There is no exact cure for severe foot perspiration. Although it has been observed that many of the patients, roughly around fifty percent, who undergo surgery show favorable progress after the procedure. Several surgeons maintain a higher rate of success than what we’ve observed.

When foot perspiration is experienced, a person can utilize antiperspirants, iontophoresis, and observe good foot hygiene for treatment. Good foot hygiene includes changing footwear regularly and using shoe, socks and stocking materials that allow your feet to breathe. These practices can help alleviate some of the symptoms associated with hyperhidrosis.

Lumbar smypathectomy treatment is not usually considered as a surgical option to cure sweaty feet. Severe feet sweating is only experienced by less than five percent of patients who have hyperhidrosis disorder.

The greater part of the patients with sweaty feet disorder will most likely also have extreme hand perspiration. It is very encouraging when successful surgery for palmar hyperhidrosis is attained because this means that the same procedure can be done to successfully cure any other similar disorder that is being experienced.

Botox treatment can also produce promising results. However, the number of times needed to inject botox on the feet is high. This particular procedure is quite painful. It is more painful to be injected on the feet than on the hands. The treatment only lasts 6 to 12 months. Treatment with an effectual antiperspirant and an Iontophoresis machine does produce reliable results. These procedures give little inconvenience and seem to handle the problem for most hyperhidrosis sufferers.

Hyperhidrosis of the feet is a common disorder. This can be cured with Iontophoresis. Botulinum Toxin treatment is not allowed in the United States as a cure for hyperhidrosis of the feet. Surgery is also not generally recommended for this condition.

As a rule for those suffering from hyperhidrosis of the feet, cotton socks should be worn when needed and the feet should left uncovered as frequently as possible. Synthetic shoes and man made fibers tend to aggravate the problem of sweaty feet.

Severe feet perspiration or medically known as plantar hyperhidrosis is also a part of the severe sweating disorder. This particular hyperhidrosis disorder does not have the same social impact on the patient as sever hand perspiration. However it can be as bothersome. There is no particular cure for severe foot perspiration but around fifty percent of the patients who undergo sympathectomy show very encouraging results.

When foot perspiration is experienced one can use lotions or iontophoresis in order to ease some of the symptoms. The recent advances in medicine now offer lumbar sympathectomy as a surgical solution for those experiencing cases of severe plantar hyperhidrosis or plantar foot sweating. Modern proof from several centers in the world shows that this procedure is very efficient in curing severe foot perspiration. This particular surgical procedure can be done independently from Thoracic Sympathectomy. However this procedure requires a longer hospital stay of about one to two days.

Relief from plantar hyperhidrosis following the T3 sympathectomy procedure is very fast.  The results are also very satisfying for the patient. The decline in palmar perspiration is the same as with the T2 method. However it has been observed that the general approval rating of patients with severe palmar hyperhidrosis that undertake Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy or ETS is greater.

Surgical treatment for Hyperhidrosis disorders should always be considered only as a last resort. Although surgery outcomes are encouraging, there have been one too many unhappy endings out there to make for comfortable reading.

A favorable outcome depends on many factors. Factors such as the patient’s condition, the patient’s individual expectations after surgery, the skill of the surgeon, and the knowledge and communication efficiency between the patient and the physician are critical.

Up to now it is essential that anybody who is considering Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy or ETS surgery gather as much understanding about the process as possible.  The necessities and adverse effects of the surgery should be weighed properly and accordingly.  Potential patients should gain sufficient and specific information about their condition before deciding to put themselves under the knife. They must also take as much impartial advice as possible. Opinions by specialists and people who have undergone the surgery can prove to be invaluable. Discussion forums are very useful and helpful in shaping a good understanding of the disorder and its many treatments. Finally, the most important choice regards the surgeon who will perform the surgical procedure. The selection must be based on the surgeon’s experience and the favorable feedback by his or her patients.

In the past decades, operations to perform a sympathectomy have historically been performed in many different ways. One of the old methods is performed through the back, with resectioning of a piece of rib on both sides of the spine. Another procedure is made by using a chest incision or thoracotomy where the chest is opened up. A third procedure involves making an incision in the patient’s neck.

Recent advancements in sympathectomy is done via video-assisted or thoracoscopy procedure. This process has also been known as ETS or VATS surgery. Basically it is the same surgery or procedure. However, the surgeon may utilize different procedures. The thoracoscopic method gives the surgeon an easier access to the sympathetic chain. This procedure also gives the patient less pain and discomfort, and it also offers a faster recovery time. Since this surgery is an outpatient procedure, younger patients can now undertake this particular surgical method. The youngest patient that we have performed this surgery on was only 9 years old. The surgery was a success and there were no untoward reactions.

What used to entail a hospital stay of a number of days can today be accomplished on an outpatient basis. Most individuals who undergo the procedure can go home in just a few hours after the surgery. However, if you are coming in from out of state it is wise to plan ahead and set aside at least four days. This method is a thoracic surgical procedure.  As such, the surgeon would have to make sure that the patient is healing properly before allowing him or her to travel on an airplane. Abrupt changes in cabin pressure may have a negative effect on patients who undergo this surgery.

