What Causes Excessive Sweating or Hyperhidrosis
Many people online ask “What is the cause of excessive sweating?”
Hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) is caused by overactivity of your sweat glands in the skin. These glands are distributed all throughout the skin and work to maintain body temperature during heat exposure or physical activity. Anxiety, stress, heat, and exercise can all trigger excessive sweating. When the muscle around the sweat gland is stimulated, it contracts, causing sweat to be released.
There are two types of hyperhidrosis: primary hyperhidrosis and secondary hyperhidrosis.
Primary hyperhidrosis is the most common type in New Zealand, and is essentially an overreaction of the sweating process. There is no underlying medical condition, and it often runs in families. Primary hyperhidrosis is more focal and tends to affect the hands (palmar hyperhidrosis), the feet (plantar hyperhidrosis), or the armpits (axillary hyperhidrosis).
Secondary hyperhidrosis is less common. It refers to hyperhidrosis caused by an underlying condition. This type typically results in generalised excessive sweating across the body rather than being isolated to one area. Some underlying conditions that may cause secondary hyperhidrosis include: menopause, some cancers, some infection or hyperthyroidsim and more.
What does the treatment involve?
First, come in for an initial consultation with our registered nurse.
Second: The most effective treatment for mild to moderate
We offer the option on using a neurotoxin. This is a short term (effective for 6-9 months), non-surgical treatment done by our registered nurse over 1-2 treatments. Our registered nurse will take you through a detailed consultation, discussing your symptoms, expectations and desired outcomes. The nurse will explain what our recommended treatment entails, lasts for and costs.
What parts of the body can you treat?
The neurotoxin we use is abobotulinumtoxinA (Dysport®). This is delivered by a very fine needle into the muscle surrounding the sweat gland. Dysport® relaxes the muscle so that it cannot contract and release sweat, making it an effective treatment for excessive sweating.
Sweaty Armpits (Axillary Hyperhidrosis)
Axillary hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating of the underarms, is a common issue for both men and women. Excessive underarm sweating can lead to significant anxiety and self-consciousness. Bromhidrosis (or osmidrosis), which involves underarm odour with or without excessive sweating, is a related concern. Numerous treatments have been trialled for hyperhidrosis, with Dysport® injections being the most effective.
Dysport® works by relaxing the muscles around the eccrine sweat glands so that perspiration is not expelled onto the skin. This treatment can provide life-changing relief for around 4-12 months.
Sweaty Palms (Hyperhidrosis Hands)
Do you worry about sweaty palms when you need to shake hands? For some, this condition can affect confidence, self-esteem, and even performance in the workplace. Dysport® treatment for hyperhidrosis of the hands effectively turns off excessive sweating for an average duration of 4-12 months.
Sweaty Feet (Hyperhidrosis Feet)
Sweaty feet can be an extremely embarrassing condition, but Dysport® injections may offer improvement. Although Dysport® is particularly effective for sweaty armpits and palms, results for sweaty feet can be less predictable due to the thicker skin in this area.
For mild to moderate hyperhidrosis, nurotoxin injections are a very effective treatment. For your initial hyperhidrosis consultation with our registered nurse , make a booking today.
Afterpay and genoapay is available at our clinic.
