Excessive Sweating and Women
>Remember that old expression, “men perspire, women glow?” If you’re female and you perspire—a lot—it’s probably one of your least favorite sayings. It may appear to you that when men sweat profusely, it can seem a bit easier to disguise or, at least to excuse. And while both sexes suffer similar self-confidence challenges due to sweating, it can be especially devastating to a woman to have moisture soak clothing in a job interview or to perspire noticeably while out on a date. That’s not exactly “glowing.”
It may help you to learn more about your condition. It has a medical name: hyperhidrosis. A good place to start is this website, the home of the International Hyperhidrosis Society (IHS). It offers a variety of information on hyperhidrosis, from basic background on different types of sweating to a marketplace for products that can help.
As you learn more about hyperhidrosis, it may hit home that you’re not alone. In fact, recent research conducted in collaboration with the IHS shows that nearly 5% of the U.S. population lives with severe sweating, almost twice as many people (15.3 million citizens) as previously thought. Not only are you in good company—through the IHS you can find community and even participate in research and clinical trials.
The best news of all is that treatment options continue to expand. We’ve seen a lot of progress in this area in our thirty years of treating women and men with hyperhidrosis in New York, and we can offer a full range of choices.
If you should choose to work with us, our approach to your case would depend on several things. Three important factors are:
1. Whether there could be an underlying medical cause, in which case we’ll advise you to visit your primary care doctor
2. Where you experience heavy sweating: underarms, hands, feet, face or other places
3. What types of treatment you have tried already, if any
For most healthy patients who come see us in New York, hyperhidrosis treatment starts with the least invasive methods and continues to more aggressive procedures as needed. If prescription strength antiperspirants don’t work, we often find one or more of these can alleviate or even solve the problem:
Iontophoresis: This is a process involving a water/mineral/chemical bath through which an electric current is passed. Bathing hands and feet for 20 minutes every other day reduces sweating for many patients for several weeks as ions temporarily plug sweat ducts. If we determine together that iontophoresis is effective for your case, we may prescribe a machine for your use at home.
Botox: Injections of Botox can be used for the armpits, hands, feet and face. The toxin blocks the nerves from stimulating the sweat glands, therefore most people find relief for roughly three to four months. If this option works well for you, we’ll have a discussion about long-term strategy. The cost of treatment over the years can be prohibitive for many.
Sweat Lipo: A few years ago we developed an effective procedure for the armpits called “sweat lipo.” We use a special, sharp instrument to cut and suction away most of the sweat producing glands. Many people find relief from excessive sweating virtually immediately after surgery!
If you’re just beginning to find out more about hyperhidrosis, there’s a lot of information to digest. One thing to keep in mind is that sweating is essential to your health—just maybe not as much sweating as your body does. Also, excessive perspiration can be a secondary effect of a disease or medication. If you haven’t connected with the International Hyperhidrosis Society, we highly recommend that you do. On the website, you’ll even find stories of other women and girls like you.
If you’re ready to explore treatment options and you live in greater New York City, know that hyperhidrosis is a condition we handle regularly. Chances are, we can help you. And if we believe other options we don’t offer can help too, we’ll refer you. Give us a call! 212-570-6080.
