Sweating is a normal process that helps in maintaining the right temperature for your body. Sweating occurs on the entire body but it would be more on the soles, palms and armpits and on the face. An individual is said to have excessive sweating if he/she sweats a lot irrespective of the temperature or activity level. In other words, a person will sweat excessively even if he is sitting idle and watching television. This would cause discomfort and embarrassment while taking part in social activities. In medical terms excessive sweating is called as hyperhidrosis and this can be managed by taking antiperspirants or sometimes by surgically removing the sweat glands from the body.
Types :
Excessive sweating can be classified into 3 types:-
Primary Hyperhidrosis :
Excessive sweating occurs in some body parts like palms, soles and armpits. There will be normal sweating in the rest of the body except few parts given above. This happens for unknown reason. Some believe that primary hyperhidrosis develop if there is an overactive sweat gland in these areas alone.
Secondary Hyperhidrosis :
This type of excessive sweating is rare. Sweating in excess will be there in particular part like hand or leg. Here there will be a definite cause for sweating.
Generalized Hyperhidrosis :
In this type excessive sweating will be there in all over the body. Again there will be underlying cause for hyperhidrosis.
Causes :
When a person sweats, the body senses excess of heat. The brain would automatically send signals to nervous system which would trigger secretion of sweat by sweat glands. Excessive sweating is present if the nervous system becomes overactive releasing excess of sweat. A person sweats more if he is stress or anxiety. It can happen due to genetic factor since the same gene runs in families. Intake of certain medications, underlying medical issues like overactive thyroid gland, heart problems, low blood sugar and infectious diseases can cause excessive sweat.