Every time I'm anxious or stressed, my hands sweat. Why?

Excessive sweating of hands and feet causes discomfort and affects daily activities - Illustration photo

PTTM student (13 years old) in Thuong Hien commune, Kien Xuong district ( Thai Binh province) often sweats a lot in her hands and feet.

Especially in the hot summer weather, anxiety and stress also cause more sweat to come out of your hands, your hands may drip and you have to constantly wipe them with a towel.

According to the patient, because his hands are always wet, it causes many inconveniences such as not being able to hold a broom to sweep the house, being easily electrocuted when cooking rice, holding a pen to write is very slippery, and sweaty hands smudge the writing.

Sweaty hands also prevent M. from playing sports like badminton, table tennis...

MSc. Do Tat Thanh - Deputy Director of the Cardiovascular Center, Head of the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Thai Binh General Hospital - explained the treatment method: "Doctors use a single-port thoracic endoscopy method and use Holmium Laser energy to burn the sympathetic ganglion T3 (palm sweating) and T3-T4 (palm-armpit sweating)".

Doctor Thanh analyzed the advantages of this technique as being minimally invasive, surgery time is only 15-20 minutes, almost no complications during and after surgery, quick recovery, patients can be discharged within 24 hours, reasonable cost, high aesthetics.

Particularly effective in drying hands and armpits after surgery with a rate of 99.9%. Patients can feel a clear change when their palms become drier and warmer immediately after surgery.

The issue that patients are concerned about and worry about and that hinders their access to this method is the condition of compensatory sweating after surgery, which means that sweat will appear in more places than before surgery: face, back, chest, abdomen, thighs, and calves.

Compensatory sweating after sympathetic ganglion ablation is quite common. However, the degree of compensatory sweating is not the same, it can be mild, moderate or severe depending on many factors.

How much sweating should you see a doctor?

According to doctors at Viet Duc Hospital, sweating is the body's self-cooling mechanism. The autonomic nervous system activates sweat glands when body temperature increases. Sweating also often occurs, especially in the palms, when anxious. Depending on the cause, there are different types of hyperhidrosis.

Of the types of hyperhidrosis, the most common is primary hyperhidrosis. In this type, the nerves responsible for triggering sweat glands become overactive, even though the nerves are not activated by physical activity or increased temperature.

If there is a lot of stress, the body is stressed or agitated, the condition of hyperhidrosis becomes worse.

Primary hyperhidrosis usually causes increased sweating in the palms and soles (palmar-plantar hyperhidrosis) and sometimes on the face.

Excessive sweating of hands and feet can be a symptom of other very serious conditions, so don't be subjective - Illustration photo/ Source: Getty

The cause of primary hyperhidrosis is not fully understood. It may be partly genetic, as it is often seen in patients with a family history.

A less common type of hyperhidrosis is secondary hyperhidrosis. This is the increased sweating that results from another medical condition. Unlike primary hyperhidrosis, secondary cases often cause increased sweating all over the body.

Dr. Tran Quoc Hoai (Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City) explains: Excessive sweating can be a symptom of other very serious conditions.

Therefore, if you experience one of the following symptoms: Sweating accompanied by unintentional weight loss; Sweating mainly occurs during sleep; Sweating accompanied by fever, chest pain, chest tightness, shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat; Prolonged sweating of unknown cause, you should go to the doctor to find the cause and intervene promptly.

According to Dr. Hoai, to prevent hyperhidrosis, in addition to following the doctor's treatment regimen, patients can combine some home remedies to help reduce sweating:

- Wear loose, airy clothing, choose light, breathable fabrics such as cotton or silk.

- Bring a spare shirt if you exercise or move around in hot weather.

- To avoid excessive foot sweat and unpleasant odor, wear socks that absorb moisture well.

- Bathe 1-2 times a day with antibacterial soap. This helps control bacteria that normally live on sweaty skin.

- Use underarm pads and shoe insoles to help absorb sweat.

- Limit spicy foods as well as alcoholic and caffeinated beverages because they stimulate more sweating.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cu-lo-au-cang-thang-la-mo-hoi-tay-chay-thanh-giot-vi-sao-20240627200247226.htm