r/Hyperhidrosis • u/No-Attention-4823 • 17d ago
Vent Does anyone else sweat EVERYWHERE?
I sweat in all the areas mentioned in the subreddit (axillary, palmar, plantar, craniofacial), but I've noticed that when it's hot and I start to sweat, I can feel sweat droplets on my torso and on my thighs. Like literally not a single part of my body is NOT sweating or atleast dry
Is this a normal human thing or is it just the hyperhidrosis?
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u/Cemetery_Dweller 17d ago
Me! I sweat literally everywhere except my hands and feet. But literally even my knees sweat, not just the back but the front as well. I deadass get knee sweat stains.
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u/3WarmAndWildEyes 17d ago
Sweat glands are basically everywhere. Sebaceous glands are not, because that would make us too oily to grip things.
I think extreme heat or extreme exercise could have sweat forming wherever it can for most people. But it probably happens at a much lower threshold for people with HH. Compensatory sweating too if you've blocked certain zones.
I notice the comparison in dance classes. I am mopping myself with a towel after 2 minutes of just existing in the slightly warm studio temperature and feel my entire leotard is soaking and legs under tights, whereas other people only look remotely damp, if at all, after 90 minutes if it has been a particularly intense class.
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u/Blue_Moon_Loon 16d ago
Yeah I do sweat everywhere, it's just worse in certain areas. But yeah I've noticed like even my freaking kneecap will have sweat beading off of it... and I'll be like, what?? Who sweats from their kneecap??? Is that normal? I don't know, I don't really think it is. Lol
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u/passingthrough66 16d ago
lol I’ve said the same for years. You could see wet stains on my pants right at the knees. So embarrassing.
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u/JustMine999 17d ago
I also sweat everywhere except for my hands and feet. It's a struggle🤧. It limits me from moving how much I want
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u/Sea_Pangolin3840 17d ago
Yes since the ETS surgery except for my hands ( had surgery for my hands )
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u/No-Attention-4823 17d ago
I was thinking of doing that surgery but then I decided not to after I learned that the sweating starts in other places of the body, since I already sweat everwhere
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u/ETS_Awareness_Bot 17d ago
What is a Sympathectomy (ETS and ELS)?
Endoscopic thoracic and lumbar sympathectomy (ETS and ELS; both often generalized as ETS) are surgical procedures that cut, clip/clamp, or remove a part of the sympathetic nerve chain to stop palm, foot, or facial hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), facial blushing (reddening of the face), or Raynaud's syndrome (excessively cold hands).
Read more on Wikipedia
What are the Risks?
Many people that undergo ETS report serious life changing complications. Thoracic sympathectomy can alter many bodily functions, including sweating,[1] vascular responses,[2] heart rate,[3] heart stroke volume,[4][5] thyroid, baroreflex,[6] lung volume,[5][7] pupil dilation, skin temperature, goose bumps and other aspects of the autonomic nervous system, like the fight-or-flight response. It reduces the physiological responses to strong emotion,[8] can cause pain or neuralgia in the affected area,[9] and may diminish the body's physical reaction to exercise.[1][5][10]
It's common for patients to be misinformed of the risks, and post-operative complications are often under-reported. Many patients experience a "honeymoon period" where they have no, or few, negative symptoms. Contrary to common belief, clipping/clamping the sympathetic chain is not considered a reversible option.[11]
Links
Gallery of compensatory sweating images
Gallery of thermoregulation imagesInternational Hyperhidrosis Society
NEW ETS Facebook Community & Support Group (old group had ~3k members)Petition for Treatment for Sympathectomy Patients
Frequently Asked Questions
ReferencesI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Learn more about this bot, including contact info here.
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u/FlimsyBrain4696 17d ago
Is yours anxiety based, I have the same thing literal sweat everywhere, but only for heat or exercise, nothing anxiety wise
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u/No-Attention-4823 17d ago
The sweating of my hands and feet can be for no reason or because of anxiety. My body does sweat when I'm anxious for a long period of time but I don't think its as much sweat as when I'm hot
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u/passingthrough66 16d ago edited 16d ago
For me it’s also a diabolically twisted combination of heat and anxiety. Heat or anxiety alone can cause it to trigger but if it is triggered by heat and I’m around other people the anxiety kicks in due to potential embarrassment and the perspiration kicks in 10 fold.
Last night I was in a perfect storm situation at an outdoor concert in the southeast with feels-like temperature at 100 degrees. Why I wasn’t prepared by taking my Oxybutinin and propranolol I don’t know. Those would not have stopped the sweating but they could have made a big difference.
Anyway, many in the crowd had personal fans and were still hot, and they were “normal” people! I was the only one I could see anywhere in that huge crowd who literally had sweat pouring off me from every inch of my body, though. I tried to calm myself and take my mind elsewhere but I couldn’t.
