Definition and Diagnosis of Facial Hyperhidrosis
Facial hyperhidrosis interferes. And it’s not just about that matter about not having a very good social life. Social mixers are something that one can avoid, but what if your job calls for social interaction? For example, if you are a musician who needs to perform, or as human resources person that needs to interview people on a regular basis, or a sales staff or sales officer that need to talk to various people to get deals closed, there is no other way but to find a solution to control your sweating problem. Otherwise, your career would suffer.
Definition and Diagnosis
For you to be able to do something concrete about your problem, you need to start with finding out what its root cause is. Hyperhidrosis can be the primary type, or the secondary type. The first type occurs when the sympathetic nervous system is overactive. The sympathetic nervous system, specifically the nerve trunk in the chest section, regulates sweat glands. Sweat glands work to regulate your body heat. If you are too hot, you are supposed to sweat.
Now, people with hyperhidrosis sweat even when it isn’t necessary – even when the room is quite cold. The secondary case is much harder to cure as it is caused by an underlying medical problem and that condition needs to be cured for the patient’s excessive sweating to stop. Excessive sweating can be triggered by a whole lot of things – nicotine, coffee, changes in humidity and room temperature, stress or anxiety.
For a treatment to be recommended, a series of tests should be run to rule out underlying medical problems. The extent of the sweating, as well as what triggers it, should also be analyzed.
Control and Cure
As mentioned, only patients with primary hyperhidrosis can be subjected to get-rid-of-excessive-sweating treatments. First, you need to know whether a major lifestyle overhaul can control your sweating. It could be that you just need to lose weight for your body to be able to regulate temperature better. You might also need to go slow with the nicotine and caffeine. If anxiety is deemed to be the trigger of the excessive sweat attacks, your doctor is likely to recommend antidepressants.
Other non-invasive solutions are topical antiperspirants or anticholinergics. With antiperspirants, you need to apply a highly-concentrated solution, usually one with aluminum chloride, depending on prescription, usually weekly. As the facial area is where it is going to be applied on, you might have trouble if your skin suffers from irritation. You might not be walking around with a sweaty face, but you might end up with a flaming one. So, be very careful. Anticholinergics might also be prescribed, but it is known to have side effects like drowsiness.
If more drastic solutions are needed, you can go for Botox injections, if the area is limited. Results last for only up to 9 months though, so it can get pretty expensive. If you sweat in other spots – like armpits and palms, a better solution is the ETS (Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy). However, there are risks involved, just like any other surgical operation, and we’re not just talking about infection. Other function of the sympathetic nervous system might be affected, or you might suffer from compensatory sweating. However, this process has comparatively high success rates and is very effective for people with extreme cases.
Do not let facial hyperhidrosis to stop you from doing well in your chosen career and living life to the fullest. Too much sweating is no longer a hindrance, as you can find numerous ways to cure it. Do a little research of your own, and talk to your doctor to find out which method would work best.