Hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating)

Dermatologists describe hyperhidrosis or primary hyperhidrosis as increased, excessive, pathological, sometimes extreme sweating in certain areas of the body.

This occurs most often as axillary hyperhidrosis, i.e. the extreme and excessive sweating under the arms. Freshly changed clothes are soaked in sweat within a few minutes and sweat stains become visible. When mixed with skin bacteria often foul armpit odor can occur.

The second most common problem among patients is that their hands and feet sweat profusely. For the afflicted, this can be embarrassing, especially in situations with normal interpersonal contact such as shaking hands. Often it is mistakenly interpreted as insecurity or nervousness. In the case of business contacts, this can even be detrimental to the person concerned.

Hyperhidrosis on the head is less common, here excessive sweating takes place in the hair area. The hair is therefore always damp and looks neglected.
Hyperhidrosis on the face, where there is extreme sweating, particularly on the forehead, can be interpreted as insecurity, just like sweating on the hands and feet.

There is also generalized hyperhidrosis, excessive, extreme sweating all over the body but this rarely happens.

A cause for excessive sweating usually cannot be identified. One then speaks of a primary focal hyperhidrosis. Excessive sweating underarms (axillae), hands and feet as well as other parts of the body is usually a simple predisposition. Excessive sweating varies in severity over the course of life.

Stress caffeine, nicotine, and spicy foods can aggrivate extreme sweating. A wide variety of medications can also cause generalized hyperhidrosis whereby patients sweat more profusely in the axillae, hands and feet, but also all over the body.

There are special creams used to treat hyperhidrosis on the hands and feet. However, these usually only help to a limited extent to improve the pathological sweating in the long term.

Hyperhidrosis treatment of excessive sweating under the arms, with medicinal antiperspirants usually leads to only moderate success and often cause skin irritation during the treatment period.

Hyperhidrosis treatment of axillae sweat, hand and foot sweat can also be carried out using regular application of elctric current. This treatment for excessive sweating mostly only helps during regular use of electrical current. Such hyperhidrosis therapy devices can be partially subsidized by the health insurance. Then the hyperhidrosis treatment, especially with pathological sweating of the hands and feet, can be carried out by the patient at home.

Operations in which the sweat glands are removed, similar to liposuction or operations in which nerves are severed, are associated with considerable risks. In the past, these interventions were performed much more frequently than they are today to treat primary hyperhidrosis. A permanent reduction in excessive sweating even with surgery, usually cannot be achieved.

Novel technologies for axillary hyperhidrosis therapy with ultrasound or microwave application destroy the sweat glands in the skin by means of heat. Despite the sometimes-painful implementation, these treatments cannot always permanently inhibit heavy underarm sweating and there can also be side effects.

There is help for excessive sweating!

The hyperhidrosis therapy starts to work after approx. 2 weeks and lasts for approx. 9-12 months.

The neuromodulator works by interrupting the transmission of nerve impulses to the sweat glands. The sweat production does not take place.

This hyperhidrosis treatment is carried out on an outpatient basis and is minimally painful.

Even this treatment for excessive sweating does not cure you for life. With this therapy however, it is possible to deal with the varying degree of sweat formation in the course of life, and thus enables individual therapy.

The cost of treating hyperhidrosis varies. Medicated creams and antiperspirants are quite inexpensive. Operations, ultrasound, and microwave therapies usually cost over a thousand francs. The price of the injection treatment is significantly lower.
Under certain circumstances the costs are at least partially covered by health insurance or supplementary health insurance.