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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
The cause of hyperhidrosis stems from your body's temperature regulation system, specifically your sweat glands.
Your skin has two types of sweat glands:
- Eccrine glands occur over most of your body and open directly onto the surface of the skin.
- Apocrine glands develop in areas abundant in hair follicles, such as on your scalp, armpits and groin.
When your body temperature rises, your autonomic nervous system stimulates these glands to secrete fluid onto the surface of your skin, where it cools your body as it evaporates. This fluid (perspiration) is composed mainly of water and salt (sodium chloride) and contains trace amounts of other electrolytes — substances that help regulate the balance of fluids in your body — as well as substances such as urea.
There are two types of hyperhidrosis. The cause depends on the type.
Focal hyperhidrosis
Focal hyperhidrosis affects your palms, soles and sometimes underarms, usually while you're awake. Episodes often start before age 20. Sweating on your palms and soles is usually due to emotional stress, and it may be that focal hyperhidrosis occurs as an exaggerated response to emotional stimuli. But doctors don't consider it to be a psychological disorder. In fact, focal hyperhidrosis isn't usually associated with any underlying condition. It may have a genetic component, as it often runs in families.
Generalized hyperhidrosis
This type of hyperhidrosis affects large areas of the body. It can occur for no apparent reason but also may have an underlying cause, such as:
- Medication
- Menopause hot flashes
- Low blood sugar
- Overactive thyroid
- Leukemia
- Lymphoma
- Heart attack
- Infectious disease
Adjusting your medications or treating an underlying disease may help resolve generalized sweating.
- Hyperhidrosis. American Academy of Dermatology. http://www.aad.org/public/publications/pamphlets/common_hyperhidrosis.html. Accessed May 10, 2010.
- Smith CC. Idiopathic hyperhidrosis. http://www.uptodate.com. Accessed May 10, 2010.
- Hyperhidrosis. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec10/ch118/ch118c.html. Accessed May 10, 2010.
- Hyperhidrosis treatments: Antiperspirants. International Hyperhidrosis Society. http://www.sweathelp.org/English/PFF_Treatment_Antiperspirants.asp. Accessed May 10, 2010.
- Hyperhidrosis treatments: Iontophoresis. http://www.sweathelp.org/English/PFF_Treatment_Iontophoresis.asp. Accessed May 10, 2010.
- Eisenach JH, et al. Hyperhidrosis: Evolving therapies for a well-established phenomenon. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2005;805:657.
- Hyperhidrosis treatments: Everyday solutions. http://www.sweathelp.org/English/PFF_Treatment_Solutions.asp. Accessed May 10, 2010.
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