Dealing with excessive sweating
Some people have to deal with excessive sweating. Usually perspiration is perfectly normal. For example, people sweat because it is the body’s job to keep your body cool. We may sweat because we’re warm, exercising, or during times of stress.
However, in some cases, excessive sweating may be a side effect of medication you’re taking or caused by an actual medical condition. If you have excessive sweating (also known as hyperhidrosis), here are some underlying conditions that might be the cause.
Hormones
This tends to be more common for women as a cause of excessive sweating. Women tend to experience more hormonal changes than men. For example, during menopause, women experience fluctuations in hormones. They tend to have hot flushes where they might have excess sweating and flushed skin. Another example is pregnancy: during this time, weight gain and more blood flow can cause more sweating than normal in the body.
Serious medical conditions
Next, there are numerous medical conditions that can cause excessive sweating. For example, they can be symptoms of serious ailments such as diabetes, heart or lung conditions. Sometimes it could even indicate cancer. Other conditions include hyperthyroidism, Parkinson’s disease, tuberculosis, or even HIV/AIDS.
You might be sweating because of the lack of blood flow to certain parts of the body, or because something is not functioning properly in your body and your organs are working extra hard to help you. All these factors can contribute to more heat in the body and cause sweating. Since excessive sweating is a symptom associated with these diseases, it is best to consult a practitioner to determine the exact cause of your excessive sweating.
Alcoholism
If you sweat after drinking alcohol, it is a sign that you drank too much, you’re suffering through withdrawal, or that you have alcohol intolerance. The alcohol is being metabolised after you consume it, and your body produces enzymes to break it down. Consuming a lot of alcohol means that there might not be enough enzymes, which the alcohol then accumulates in the blood. After it accumulates, the blood vessels widen, become warm and then sweating is triggered.
Obesity
Excess weight is often a cause of excessive sweating. This is because all that weight makes the body work harder at what it already does normally. All that work your body does produces extra heat, therefore more perspiration. Fortunately, obesity can easily be cured. Consult your doctor to see if obesity is the cause, then you can work to eliminate it. For example, you can start a healthy regimen such as a better diet and an exercise routine that can help you lose the weight.
Medication
Some medications can cause excessive perspiration. There are different brands that cause it, but generally types of medication that can cause sweating include: blood pressure medications, medicine for dry mouth, antibiotics, supplements, and even psychiatric drugs.
If you are not sure that your excessive sweating is caused by medication, go ahead and consult your doctor. Take along all the medications you’ve been taking (including supplements) to check out if that’s what causing the problem. Your doctor can suggest alternatives to help combat the symptoms.
If you find that your excessive sweating is causing a damper on your current lifestyle, certainly consider going to a doctor to see what you can do to combat it. Apart from using antiperspirant, don’t try to treat this yourself, as you might make it worse. Your doctor will be able to tell you what exactly the underlying cause of your symptoms is, and help you to with lifestyle changes or recommend any medical treatments if necessary.