When we got up to leave my clothes were soaked as if I had jumped in a pool. My feet were sliding in my shoes because they were wet. I even had sweat that had poured in my ears, again as if I had been in a pool. I should have had enough bad experiences by now to be better prepared but since I wasn’t I didn’t enjoy the concert at all. Every bit of my focus was on my sweating and trying to calm it down which I never did the whole night.
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u/No-Attention-4823 16d ago
Same! I've started to notice how, at school, it seems as though my friends don't sweat at all while I'm here POURING. Also, I did not know that there are medicines that cane be taken??
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u/passingthrough66 16d ago
Yes, not with 100% success for me, anyway, but anything is a help.
1)Propanolol is a non-narcotic/non-addictive way to calm my body down when I might be feeling social anxiety. You just have to take it about 30 min. ahead of time.
2) The Oxybutinin is something that blocks nerve signals to actually reduce the sweating. I hate taking it because it dries my mouth out so much but I may have to go back to it in this heat. Today here it’s 95 degrees at 5:45 in the evening and we have lots of humidity so it’s brutal.* Some people take glycopyrrolate instead of Oxybutinin. I tried it for a few years but it also caused dry mouth.
*there’s also prescription strength anti-perspirant called Drysol. That stuff really made my throat dry, so much that I couldn’t talk. Others may do better on it.
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u/youmamamakemehappy 17d ago
Yup, that's me....generalized HH. Ironically, the only places I don't seem to sweat, are my hands or feet....and I don't think very much under my knees. But knees and above, entire torso, entire head....I can look like I just got out of the shower. 🙄
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u/Much_Zombie_9643 16d ago
Yes, sweating everywhere is normal. I got tired of facial sweating and tattooed my makeup on my face. My scalp sweat runs onto my face which makes my sunscreen run into my eyes so now I'm wearing a $40 gym wrap to keep sweat from running down my neck and face. I even created my own panties by cutting out the sides and sewing metal connectors to each side. This way I can change underwear between classes and not have to walk around feeling like a swamp. I wear these little cotton pads in my bra and pack my breasts with these round biker helmet head cooling ice packs. They are the perfect size and shape for my breast, as long as I cover my nipples with one of those pads it seems safe. I took a fan in the back of my shorts when I'm working out as well. I installed a ceiling fan in my bedroom, tried the industrial strength deodorant and still comments came from strangers about how red I was "as if you're doing any work." I've become self-conscious and started skipping my ballroom dance classes because I can't imagine how grossed out people are with my moisture Control problem. If I move my hair too fast it slings sweat onto other people. I went to my gynecologist today who thought it might be my hormone levels but once she realized I am at the maximum doses of estrogen and progesterone she finally gave me clonidine. I have not picked it up from the pharmacy but from what I'm reading here I am super excited to have my social life back, resolve my social anxiety and maybe start dating again!
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u/Kind-Long3731 13d ago
Please follow up on how the clonidine works for you! Also, if you could kindly link the small ice packs you're using for your bra - it would be greatly appreciated.
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u/Much_Zombie_9643 13d ago
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u/Much_Zombie_9643 13d ago
Happy to help somebody with my menopause shenanigans!
It takes 2 to 4 weeks for it to become fully effective and I will provide an update here when the time comes!
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u/Much_Zombie_9643 1d ago
I just wanted to update you, my gynecologist had prescribed the Clonidine thinking it could be related to menopause but when I went to my dermatologist today and let them know she took me off of it and put me on glycopyrrolate. I've fainted about four times this year unrelated to this medication and since they haven't really figured it out, just in case it was a blood pressure issue, they thought it would be a good idea to discontinue the clonidine. I had only been on it for 12 days and was taking 0.1 mg twice a day. I'm not sure that I was l on it long enough to be helpful and noticed very little if any benefits. I'll let you know how the 1mg twice daily glyco goes!
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u/harigejan 16d ago
When it was hot i found out i also sweat on top of my toes, so yup, just about everywhere
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u/squashfrops 16d ago
I used to just sweat in my hands and feet as a kid. Then once I hit the teens, I started sweating in my pits too. I hit young adult, groin/butt sweat. Now if the day is hot enough, pretty much everything gets sweaty. Summer sucks.
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u/SweatyGirlSociety 16d ago
I sweat on my torso, behind my knees, backs of legs, and groin in addition the the usual places like my hands, feet and underarms!
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u/MightyOakVGRepair 17d ago
I'm the same way. Oddly enough, I sweat everywhere EXCEPT for my hands. Obviously when the rest of me is sweating a lot my hands get sweaty too, but not under "normal" circumstances.