Surgical methods for hyperhidrosis have gotten much better in recent years.  The permanent cutting of nerves can now be replaced with clamping techniques. Clamping techniques may be reversible should the CS prove to be too serious. Some surgeons have developed a system that still involves sectioning or removing the relative nerves and ganglia causing hyperhidrosis. Surgeons who carry out this particular method claim a one hundred percent success rate surgically. They also claim to have much smaller rates of side effects as compared to surgeons who to use other methods. It is however very necessary that patients always make their own careful inquiries before agreeing to undergo any medical procedure.

Sweating is the body’s natural response to an intense situation. The nervous system immediately senses any stressors in the body’s immediate environment and signals the sweat glands to produce sweat. This helps the body, which naturally heats up during stressful moments, regulate its own temperature. This is most obvious when we are subjected to climates warmer than our own, when exercising, or when we feel nervous, angry, embarrassed, or afraid.

While sweating is perfectly normal, excessive sweating may be a sign of an underlying medical condition. Excessive sweating is normally defined as the state when the body produces more sweat than is needed to regulate the body temperature. Excessive sweating is also known by its medical term, hyperhidrosis.

Hyperhidrosis is a medical disorder characterized by excessive sweating at any part of the body. It is a medical condition that causes the sufferer to experience unpredictable and excessive sweating, even at cool and comfortable temperatures, or when they are at rest. Cases of hyperhidrosis usually affect specific parts of the body, such as hands, armpits and feet. Excessive sweating in the hands is called palmar hyperhidrosis; in the armpits, it’s called axillary hyperhidrosis; and in the feet, it’s called plantar hyperhidrosis. The sympathetic nervous system controls much of the sweating process, and any problem affecting it may affect the body’s perspiration system.

Hyperhidrosis can be primary or secondary. Primary hypehidrosis usually starts during or even before the individual’s adolescent stage. In primary hyperhidrosis, the affected part of the body may be the hands, feet, or armpits. Primary hyperhidrosis is also known as focal hyperhidrosis and can run in families. Often, sufferers ignore the symptoms of primary hyperhidrosis – according to studies, primary hyperhidrosis affects 2-3% of the population, and not even 40% of these sufferers seek medical advice regarding this disorder.

Secondary hyperhidrosis, on the other hand, may come unexpectedly. It can affect anybody at any age. This type of hyperhidrosis is the result of an underlying condition, such as a disorder of the thyroid or pituitary gland, diabetes mellitus, tumors, gout, menopause, certain drugs, or mercury poisoning. The symptoms of secondary hyperhidrosis may be more serious than primary hyperhidrosis.

Regardless of the type and reason for onset, hyperhidrosis poses a serious physical and psychological problem for the sufferer. The discomfort and embarrassment the condition brings may affect the individual emotionally, and may cause him/her to delay or even forego treatment. It’s important to set aside fears and see a dermatologist immediately once your levels of perspiration causes you to worry. Identified early, hyperhidrosis may necessitate only mild forms of treatment and be prevented from escalating any further.

Compensatory hyperhidrosis usually occur after a surgical operation for axillary and palmar hyperhidrosis (sympathectomy). It’s the most common and notable side effect of sympathectomy. Other side-effects include gustatory sweating (sweating when eating), and neuralgic pain, but these are relatively rare.

Excessive sweating occurs in untreated body areas, usually in the upper or lower back and trunk, to compensate for reduced sweating in the treated areas (armpit and hands). The brain is responsible for shifting sweat production to a different body location to get rid of the perceived excess body heat. It’s actually a reflex response of the brain when it senses that it’s not cooling the body enough. The brain sends signals to the body to sweat more through the existing and undamaged sweat channels.

The symptoms of compensatory hyperhidrosis, such as profuse sweating and feeling of hotness (or sometimes coldness), may happen at irregular intervals or be constant throughout the day. Excessive sweating may occur in the lower and upper back, lower chest, abdomen, buttocks, groin and backs of the thighs. Patients who experience compensatory hyperhidrosis sweat profusely with the slightest thermal increase and physical activity.

Patients who have undergone sympathectomy for hyperhidrosis may develop compensatory hyperhidrosis soon after the operation, or later for some. On the average, sweating symptoms will remain stable six months after, but may continue to occur long after the operation.

It’s impossible to accurately predict who will and won’t develop severe compensatory hyperhidrosis after surgery. Likewise, it’s impossible to know in advance how intense the symptoms will manifest in certain patients. What’s certain is that almost all patients who undergo any form of sympathectomy experience some degree of compensatory hyperhidrosis. Its severity, however, will depend upon the levels of the interrupted sympathetic chain.

Research shows that a significant reduction in compensatory hyperhidrosis symptoms can be done by dividing the sympathetic chain at a single level (T2 sympathectomy). For older patients that have increased body mass index (BMI), it may be recommended that they undergo a temporary sympathetic block prior to permanent sympathectomy. This should help determine if compensatory hyperhidrosis would be a significant side effect for them after the operation.

