Understanding Palm Sweat and Advancements in its Treatment

The human body is a complex system with intricate physiological functions that maintain balance and ensure survival. Sweating, a normal response to rising body temperature or emotional stress, can sometimes be excessive. This condition is known as hyperhidrosis. Let’s focus on one area that this condition significantly affects, the palms, or what is commonly referred to as ‘palm sweat‘. Palm sweat is more than just a physiological response, it holds a profound social awkwardness connected to it due to damp handshakes and difficulty to handle dry objects.

Our palms contain a high density of eccrine sweat glands, responsible for the watery sweat that the body secretes in response to heat or stress. In cases of hyperhidrosis, these sweat glands are overactive, leading to excessive palm sweat. This can have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life, affecting everything from social interactions to daily activities. It can also result in emotional distress and social withdrawal. However, the good news is that with technology and medical strides, there is a new treatment for excessive sweating.

Before diving into the new treatment, it’s important to highlight why some people may experience excessive sweating. There are two types of hyperhidrosis: primary focal and secondary generalized. Primary focal hyperhidrosis is not associated with any other medical conditions and occurs in specific areas like the palms or feet. Secondary generalized hyperhidrosis is associated with other underlying medical conditions or is a side-effect of medications.

The common methodologies for diagnosing hyperhidrosis involve a medical history check, physical examination, and sweat tests like the thermoregulatory sweat test (TST) or the Minor’s iodine-starch test. The severity of sweating can be rated using the Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale (HDSS). Once the condition is diagnosed, then the treatment plan is charted.

Most common treatments include antiperspirants containing aluminum salts, iontophoresis (use of electrotherapy to block sweat glands), Botox injections into the palms, and even surgeries to cut off nerves that stimulate excessive sweating. Invasive surgeries are recommended only when the conditions cannot be managed by any other treatments. But now, we have a simplified more noninvasive new treatment for excessive sweating.

This new treatment is known as Qbrexza, a cloth applicator with glycopyrronium tosylate that patients can apply daily. It works by inhibiting the activation of sweat glands and thus providing relief from hyperhidrosis. FDA approved this treatment back in 2018 for primary axillary hyperhidrosis (underarm sweating) and clinical trials have shown promising results for its efficacy with palm sweat treatment.

Despite the worries and inconveniences associated with palm sweat, these new treatments offer hope to those affected. Living with hyperhidrosis need not mean compromise, but rather, it becomes a condition that can be managed efficiently. It’s important for those affected to seek professional medical advice in order to determine which treatments would work best for them. By doing so, they can gain back control of their personal and social lives, and sweat no more about palm sweat.