Generally, the causes of hyperhidrosis are divided into two categories. Most of them are primary, and only a few are secondary. The so-called primary hyperhidrosis of the hands means that there is no specific cause, just like some people are taller and some are shorter, and the amount of sweating varies from person to person. Patients with hyperhidrosis have a stronger sympathetic nervous system response than others. The sympathetic nervous system controls the secretion of our sweat glands and the contraction of blood vessels. Therefore, when we are nervous, or even in a relatively hot environment, we sweat much more than the average person. The underlying cause is also unknown.
Secondary hand sweating occurs after certain diseases, such as hyperthyroidism, menopausal syndrome, mental disorders, etc., and increased hand sweating may also occur during certain endocrine treatments. Primary dyshidrosis is more common than secondary dyshidrosis.
However, experts also said that hand hyperhidrosis was not considered a disease in the past, and many people often turned a blind eye to it. Nowadays, people's demands on life have begun to increase, and most people pay great attention to their manners and behavior in social situations. Therefore, more and more people are going to the hospital for treatment. After all, it would be troublesome to cause unnecessary misunderstandings to the other party who does not know what is going on.
Treatment must be targeted
Hyperhidrosis itself is caused by excessive hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system, and treatment methods must be targeted at the sympathetic nervous system. Traditional treatment methods include oral drug treatment and topical treatment. The former refers to the oral administration of some atropine drugs, which only have partial and short-term effects, but also bring systemic side effects such as dry mouth and other discomforts. The latter mainly refers to applying aluminum chloride solution. Although aluminum chloride solution has the effect of inhibiting sweating, it needs to be applied daily. It is effective in treating axillary sweat, but it is less effective in treating sweating on the palms and soles of the feet.
In recent years, these laborious and thankless methods have gradually been replaced by surgical treatments. Traditional surgical treatments include dorsal sympathectomy and transcutaneous sympathetic nerve cautery. The former is to make an incision of about ten centimeters in the upper back, then cut off a rib on both sides, and remove the second thoracic sympathetic nerve on the left and right sides - it sounds a bit scary. Indeed, this method has serious trauma and scars, and the operation time is very long, and the postoperative recovery is long, so it is now mostly not used.
The latter uses electrode cauterization to destroy the thoracic sympathetic ganglia. Although there is no obvious scar after the operation, it is not widely accepted as a mainstream surgery due to the high recurrence rate. Currently, only a handful of dedicated physicians who have a good success rate still use this method.
Video-assisted thoracoscopic thoracic sympathectomy is currently recognized as the most effective.
This method makes an incision of about 2cm in each armpit on both sides. Under the precise guidance of the thoracoscope, the TV monitoring system is used to accurately and quickly cut off the thoracic sympathetic nerves that cause hyperhidrosis. The surgical effect is immediate, the incision is small, the location is hidden, and recurrence is rare. However, any operation has varying degrees of risks and a certain proportion of complications. Possible complications of video-assisted thoracoscopic thoracic sympathectomy include: hemothorax caused by chest bleeding, or pneumothorax caused by rupture of lung membranes and alveoli, etc. , but the incidence of these complications is less than one percent.
Surgical therapy is relatively risky and requires high professional requirements for doctors, but it is also the most effective method. Experts believe that as long as you choose a regular hospital and a professional doctor to perform surgery, the risks can basically be avoided, so there is no need to worry too much. However, doctors also warn patients not to believe in the various so-called folk remedies, medicines, and acupuncture methods, as they cannot truly cure hand sweating syndrome. As for the advertisement published in some newspapers to cure excessive sweating and body odor, it is definitely a scam that takes advantage of human weakness.
It should be treated as early as possible
Experts said that there are currently no studies showing that hand hyperhidrosis will improve with age. Hand hyperhidrosis often persists, so early treatment is enough. Get out of trouble as soon as possible.
The best time to treat hyperhidrosis is during adolescence, when the symptoms are most obvious. The symptoms of excessive sweating on the palms can be relieved immediately after the operation, and the success rate of the operation is also very high.
After the age of 40, surgery often becomes difficult and the failure rate increases due to diseases such as pleural adhesions or lung lesions. Early is not necessarily better, and children who are not yet physically mature are not suitable for surgical treatment. Since the child's growth and development has not stopped, and there is not much pressure to go to school, sweaty hands should not cause trouble in life.
I am a student. Since I have always been in poor health, especially my palms are always sweaty. When shaking hands with others, I always have to wipe my sweaty hands nervously beforehand, which is really annoying. The family doctor said it was related to nervousness. Is there any report from Chinese medicine practitioners?
Answer: From the letter, it seems that it is an autonomic nervous system disorder. What the Western doctor said makes sense. I have very little experience in treating this condition. However, I can tell you that the "Chinese Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine" published a report by Dr. Kou in Volume 21, Issue 4 this year, which also introduced the situation of a student. The report said: The patient is a 19-year-old male and a student. I have suffered from sweaty hands for more than three years. When I was in college, I went to a local hospital for diagnosis and treatment. I took more than 100 Chinese medicines, but none of them worked. You need to wear rubber gloves when reading and writing, otherwise the books will be wet with sweat, and you will never dare to shake hands or arm-wrestle with your classmates, which will be very painful. Examination findings: hands sweating profusely, no obvious discomfort, tongue coating is thin and white, and pulse is slow. The patient has no other internal diseases and only sweats on his hands, so he still has a bad relationship between the camp and the guards. The original prescription of Guizhi Decoction is 12 grams each of Astragalus membranaceus and Codonopsis pilosula. Re-examination: The patient came in happy, his hands had stopped sweating, and he did not sweat even when he was wrestling with his classmates. Continue to take 6 doses of the above medicine to consolidate the curative effect, and there has been no recurrence for one year.
The Guizhi soup mentioned above is composed of five flavors: cassia twig, white peony root, licorice, ginger and jujube. Among them, cinnamon twig has muscle-relieving and nutritional functions; white peony root has the function of nourishing yin and replenishing blood, astringing yin and suppressing sweat. The two medicines complement each other, with ginger warming the stomach and cinnamon twigs to clear the yang, jujube and licorice replenishing the qi and regulating the central nervous system, and white peony to harmonize the yang. The five medicines complement each other when used together.
In particular, the addition of astragalus and dangshen, which are antiperspirant and skin-solidifying ingredients, makes sense. Some scholars also add dragon bone and oyster to this recipe, one or two of each, which also has the effect of astringing yin and stopping sweating. Let me introduce these for your doctor’s reference first! (The information comes from Baidu Zhidao netizens) In addition, if you have peeling hands, take some vitamin B12 (appropriate overdose), it will be difficult for you to take off your hands in the future!!