Hyperhidrosis is a common skin condition that causes excessive sweating. Hyperhydrosis arises when sweat gland stimulating nerves become overactive. Here are some of the types and triggers of hyperhidrosis.

Types of Hyperhidrosis

There are mainly two types of Hyperhidrosis – Primary Hyperhidrosis and Secondary Hyperhidrosis.

• Primary Hyperhidrosis

Primary Hyperhidrosis is a condition where a person experiences excessive sweating without any cause. There is mostly no underlying medical condition that can be attributed to primary hyperhidrosis. The causes of primary hyperhidrosis are unknown, but many studies show that it may be heredity. It mostly begins either in childhood or after puberty.

It is also known as primary focal hyperhidrosis as focal areas of the body such as feet, hands, underarms, head, and face are affected. Most people with primary hyperhidrosis may have excessive bouts of sweating at least once a week but not sweat while sleeping.

• Secondary Hyperhidrosis

Secondary hyperhidrosis occurs because of an underlying medical condition such as infections, diabetes, heart disease, and hormonal imbalances. It could also be caused because an individual had a side effect to certain medications. Secondary hyperhidrosis is more common in adults than it is in children or adolescents.

Secondary hyperhidrosis affects generalized areas, and an individual may also observe heavy sweating while sleeping. As far as treatment is concerned, a doctor would first find the underlying condition that caused the hyperhidrosis and inquire about all the symptoms that one experiences to get to the root of the problem.

Triggers of hyperhidrosis

• Spicy Food

Spicy food items such as peppers have capsaicin, making your body feel warmer. To cool, your body begins to sweat.

• Warm weather

Excessive warm weather can make your body perspire a lot for the same reason that it moistens your body’s surface and cools down as sweat evaporates.

• High emotions

Experiencing extreme emotions lead to primary focal hyperhidrosis in hands, axillae, face, and feet and is also known as emotional sweating. The same also occurs in the case of secondary hyperhidrosis because of the dysfunction of the peripheral or central nervous system.

• Underlying medical conditions

Underlying medical conditions such as menopause, heart failure, rheumatoid arthritis, nerve injury, tuberculosis, gout, pregnancy, obesity, lymphoma, and Parkinson’s disease can cause secondary hyperhidrosis.

If you perspire a lot after intense activities, it might not be something to worry about, as that’s normal. But, if you perspire for no evident reason or have an underlying medical condition and have gone through the following types and triggers of hyperhidrosis, you should consult a doctor.