Sweating is a part of a person's natural body mechanisms and is a way for the body to regulate its internal temperature. There are many ways to control sweating and we discuss only a few methods in this article. The nerves that control sweating depend upon a chemical transmitter called acetylcholine which is a molecule produced at the very ends of the nerve fibers. Individuals troubled by excessive sweating often do not respond adequately to antiperspirants, and they may not respond to (or be willing to tolerate) systemic medications, electrical treatments on the areas of excessive sweating, permanent destruction of the nerves which control sweating, or surgery (in the armpits) to either scrape away the sweat glands or to cut out the areas of excessive sweating.

Drugs taken by mouth, such as phenoxybenzamine and propantheline, sometimes control sweating, and injections of botulinum toxin into the affected area diminish sweating. Botox can be used to control sweating of the underarms, hands, feet, forehead, and other body areas. The most common option used to control sweating is to use an antiperspirant. Modifying your behavior and your psychological environment (at home and at work) to lessen excessive stress will help you to control sweating. Meditation is the best way to control sweating if not cures it completely. It is hoped that as more is learnt about the systems in the body that control sweating, better ways of controlling it will be found.

Condition

It is a condition that affects both men and women and usually begins during childhood or at puberty, but improves spontaneously for many people in their mid-twenties or early thirties. Profuse sweating that occurs at times other than in hot conditions or after exercise is usually due to a rare disorder called hyperhidrosis, marked by perspiration produced in abundance by overactive sweat glands. In addition, it may be helpful for you to avoid conditions of excess heat, and stay clear of diets that are too high in sugar, caffeine and alcohol, because all of these may also contribute to your problem of sweating.

Control

The reason why some people sweat more is not yet known, but it is known that sweating is controlled by the Sympathetic Nervous System. Get your nerves under control and your sweating will diminish. Most of the times you don't want to stop you're sweating; you want to control it from getting out of hand. Excessive sweating can be controlled to some degree with commercial antiperspirants. It seems that gel deodorants (Mitchum/Soft & Dry) are the only products that will control sweating, the odor for more than one hour (not long enough). While a deodorant masks odors, antiperspirants actually reduce and control the perspiration and sweating. Conventional antiperspirants contain ingredients like aluminum chloride and aluminum chlorohydrate to control sweating by plugging up your sweat glands. Check the label; you'd be surprised at how many people think they're using an antiperspirant/deodorant, a product to help stop you from sweating, but are actually using only a deodorant, a product that only helps prevent odor--not control sweating.

Botox, the popular injectable wrinkle remedy, also can be used to control sweating; injected into the skin, it temporarily paralyzes the sweat glands in the treated area. If drugs are not effective, a more drastic measure to control severe sweating is surgical cutting of the nerves leading to the sweat glands. These nerves respond to different kinds of stress: emotional stress like intimate social situations or public speaking, or physical stress like the increased body temperature that comes with exercise or hot and humid weather. Inspirational books, soothing music, scented candles or bubble baths; anything that helps you to relieve stress is ideal for you to control sweating. Proper hygiene plays an important role in helping you control excessive sweating.

Treatments

While only a doctor can prescribe or perform certain hyperhidrosis treatments, there are things you can do to help make excessive sweating less of a burden on your everyday life: bathe daily to keep the amount of bacteria on your skin in check. Stress is known to enhance sweating and it would help you if you take regular distressing treatments. Once you have received your treatments from the dermatologist you can purchase the equipment to give yourself treatments at home from that point on. To me it makes sense to start with the easiest thing and work your way up to the harder, more intensive treatments if you don't get results. Frequent treatments are usually necessary to control sweating. Bring the questions and your answers to your next doctor's appointment, or use them as evidence of the seriousness of your condition if you need to convince your health insurance plan to cover your treatments.

Excessive sweating can be treated by: simple treatments, such as roll-on antiperspirants (e.g. driclor); a type of electrolysis (called iontophoresis); medication, e.g. beta blockers or probanthine; injection of botulinum toxin; surgery (sympathectomy). Simple or medical treatments of excessive sweating might not control the symptoms, or they might induce intolerable side effects. Consult a neurosurgeon if sympathectomy is necessary in severe cases of hyperhidrosis that are refractory to all other treatments. The treatments available are still far from perfect but do give hyperhidrosis sufferers an alternative to just putting up with the condition. Non-surgical treatments include medications, Botox for palm sweating, anti-perspirant, and iontophoresis. A number of different treatments and products are available to help people with severe underarm sweating. If you are suffering from excessive sweating problem, then make sure that you bathe daily and couple this habit with any other method you'll use to control sweating.

Antiperspirants are known to control sweating to an extent and its effect depends on how bad your case of excessive sweating is. A fan or an air conditioner will definitely help you to control sweating. In some patients, these symptoms require therapeutic intervention such as dose reduction, antidepressant substitution, antidepressant discontinuation, or addition of an agent to control sweating. The researchers in this study think that sage may work to control sweating because it has astringent properties. Could an anti-perspirant (such as Drysol) be used on the forehead to control sweating. Destroying the nerves that control sweating in the feet also affects sexual responses, a price that many would think too high to pay. For the feet, aluminum chlorohydrate-containing antiperspirant sprayed onto the skin can help to control sweating. However, there are a number of different things that you can do in order to naturally reduce or control sweating. There are many natural ways and also many counter products that claim and do help to control sweating.

Information

Information and interactions contained in this Web site are for information purposes only and are not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Statements made regarding the products, ingredients and general information have not been evaluated by the FDA, or any other health authority, and should not be seen as health claims. Consult your doctor and get some information on what type of counter products will help you to control excessive sweating. There is also plenty of information about different topics that pertain to control your sweating.