If you suffer from excessive sweating, the first thing you should do, if you have not already done so, is to go see your regular doctor, and tell him/her about your problems. Since many medical conditions may show up as excessive sweating, your doctor will probably want to do a thorough checkup, and possibly run some tests, to make sure you don't have one of the medical conditions that cause excessive sweating. They may know if you have any special medical conditions that may require referral to a specialist, such as an endocrinologist if you have thyroid problems, or a psychiatrist if you have anxiety disorders such as panic attacks or social phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder). If one of these are found, then your doctor will probably start you on specific treatment for that problem; if the treatment progresses as it should, the sweating problem will most likely get better or go away. If nothing is found, you will probably have primary (idiopathic, essential) hyperhidrosis.

If this is the case, you may want to try some of the simpler treatments, such as antiperspirants or astringents. If you have many areas where sweating is a problem, then talk to your doctor about starting a course of anticholinergic medication such as glycopyrrolate (Robinul®). You may also request a prescription for a strong local antiperspirant such as Drysol®, or consider purchasing the Drionic® machine if you have sweating only in the hands/feet or under the arms. It is possible to combine all three of these treatments, or use them in any combination; talk to your physician. With any new treatment program, adjusting the dose to each individual patient may take some time. Most physicians will prefer to start very slowly, with a low dose of a medication, and then slowly increase the dose until the patient's condition is under control, or until the side effects become too difficult to live with. Each person may require different amounts of medication or treatment, and it is usually impossible to know exactly how much will be just right for each individual. However, once the proper dose is determined, it will most likely stay the same; if you know that a 2 mg Robinul® Forte (glycopyrrolate) tablet will control your hyperhidrosis for 6 hours, then you may only need to take one dose before you get in a situation where the sweating will bother you. Remember that this problem did not come on suddenly, and it may take some time and experimentation to see which treatment is best for you. All treatments and dosing adjustments should be done under a physician's supervision.

If your problem is only foot sweating, many podiatrists can be of assistance. If your physician is not familiar with these approaches to hyperhidrosis, he/she may want you to see a specialist, such as a dermatologist, a doctor who specializes in diseases of the skin. Finally, if nothing else seems to control this problem, you should consider getting opinions as to surgery to cut down on sweating. It is probably a good idea to get multiple opinions from different surgeons, and ask other patients what their surgical experiences have been, as the surgery cannot be reversed, and there are different surgical procedures.

Top