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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staff
Some of the tests your doctor may perform to investigate the causes of your symptoms include:
Medical history and physical exam
During your appointment, your doctor asks about your medical history and conducts a physical exam. If your symptoms are obvious, it may be relatively easy for your doctor to diagnose hyperhidrosis.
Lab tests
Your doctor may order blood or urine tests to determine if the excessive sweating is caused by another medical condition, such as an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) or low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
Thermoregulatory sweat test
Your doctor may also conduct a thermoregulatory sweat test. During this test, a moisture-sensitive indicator powder is applied to your skin. The powder changes color from yellow-green to dark purple in areas where excessive sweating occurs at room temperature. A digital photo documents this. Then, you are exposed to high heat and humidity in a sweat cabinet that causes sweating over the entire body.
People who have hyperhidrosis tend to sweat even more in the palms in a warm environment, whereas individuals who don't have hyperhidrosis tend not to sweat from the palms. The findings from the thermoregulatory sweat test help your doctor accurately make a diagnosis and define the severity of the condition to determine the most appropriate treatment.
- 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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