Excessive perspiration

Perspiration is completely natural and many people perspire more than they realise. Excessive sweating can range from moderate moisture to severe dripping resulting in large wet stains on the shirt, blouse and jacket, damp and smelly feet and shoes, or it could be clammy or wet hands. In some situations the excessive sweating may be inconvenient, distracting or even cause a degree of embarrassment.

We find that many different groups of persons use long term effective antiperspirants to avoid having to deal with problem perspiration; e.g. people with close personal contact in their jobs such as waiters, dentists, shop personnel, performers, teachers and sales people doing presentations.

The term hyperhidrosis is used when excessive perspiration can be defined as being beyond what would be expected given the local environment and what is physiologically required by the body. Primary hyperhidrosis is excessive perspiration when there is no alternative origin. The perspiration is typically localised to both under arms, palms, soles of feet or even face and other areas. It is also characteristic that the perspiration abates during sleep. It is meant to result from hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system.

Secondary hyperhidrosis can result from many different conditions for example fever, puberty and menopause.

The first scientific study of the prevalence of hyperhidrosis was conducted in USA in 2004. It concludes that 2.8% of the population on average suffers from hyperhidrosis.