Excessive Sweating

Overview

Excessive sweating, known medically as hyperhidrosis, is sweating beyond what the body needs to stay cool. It can soak through clothing, make the hands or feet constantly damp, and interfere with daily activities and social comfort. Sweating may affect specific areas such as the palms, soles, underarms, and face, or it may involve the whole body.

Sometimes excessive sweating happens on its own without any underlying disease, which is the most common form. In other cases it is triggered by another condition, medication, or hormonal change. Excessive sweating is a symptom rather than a diagnosis, and whether it affects one area or the whole body offers an important clue to its cause.

Sweating limited to specific areas such as the palms, soles, and underarms, often starting in childhood and occurring on both sides of the body, usually reflects the primary form with no underlying illness. Sweating that involves the whole body, begins later in life, happens at night, or comes with other symptoms is more likely to stem from a medical cause that deserves evaluation. Noting the pattern and timing helps direct the search.

Common Causes

Causes range from a harmless overactivity of sweat glands to an underlying medical condition.

• Primary hyperhidrosis: Overactive sweat glands without an underlying disease, often affecting the palms, soles, and underarms and sometimes running in families.
• Hormonal changes: Hot flashes during menopause and an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) can cause sweating.
• Infections and fever: Illnesses that cause fever often cause sweating, including night sweats.
• Low blood sugar: Hypoglycemia can trigger sudden sweating.
• Anxiety and stress: Emotional sweating, especially of the palms and underarms.
• Medications and substances: Some medicines, caffeine, and alcohol or drug withdrawal can increase sweating.

Associated Symptoms

The signs that come with excessive sweating help point to the cause:

• Hot flashes or feeling overheated
• Night sweats that soak the bedding
• Racing heart, weight loss, or feeling jittery (with thyroid problems)
• Shakiness, hunger, and confusion (with low blood sugar)
• Anxiety, nervousness, or flushing
• Fever, chills, or feeling unwell (with infection)

Diagnosis & Evaluation

Evaluation focuses on whether sweating is localized or whole-body and whether an underlying condition is present. A clinician may:

• Ask where and when sweating occurs, whether it happens at night, and how it affects daily life
• Review medications, family history, and other symptoms
• Order blood tests for thyroid function, blood sugar, and infection when whole-body or night sweating is present
• Use specific tests to map sweating areas in some cases

Whole-body sweating, night sweats, or sweating with weight loss or fever prompts a search for an underlying cause.

Treatment & Management

Treatment depends on whether sweating is primary or due to another condition.

• Antiperspirants: Clinical-strength or prescription antiperspirants are often the first step for underarm, hand, or foot sweating.
• Medications: Certain oral medicines can reduce sweating throughout the body.
• Procedures: Options such as injections that block sweat signals, devices that use mild electrical current, and, in selected cases, surgery can help severe localized sweating.
• Treating the cause: Managing thyroid disease, menopause symptoms, low blood sugar, or anxiety reduces sweating linked to those conditions.
• Self-care: Breathable clothing, moisture-wicking fabrics, and good hygiene help manage symptoms.

Self-Care & Prevention

While excessive sweating is not always preventable, several everyday measures can keep it more manageable:

• Use antiperspirant regularly: Apply it at night to dry skin for better results, and consider a clinical-strength product for stubborn underarm sweating.
• Choose the right clothing: Light, breathable, and moisture-wicking fabrics help, and darker colors or patterns hide sweat marks.
• Keep cool: Stay in cooler environments when possible, and carry a small towel or change of shirt if sweating is heavy.
• Identify triggers: Note whether spicy food, caffeine, alcohol, or stress worsen your sweating and limit them.
• Practice good hygiene: Washing regularly and drying thoroughly reduces odor and skin irritation.
• Manage stress: Relaxation techniques can lessen anxiety-related sweating.

When to See a Doctor

See a doctor if sweating disrupts your daily life or comes on suddenly without an obvious reason. Seek urgent care if sweating occurs with:

• Chest pain or pressure, especially spreading to the arm or jaw, which may signal a heart problem
• Lightheadedness, a racing heart, or fainting
• Shakiness and confusion that may indicate low blood sugar

Also see a doctor for drenching night sweats, unexplained weight loss, or fever with sweating, as these can point to an underlying condition that needs evaluation.

Related Topics

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1. American Academy of Dermatology Association.
2. MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
3. Mayo Clinic. Hyperhidrosis.
4. International Hyperhidrosis Society.