too. Having hot weather only adds warmth to the already warm body, and sweating is our defense mechanism to keep it on the safe level of temperature. Another factor is emotional distress or also known as stress sweat. The kind of sweat it produces comes from the eccrine glands, which usually smells terrible. The science behind this is that when you are emotional like feeling angry, worried, nervous, and the like, your adrenaline tends to shoot up, releasing stress hormones, affecting your heart rate to increase and tensing your muscles, and results to sweating response.

What is hyperhidrosis?

Hyperhidrosis is a kind of condition that results in excessive sweating. People with hyperhidrosis usually perspire at an average of 5x more than ordinary people would sweat. The occurrence of excessive sweating doesn’t necessarily have to have triggered at all. It can be very uncomfortable, especially when you find yourself soaked in sweat. It carries a tremendous burden on the psychological and social levels of the patient. There are two types of hyperhidrosis.

1. Primary Focal Hyperhidrosis

Primary focal hyperhidrosis focuses on one focal point, like on the sole of your feet, hands, face, or armpits. However, there are no signs of excessive sweating during sleep. This type of hyperhidrosis often begins in childhood and can be inherited and passed on to the next generation.

2. Secondary Generalized hyperhidrosis or also known as diaphoresis

Diaphoresis focuses on a larger area of your body, like your back, arms, abdomen, or legs. It happens spontaneously and affects a substantial part of your body that typically caused by a medical condition such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, menopause, and lung disease. Unlike the primary Focal Hyperhidrosis, excessive sweating can happen during sleep.

What are the treatments for hyperhidrosis?

If sweating seems to be out of control and changes your way of living and affects your overall life, trying these types of treatment can minimize it. However, seeking medical help is the best option to address your concern with the right treatment.

1. Deodorant and antiperspirants

There are available over-the-counter antiperspirants that you can purchase without a prescription. It can help fight the odor and minimize sweating, especially on your underarms. However, side effects can include darkening and bacteria build up on some products.

2. Laser treatments

Laser treatments on underarms do not minimize the body odor but only limits your perspiration. Although the accumulation of bacteria could be less due to the loss of hair from the treatment, it still does not guarantee zero odor.

3. Oral Medications

Prescriptions for oral medication depends on the hyperhidrosis condition assess by your attending physician.

4. Botox injection

Aesthetically speaking, Botox is known for its anti-aging abilities but unknown to some, Botox injections aid cases with hyperhidrosis. It is one of the new ways to reduce excessive sweating to date. It is FDA-Approved to treat the extreme sweating condition on their armpits. It can also minimize sweating on other parts of the body, such as hands, feet, and face.

How does Botox injection work?

Botox injections contain botulinum toxin. It uses tiny needles on your skin.  It works by blocking the nervous system responsible for sweat. Since Botox paralyzes a portion of your skin, the nerves cannot signal your sweat glands to excrete fluid. However, Botox cannot stop your 100% percent but can reduce it from 70% to 90%. It may have slight discomfort during the process and only take a few minutes of treatment with minimal downtime.

How long can Botox injection prevent hyperhidrosis?

Botox is not permanent, but you can extend the effects with continuous sessions directed by your specialist. Botox’s results also depend on your body’s reaction and last for six months to a year. Excessive sweating without any triggers could be a sign of hyperhidrosis condition. It can significantly affect your quality of life, lower your self-esteem, and can trigger depression. Living with hyperhidrosis is not a joke, and neither should it be taken lightly. Patients who suffer from this condition can attest to it just like Caryn Toriaga. Caryn is a known advocate of Sweat Help organization and is continuously featured on interviews or talks that concern hyperhidrosis. She is a professional flutist in New York. She suffers hyperhidrosis in her hands and feet since she was young. Her hand drips with sweat in less than a minute, making her daily work and chores challenging to do. She resorted to wearing gloves, not wearing slip-on or sandals, which led to the loss of confidence and depression.

What Is The Treatment For Hyperhidrosis?

Exercise, humid weather, strenuous movements, or warm environment trigger your body to excrete fluid called sweat. Sweat is our body’s reaction to heat and helps regulate our body temperature. It is a standard body mechanism that is vital in our bodily process to cool down. It is like a car overheating that needs to be cooled down; otherwise, the engine won’t function correctly and will be damaged. Although sweating is a normal process of our body, minimal or excessive perspiration can cause a problem and affect your daily lifestyle. There are some ways you can battle with excessive sweating like Botox. Nuance Aesthetics in Salt Lake City can help you treat this problem.