Sweating Hands

A very good friend of mine deals with the same issue. We have been friends since junior high and she has always had sweaty hands which seemed to get worse when she was nervous. Now, at 33, she just wipes her hands on her pants before she shakes someones hand. She does not get unusually sweaty anywhere else. She does not deal with other persperation issues, just her hands and feet. It was only a year ago when she allowed herself to get a pedicure. Now she goes every month! She is used to it. Everyone has their quirks... I have to wax my upper lip every 6 weeks. I hate it, but it is life. I would rather have sweaty hands. Tell your daughter that it will be ok and not to sweat it!:)
L.

Hi Frances,

Ok, I can't believe I'm admitting to this on the forum but here goes! I too have sweaty hands and have ever since I was about your daughter's age. It's gotten better with age but it's still an issue for me, especially when I'm nervous. It's like a vicious cycle, I get nervous because I know I'm going to be shaking someone's hand (I'm a professional and have to ALL the time!) and that in turn make me sweat worse. A few things I do. I use that anti bacterial hand santizer throughtout the day. It seems to dry my hands. I also used to keep a small travel size of baby powder in my purse when I was in high school. I rarely EVER put lotion on my hands and if I do it's only on the tops, never my palms. I have noticed that by habit and from nerves I often walk around or sit around with my hands closed. I now remind myself throughout the day to unclamp my hands. I never went to a doctor for this so I"m not sure if there are any treatments available but would love to know if you hear of any. Good luck to your daughter. I know that feeling and it's very embarassing, especially at her age when everything related to your body is so important and so mortifying at times. My hands are sweating just thinking about it!

Frances,

I would just start with your family doctor. Do a search on Hyperhidrosis.

One thing I have done to prevent the bottoms of my feet from sweating when I wear sandals is using an antiperspirant. Maybe try a little antiperpirant on her hands and see if that helps, or maybe she could carry some alcohol wipes. Just some ideas.

L.

I agree with all the suggestions given. A visit to the pediatrician/family doctor is the first step you need to do. Hyperthyroidism among other things can (but rarely) cause excessive sweating. Again, a google search on hyperhydrosis will tell you more.

If all is normal and she's just one of those people who sweat a lot, Dryel is sold over the counter for excessive sweat. U put it over wherever you sweat a lot, and it really dries the area a lot. Sold at many stores. I also agree, using alcohol wipes and antiperspirant deodorant works too.

In the worst case scenario, for those who sweat so excessive, Botox injections help decrease sweat glands.

I agree with your other responses....I would also add that a Dr. can prescribe a roll-on that can help as well. I am embarrased to admit that I had something similar when I was a teenager.....ah...hormones....

I would like to caution about using too much alcohol based products to try to counteract the sweaty palms. Simply because alcohol is so drying, that it could cause her hands to become more sweaty as her body's natural response to keeping her skin moist.

I definitely second (and third, fourth) the family doctor route. They can refer you to a specialist if needed.

Good luck!

I have suffered from the same problem all my life. I work in a Nursing Home Business Office and it can be very embarrassing when people want to shake your hand. However, as I've gotten older I've come to realize that it is something that happens. There are treatments though that can help. 1st we have a women's institute here that does botox and such...botox injections can help stop excess sweating, they inject it into the glands. This can be pretty pricey since you have to keep going back about every 3 months (I called and discussed it with them) 2nd I have a friend who traveled to California to have some of her sweat glands removed. It's been 2 years now and she says it worked wonderfully and she no longer has sweaty hands, feet or underarms.
It could however be something with puberty....so you might want to check with her doctor first and discuss it.
Good luck!

I have dealt with hyperhidrosis all my life and I found a group a few years ago on yahoo made up of others who suffer with this issue. I tried something called dehrydral and it worked really well. The side effects of the cream are slight yellowing of the skin and pruning when exposed to water, although not always the case. If used to often however, it may become ineffective. This happened to me due to the severity of my HH - mine is axillary, palmer, and plantar which is mostly severe on my hands. I believe there is also something called Maxim. Try checking out the group and see what other recommendations they have. Good luck to her!