Conservative treatments can include:
Changing behaviour - wearing lighter clothes, perhaps drinking less (but only if over drinking), less rushing about, identifying when excess sweating occurs and if only at certain times - then identifying these and changing the causes.
Antiperspirants - These can range from simple talcum powders that soak up mild sweat, through some of the spray-on antiperspirants to the very strongest Aluminium solutions that dry out the skin.
Drug treatments - Some drugs can be helpful. Commonly a Beta blocker such as Propranolol can be used. This drug calms the heart down and reduces the effect of Adrenaline and Noradrenaline. Therefore the usual "Stress" response that starts sweating off is also clamed down.
Although I encourage patients to try this before going on to surgery, I have found it useful in only a very small number of people. One of the major reason for this is that by claming one down, the patient loses their "get up and go" and ends up not really enjoying life - it is always good to appear cool - but being unable to get excited about anything can really destroy a life.
Counselling/Hypnotherapy - If sweating comes on due to stressful situations, and then worsens when the patient worries about the sweating, a "vicious circle" start. By knowing you sweat, you become anxious - this causes more sweating which causes more anxiety - and so on. Counselling or hypnotherapy can be very useful for some people in overcoming these stresses - meaning that they can go into situations that would normally make them sweat - and control it themselves.
These conservative measures should be considered in all people with excesses of sweating before considering any surgical intervention. However, for those patients who cannot get relief from the above, other options are still available. |
