Why are my feet sweating but are cold? Well, do your feet feel sloppy and soggy all the time? Does sweat ruin your favorite shoes making you afraid of wearing sandals to avoid slipping out of them? That’s a bad feeling, especially when you leave damp footprints when walking barefoot, or when your feet are ever cold since you are always wet.
Well, if your answers from the above questions is a ‘YES,’ then you are at the right place since this blog seeks to tell you more about sweaty yet cold feet and hands.
Read on for more!
Why are my hands and feet always cold and sweaty?
Well, while it’s normal to have sweaty hands when nervous or sweat from head to toe after a tough activity, sweating should not be so extreme. If you find that your hands or feet are practically drenched that you avoid shaking hands in fear of wetting others or you fear wearing leather shoes in fear of slippage, then most probably you have a condition known as Hyperhidrosis.
Don’t get us wrong! Sweating is healthy since it’s a way of cooling your body and a way to excrete waste products from the body. However, if you notice that you sweat so much, then everything is not right with your body.
What is hyperhidrosis?
It is excessive sweating that usually happens in the hands, feet, and armpit. The condition occurs in about six percent of the Asian population. The extreme sweating is typically irregular, but sometimes it is continuous and increases with higher temperature and stress.
You can define Hyperhidrosis as the overaction of the sympathetic nervous system that leads to narrowing of the arteries as well as sweat glands stimulation. As a result, the condition limits blood flow to the hands and feet, making them cold and damp.
What causes hyperhidrosis?
self.com
While the real cause is still unknown, obesity and increased thyroid function are responsible for the condition in most patients’ cases.
What is the difference between regular sweaty feet or hands and Hyperhidrosis
Factors such as exercise and heat may lead to regular sweating. On the other hands, sweating that comes with Hyperhidrosis happens without any triggers, according to Mayo Clinic.
There are two types of this condition, primary and secondary. Primary Hyperhidrosis is where the sweating may come as a result of another condition, such as a health condition or a particular medication. The following are symptoms of primary Hyperhidrosis:
- You sweat in some areas like armpits, hands, or feet;
- Sweating on both sides of your body;
- You do not sweat a lot when sleeping;
- When you experience the sweating in childhood or during teenage years;
- You experience the sweating for at least once a week;
Plentiful sweating can also be secondary hyperhidrosis and is usually caused by medical conditions such as diabetes or menopause. It can even come as a side effect from a particular medication. Here are the symptoms of secondary one:
-You sweat all over your body;
-You even sweat so much when sleeping;
-When you experience the level of sweating during adulthood;
How is hyperhidrosis treated?
hyperhidrosisnetwork.com
Well, having the condition does not live that you must live with it. The good news is that the condition is treatable all you need is to visit a doctor and get your life back to normal. There are both surgical and non-surgical methods of treating the condition.
Non-surgical treatments
- Drysol
Being the brand name for aluminum chloride hexahydrate, the medication is commonly prescribed to patients with hyperhidrosis. Generally, doctors repeat the treatment every night until the condition is under control. You may see positive results after about two treatments.
After that, you may apply Drysol once or twice a week, or as per doctor’s prescriptions. - Botox
Doctors usually use Botox injections for hands and armpits. The treatment may need several Botox injections in a single session. The treatment is effective in when it comes to reducing the sweat. Its effect lasts for three to six months. - Iontophoresis
The treatment involves putting your hands or feet in water containing low voltage DC electrical currents. - Psychotherapy
Doctors have tried this medication, but it plays a little role when it comes to treating hyperhidrosis, since sweating increases with anxiety and tension. Even though these symptoms may cause sweating, they do not necessarily point to hyperhidrosis. - Drying medicines
Sometimes, doctors can recommend some pills whose function is to dry up the sweating. However, the negative side of these drugs is that they can lead to dry mouth and eyes.Surgical optionsWhen it comes to Hyperhidrosis, surgery has been there for over seventy years.
Surgeons do the surgery with plainly invasive surgery on an outpatient basis. We have several surgical options including cutting the affected nerve, removing the nerve, and clipping the nerve.
Almost every patient has a real improvement in sweaty hands after the surgery. However, improvement when it comes to foot sweating is less predictable and consistent, but with time it improves.
Bottom-line
You do not have to deal with hyperhidrosis. The condition is very annoying, and so you need to see a doctor to decide the line of treatment that works for you. All the best as you say goodbye to sweaty hands and feet!
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