Hyperhidrosis = disability?

[causeeffect]

Hi all,

I was wondering if any of you guys count having hyperhidrosis as a disability on any type of application forms for things such as school, scholarships, etc and it asks if you have a disability?

My hyperhidrosis greatly interferes with my life, except I am afraid that the people who review my scholarship application may think that it does not count as a disability.

Thanks

 

[hyp-hi]

I think HH is a disability in the fact that is is disabling to people in everyday activities, but I don't think it would qualify as an official disability on things like applications for scholarships. The thing is HH is a rare condition and people who don't have it don't understand how bad it is and how much it effects the lives of those who have it. Because of this, it is unlikely that is will be recognized as a disability.

 

[grimaldi]

how is it so?

 

[Jezza]

I'm not using it for anything like that, mostly because the benefits probably won't outweigh the negatives and also a little because I feel you must sometimes not pursue every subsidy you can get just because you can from a moral standpoint.

At the same time, I think it's annoying the hyperhidrosis doesn't get the acknowledgement it should get as a serious disability, also because this is one of the reasons there is way too little research into HH.

I guess it would have been possible for me to get some extra 'school subsidy' had I really tried, I know of people here with Astma who get more subsidy because of their disease, eventhough (and I know I have to be careful here, but still) in my judgement they can live pretty normally.

It might have paid for some botox treatments I have been paying for myself, so I would definitely feel I was entitled to it, but the inevitable hassle was just not worth it to me. And obviously, the system is different here so in the US there is probably more to gain (scholarships are way more substantial in the US, cause here in the Netherlands, schools and college are heavily subsidized as it is already and there is no such thing as private schools, or at least not ones that are relevant, so you're not directly paying a lot for them as it is, except through rediculous taxes indirectly).

I don't know that much about the system in the US, but I would imagine that if you could find a medical professional prepared to provide you 'disabled status' it would be hard for authorities not to give you some benefits...

For me now, I could apply for a partial disabilty fund probably (so that say if you were judged to be 20% disabled to work, I could work a day a week less and get compensated by the state for the lost revenue that would bring), however, I probably wouldn't then be able to get a respectable job at all, so I'd probably still be worse off if I did. Also, I'm not actually unable to do most jobs (except maybe be a sales man or representative who's job is to shake hands and not sweat too much), the biggest way HH affects my work (maybe) is that I can't have that much fun outside work, providing less incentive to make great deals of cash, because I wouldn't be able to get lots of quality talent (ie chicks) anyway, which would be more or less the only reason to work extra hard in the first place (right?).

 

[Nicholas]

Technically, people say you are disabled if you can't work. So if you just sweat, they are like "So what? Just wipe it off, and work". You can work from home, or work in the fields, or whatever... Of course you can't be a model, but you can work physically, and that's why people will never accept HH as a disability.
People will never understand the real disability for HH sufferers is social disability. Not being able to enjoy social activities is horrible. But normal people will never understand.

 

[klytus]

why do you think palmar hyperhidrosis puts you at a disadvantage with women?

Why do you think it doesn't? I once touched a female classmate's notepad and damaged four of its pages. Apart from that, you can't touch her hair, you can't touch her skin, etc. The only advantage is that you can make filthy jokes about how easy it is for you to make her dripping wet. That, however, doesn't compensate for the awkwardness of physical contact.

 

[Jezza]

release,

Yes, I would say so...My hands are of course wet, but usually also dead cold. My feet the same thing. When I'm a little anxious the rest of my body, particularly crotch and legs, are sweating way more than normal as well.

The general public perception of sweating is also that it is nasty, which is not helped by some of the commercials of deodorants on TV (I bet you can find some if you search Axe dry on a popular video hosting site, the message is basically that if you sweat girls run away). Part of that has probably to do with people associating sweating with a nasty smell, which thankfully doesn't have that much to do with HH cause HH has to do with eccrine sweating and the apocrine glands create most of the smelling. Thankfully I don't think I have a problem with that (most people are probably polite/indifferent enough to not tell anything if I did, but I think someone would have told me by now). But of course their perception creates the reality we have to live in.

But, in general, almost all physical abnormalities usually don't do your chances any good IMO. Sweating, rashes, big ears, being ugly, most kinds of chronic illness...

I'm quite sure I'd do better if I would sweat normally. I'm quite ok with what I have to work with apart from the HH, but the HH just messes a lot of things up.

 

[wannabedry]

for anyone here who had ETS surgery and now suffers from debilitating Compensatory sweat, have any of you tried getting disability for it? Im considering it now because I have found it impossible to keep a job since my surgery due to the constant wet smelly sweaty clothes and the rude comments of people at work. I cant even bring myself to look for work anymore because its next to impossible for me to interact anymore with people in a professional work environment because of the devastating results of my ETS surgery (if I go out in hot humid weather I am drenched in sweat all over my body within minutes) and there is simply no way to explain this to all the people I must constantly interact with at work, not to mention how uncomfortable and unbearable it is to work in drenched clothes and what it does to your skin! imagine for example if coworkers invite you to lunch and you go with them , and you must return to work after for another 4 hours and your clothes are drenched! imagine how this feels and looks, for those who dont sweat imagine that you jumped in a swimming pool in your clothes (literally) and then had to return to work without drying off or changing. well thats how I felt at work and thats why I usually dont last with any job ive ever tried. So tell me , how is this NOT A DISABILITY???

 

[Sprawling]

All I can add is that HH is a very, very, very pain in the *** inconvenience. Does it warrant disability? Questionable? I ended up going into business for myself at age 20ish partly do to my dripping hands and sweaty body. I was able to work and make a living even with the inconvenience of palmer HH. It wasn't easy... yet possible.

Now in my 50's I have fibromyalgia and HH. The fibro has literally thrown me off my feet where continuous working is nearly impossible and that's besides having HH. Getting disability for fibro is a rarity, I wouldn't even attempt for HH.

 

[Amherst]

I'm going to sidestep the disability question for the time being. Wannabedry- have you checked out the Hidrex PS 1000 machine with its applicators for the back and chest?

Here's a link: Chest/Back/Abdomen sweating - Excessive Sweating Forum