Degree of tolerance for compensatory hyperhidrosis as a side effect of sympathectomy varies. Some patients may regret the surgical procedure because of the severity of the symptoms of compensatory hyperhidrosis, but this is relatively rare. Still, a majority of patients who have undergone this procedure can very well tolerate mild to moderate compensatory hyperhidrosis symptoms, which, for them, is an insignificant price to pay compared to a lifetime of trouble and discomfort from profuse underarm or hand sweating.

Since sympathectomy is a surgical procedure that’s irreversible, it’s still important that the patient be made aware of its side effects. Although most patients report that it’s an acceptable trade-off for getting rid of axillary and palmar hyperhidrosis, compensatory hyperhidrosis is something real and could be permanent, with no known cure. An informed choice is still the best privilege any patient could possibly have.

Sweating is a natural body function to cool the body, but uncontrolled sweating, as in the case of palmar hyperhidrosis, may hamper work-related activities (typing, writing, handling papers, grasping objects, etc.). Ordinary and easy tasks like putting on make-up, buttoning a shirt, and cutting fingernails become extremely difficult. What’s worse is that initiating social contact and maintaining relationships become very uncomfortable as well.

In most cases, hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating has no known cause. While symptoms usually occur after puberty and continue through one’s entire life, it may have started since childhood for some. And in such cases, the condition may have a hereditary cause. Other contributory factors to this condition are emotional distress, anxiety, nervousness, or stress. Surprisingly, for some people, using a harmless skin product such as a skin lotion can also aggravate hand sweating.

Physical activity or a heightened emotional state stimulates the sympathetic nerve system, and adrenaline is sent into the blood system. The adrenaline signals the increase of heart rate and blood pressure, and sweat glands produce sweat to regulate the body’s temperature as a result. This is normal.

But for about 0.1% to 0.2% of the population, these physiological body processes are exaggerated which makes them sweat excessively (regardless of the room temperature), sometimes at unlikely times (even when sleeping!). A hypersympathetic activity of the body best explains excessive sweating for no apparent cause.

Those who suffer from severe palmar hyperhidrosis have cold, wet hands that drip with sweat, which are often causes of embarrassment. They are conscious of their condition and try to hide it from others, either by wiping or hiding their hands behind their pockets. They usually dread handshakes or hand contact. In the long run, all these frustrations build up, and could even lead to social withdrawal.

A treatment option available for those who suffer from excessive hand sweating or palmar hyperhidrosis is thoroscopic sympathectomy. It’s actually a surgical procedure, which involves cutting of a nerve found in the chest. It’s also a treatment for reflect sympathetic dystrophy and hand vascular diseases. However, many are apprehensive with sympathectomy as a viable solution to their condition because of fear of compensatory hyperhidrosis (CH).

Compensatory hyperhidrosis, which occurs after surgery, is a condition where other (non-treated) body parts (e.g. back and trunk) sweat excessively to compensate for the reduced sweating in the treated body part (e.g. palms or armpit). Although there may be reported incidents of CH from patients who have undergone sympathectomy for palmar hyperhidrosis, much has yet to be explored by medical researchers to substantiate the occurrence.

Those who suffer from palmar hyperhidrosis in addition to other medical conditions like hyperthyroidism, menopause or obesity, sympathectomy treatment is not advised. Similarly, individuals suffering from tuberculosis may not be allowed to undergo this treatment.

It also can interfere with everyday activities such as writing, driving, taking tests, making presentations or even holding or grasping objects. The severity of the condition varies from person to person, but in most cases the sweating proves problematic both socially and professionally. The prevalence of hyperhidrosis is not well-documented, but it is estimated to affect up to one percent of the U.S. population.
The most common non-surgical treatments for this condition include:
Topical anti-perspirants, such as aluminum chloride. Drysol, a topical lotion applied two to four times a day, is usually the first medication tried. It is often very effective for those patients with the mildest symptoms, but it can cause chapping and cracking of the skin.

Oral medicines: Anticholinergic medicines (such as Robinul) are used to block certain receivers on nerve receptors at involuntary nerve sites. In people with hyperhidrosis, this leads to decreased sweating. Some psychotropic drugs (drugs that affect mental function), like amitriptyline, have also been prescribed for hyperhidrosis.
Iontophoresis (Drionics): This involves applying low-intensity electrical current to the hands or feet while they are immersed in an electrolyte solution. When used daily, it can decrease the problem or even solve it temporarily. However, the procedure is time consuming and can be mildly to moderately painful.

Botox: This substance, a derivative of the deadly botulism toxin, is injected into the affected area. The success rate is only fair for axillary hyperhidrosis and even less so for palmar symptoms. Although it can sometimes work, its effectiveness wears off after 3 to 4 months. Therefore, the person has to undergo periodic and potentially painful injections.

While these treatments can help many people with hyperhidrosis, they do not work for everyone and their effectiveness can even decrease over time. Moreover, they often don’t provide a permanent solution to the problem. Consequently, many people with hyperhidrosis are now considering the minimally invasive surgical treatment known as thoracoscopic sympathectomy, sometimes called endoscopic transthoracic sympathectomy (ETS).