Insecurity because of sweaty palms or sweaty palms because of insecurity???

[surfsider]

I'm still researching hyperhidrosis and how it's defined and treated. It's known that high emotions provoke sweat responses especially in the palms and feet. Could it be that I'm insecure and that's why my hands sweat. Because i notice if i'm in a comfortable situation and the temperature is cool my hands will rarely sweat. So i could be just suffering from insecurity in a certain situation because i'm expecting to sweat and that increases my anxiety??

Any thoughts on this issue?

 

[Jezza]

I'm thinking that the insecurity in itself doesn't cause HH, but that the excessive sweating is an abnormal physical reaction on normal stress/anxiety/excitement that every human endures.

Obviously the fear of sweating doesn't make things easier...but I'm pretty much convinced sweating is the chicken and insecurity is the egg (assuming the chicken was there first ).

By taking some benzos you could more or less test this theory I guess (take away the anxiety, see if the sweat goes away), but they are addictive so it's not ideal...I would like to try some though, but I guess my doc wouldn't be too happy to prescribe them. Beta blockers didn't work for me however.

 

[Nicholas]

If you sweat excessively (much more than any normal person) when you do any physical activity or when you are in a warm enough place, then you have HH. Otherwise, if you only sweat excessively when you are anxious, you don't have it.

In my case HH makes up at least 90% of the cause of my social anxiety, and that means I am worried an anxious because I sweat too much, and that of course makes it worse. But it is NOT anxiety that makes me sweat, it's not the cause. It just makes it worse. I sweat too much anyway.

So I worry because I sweat, and I sweat because I worry, it's a cycle, but it starts from sweating when you have true primary HH, not from worrying.

 

[dougy]

It's interesting, but people with hyperhidrosis (like myself) hot weather, stress and physical exercise make it 100% worse. Sure, we all get stressed and nervous at different points of our lives, but the cycle of sweating excessively already, then sweating even more because your stressed or nervous then realising your sweating so much and that people might notice just makes it worse.

I did consider if I had a anxiety disorder, but then I thought to myself, how can I be anxious all the time?? Why would I be anxious just lying down doing nothing? Why would I be anxious with friends and family? So for me, it's the hyperhidrosis that makes every little thing involving the need to sweat 100% worse.

At least I'm starting to get my hands under control, feet are better, underarms are better and face is contained so far. When I know there's no sweat, I feel a whole more confident and 'normal' and I'm hardly nervous at all. So therefore proving the cycle of 'nervous because I'm sweating, sweating because I'm nervous.

 

[dougy]

At the moment I've been using Driclor, 20% aluminum chloride. I've been using this for my hands, feet and underarms. Underarms it has worked somewhat (perhaps 70%), feet is about 90% (somedays 100%) and hands is pretty much 100%. I think it all comes down to technique on how to apply it.

For my hands (as I've got them to pretty much 100% dry), I put a decent amount all over from the places I know I sweat (plams, fingers, thumbs, wrist etc). I make sure my hands are completely dry before applying the Driclor (using a heater and baby powder) then once I've applied it I make sure my hands are completely dry again (heater). I then carefully put a plastic bag over my hands with socks to hold them in place. (A bit weird but hey if you get results). I did that every night for a week and now I'm down to 1-2 times a week.

I've also been experimenting with Pro-Banthine 30mg once a day as I have HH affecting other areas and also have Ditropan to experiment with.

I'm currently waiting on Odaban as well to see if that's easier to apply and more effective.

It is an individual thing for all, but one thing's for sure, Hyperhidrosis doesn't help; it only makes things worse.