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Bodyshop: The sweaty truth

A little sweat can be a very good thing: You wouldn’t want to ride your bike, run a marathon or even go on a patrol on a hot summer’s day without it.

Sweat helps keep you cool and healthy. But too much sweat at the wrong time? Not cool.

“There are people who put on a clean shirt and sit down in an air-conditioned room and within half an hour have a dinner-plate-size wet spot on each side of their shirt,” says David Pariser, a Norfolk, Va., dermatologist.

Pariser, who is president of the American Academy of Dermatology, says sweaty hands can be especially vexing: He has met lawyers who ruin documents with their wet hands, and one police officer whose hands were so sweaty he could not fire a gun. A simple handshake can be mortifying for such folks, he says.

“I think I was even dumped once because of it,” says Therese Hernando, 26, a Lake Forest, Calif., office worker. “A boyfriend said my hands were too sweaty.”

The medical name for extreme sweating is hyperhidrosis. It can affect the underarms, hands, feet and face. Nearly 3 percent of Americans say they sweat too much, according to a study published in 2004 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. One-third of those with heavy underarm sweating said it was “barely tolerable” or “intolerable” and interfered with daily life.

Heavy sweating is bad enough when you’re just trying to live life. But when you’re in the business of protecting life, hands that sweat so bad you can’t hold a rifle mean trouble.

Indeed, heavy sweating can bar potential recruits from military service and get you kicked out if it develops after you’re in.

“In an active-duty population charged with handling weapons and heavy equipment, this syndrome becomes a danger rather than simply an inconvenience,” reads an overview of hyperhidrosis treatments published in the Journal of Military Medicine.

After all, it’s hard to shoot a weapon if you can’t see your target through blurred eyes.

That’s exactly what happened to one Marine, according to the report.

“This patient worked as a Marine sniper and was having increasing difficulty handling weapons, because he needed to wipe his hands every few minutes during training exercises,” according to the report.

The report noted that while one mode of surgical treatment — involving an incision into the chest — enjoys a near 100 percent success rate, it involves long periods of recovery.

However, doctors at Naval Medical Center San Diego found that a less-invasive procedure — called bilateral thoracoscopic sympathectomy — yielded similar results with the Marine and two sailors, and had them all back at work within six weeks.

“The procedure is especially well suited for the active-duty population whose job performance and safety can be greatly affected by this disorder,” the report says. “Those treated can expect relief of their complaints and return to full duty in a timely manner.”

People with hyperhidrosis are at increased risk for skin infections, ranging from warts to athlete’s foot to invasive bacteria, says Hobart Walling, a Coralville, Iowa, dermatologist. He reported his findings in May in the dermatology journal.

Doctors say they can help. In addition to surgery, treatments include:

• Antiperspirants. Prescription and over-the-counter “clinical strength” brands help at least one-third of people with heavy underarm sweating, Walling says. Key tip: Apply it at bedtime, even if you plan to shower in the morning.

• Iontophoresis. In this unlikely sounding treatment, patients put their hands or feet in shallow trays of water with a device that emits a mild electrical current. It’s thought that the electricity and minerals in the water work together to slightly thicken the skin, blocking the flow of sweat. The downside: Each home treatment takes 20 to 40 minutes and must be done several times a week, Pariser says.

• Botox injections. In 2004, the Food and Drug Administration approved Botox for excessive underarm sweating. The toxins affect the nerves that trigger sweating and work for four to eight months at a time, Pariser says. Doctors also use Botox for hands and other areas. But costs are high — typically $700 to $1,500 for both underarms and more for hands, Pariser says — and while insurers often pay, not all doctors accept insurance for the treatments. Hand injections also can cause temporary muscle weakness in thumbs and fingers.

Doctors put excess sweating in two categories: the kind caused by an underlying medical condition, such as diabetes or cancer, and the kind that stands alone. You probably have the second kind if:

• Excess sweating started in childhood or teen years.

• It’s confined to specific areas, usually underarms, hands, feet or face (alone or in combination).

• You don’t sweat while sleeping.

• It runs in your family.

If you think you might have the first kind, make an appointment with medical and get checked out.

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Jon Anderson contributed to this story.