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Children and Teens with Hyperhidrosis May Suffer the Most
A 7-year-old is afraid to play soccer because his sweaty feet will slip around in his cleats.
A 16-year-old high school sophomore, fearing he will sweat all over his dance partner, has never been to prom.
A 14-year-old girl writes to tell us that she never wears anything but layers of black clothes to hide her sweat. She tries to tell her mother about the extent of her suffering, but her mother tells her "It's just hormones."
"I suffer from really sweaty hands, underarms, and feet," writes 14-year-old Jennifer. "I have been to see my doctor, and he prescribed [a prescription antiperspirant] but this hasn't worked. He said that there is nothing else that can be done. My mom keeps telling me that it's natural to sweat and that it's only my hormones! It's not my hormones. It's stained clothes, wet paper and me having to wear (layers of) dark colors all the time to hide sweat patches! This isn't due to exercise or living in a hot place, and I'm not overweight at all! Please help!"
The very real symptoms suffered by someone with hyperhidrosis (9 million people in the United States alone) are the same, no matter their age. What makes hyperhidrosis particularly difficult for young people is that they are at a vulnerable and dependent stage in their lives. Embarrassed by anything that makes them different, they are afraid to tell anybody that they think they sweat too much. And when they do open up to their parents or even their doctors, these adults may unwittingly dismiss their concerns.
Hyperhidrosis is, in fact, a true medical condition. While it can be made worse by exercise, stress, or heat, it is not caused by any of these factors. Nobody knows why some people sweat four to five times more than others on their hands or feet, in their underarms or groin, under their breasts, or on their head or face. What experts do know is that hyperhidrosis is often hereditary, meaning it is passed down from grandparents to parents to children. It is not life threatening. It won't kill you. But it can be debilitating, making even adults want to stay home and hide. And it often starts in childhood or adolescence.
"We hear stories every day about how holding hands, chalk, baseballs, crayons, musical instruments, you name it, is nearly impossible," says IHHS Executive Director Lisa Pieretti. "School papers get soaked and ruined. Children's hands slip out of their mother's grasp. Kids can't play on the monkey bars on the playground. Puddles are left on the floor from sweaty feet during gymnastics or dance. The letters and e-mails we see are heartbreaking, as humiliation is a daily occurrence, as children retreat into themselves and try to be invisible."
Even if and when a young person does muster up the courage to tell a parent, and even if that parent ends up taking the child to a physician, many doctors, like Jennifer's, are not trained to deal with hyperhidrosis. And so the patient ends up getting treatments that don't work. Or they get no treatment at all.
"We are not pointing fingers at parents or even at doctors," says Pieretti. "Public awareness on this issue has a long way to go. Still, regardless of who is and is not to blame, this leaves the child or the teenager feeling alone — without an advocate and without hope."
There is Hope
But in fact there is hope.
More and more doctors are educating themselves about the diagnosis, treatment, and management of hyperhidrosis as the IHHS hosts annual Continuing Medical Education training sessions throughout the country and the world, including one in Paris this September at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology conference (EADV). (To find a doctor trained in hyperhidrosis treatment based on your zip code, go to our Physician Finder service. A gold star next to the physician's name means he or she has attended our sessions and is up to date on the latest hyperhidrosis treatments.)
More and more treatment options are being developed all the time. For instance, there's now a highly effective over-the-counter antiperspirant, called Secret Clinical Strength, that you can buy right in your drug store. There's also Botox injections, which temporarily interrupt the action of sweat glands, and a treatment called iontophoresis that imperceptibly thickens skin in hands and feet to keep the sweat from coming to the surface of the body.
Finally, there's the IHHS itself, an organization created in 2003 for the sole purpose of helping hyperhidrosis patients, with a particular emphasis on children and teens.
"We support hyperhidrosis patients by supporting research and training doctors," says Pieretti. "We advocate for patients and look for new consumer products that will help patients feel better in their daily lives. We offer our award-winning Web site, which is chock full of information, including one whole section devoted to teens and a brochure called Teen Sweat 101."
The IHHS is also seeking a funding partner to help create a public awareness campaign, specifically directed at helping doctors, parents, and the general population understand the effects of hyperhidrosis on teens and children.
"We want young people, and the people who advocate for them, to know we care and we are not going to stop caring."
What to Do
If you are a child or a teenager suffering with excessive sweating, or you are someone intent on helping that young person, we suggest the following first steps:
1. If you haven't already done so, subscribe to our free newsletter, Sweat Solutions. This newsletter, which goes out via e-mail several times a year, is full of up-to-the-minute news on the latest research, tips, personal life stories and treatment opportunities related to hyperhidrosis.
2. Gather a support team to include a physician, who, as mentioned above, can be found through our Physician Finder service. Make sure your support team includes family members and close friends who are willing to listen to you talk about the effects of this condition.
3. Start keeping a daily journal, or ask your child to keep one, of when excessive sweating occurs and what it's volume is like, how it feels emotionally and physically, and how it affects daily living. Take notes on treatments or antiperspirants that have been tried, and their effectiveness, so you can tell your doctor and so you can be aware of where you stand.
4. Acquaint yourself with the above-mentioned treatment options and plan to ask your doctor about each of them when you see him or her. Make an appointment with a physician you've found using our Physician Finder service. And keep it. Before you go, read our tips on preparing for the doctor appointment, including making sure you bring your diary and your insurance information with you. Check our section on insurance, which includes downloadable forms that can help sufferers work with their physicians and health insurance plans to get the correct coverage for necessary treatments. A special note: If you are seeking reimbursement for treatment with Botox specifically, you may find help through Allergan's Botox Reimbursement Hotline. Call toll-free 1-800-530-6689 in the United States, send a fax to 877-530-6680, or send an e-mail to Botox.Reimbursement@covance.com. You can also watch for clinical trials, related to hyperhidrosis and Botox. Such medical trials, where patients are treated free with certain drugs under certain conditions to see how they work, are important as they help further our understanding of hyperhidrosis treatment, while potentially providing free help for participants.
5. In addition to seeing a doctor, you can help yourself or your loved one by acquainting yourself with the many ways sweat can be managed. Check out our Deals and Discounts, where you will find discounted products like Summer Soles inserts for your shoes. Stay tuned for our upcoming "Sweat Testers" consumer product review panel, whereby readers will receive free consumer products to review for our newsletter and Web site. If you suffer from excessive sweating, and you're interested in being part of this panel, please e-mail us at support@SweatHelp.org. We need young people on this panel! Also, familiarize yourself with everyday solutions. Tips that include drinking lots of water during the summer to keep the internal air conditioning system working; wearing loose, natural fabrics (NOT heavy, dark clothes!) to wick away moisture from the skin; staying out of direct sunlight, especially in the summer (sorry, tanning lovers!); using a soft-solid antiperspirant twice a day, such as the aforementioned Secret Clinical Strength; and choosing lightweight, breathable shoes if you have plantar hyperhidrosis, also absorbent foot powders and shoe inserts such as Summer Soles (that prom-goers can place in those strappy sandals!)
6. Check out the rest of our Web site to feel more and more comfortable about what's going on in your body. Pay particular attention to our Teen section, which includes a column called "Ask Frances," written by a real teen who has hyperhidrosis, too. Also check out our Teen Sweat 101 Online, where you can find out how to order a free copy of our award-winning workbook. Both Teen Sweat 101 Online and the 50-page, full-color workbook provide useful information on how to tackle hyperhidrosis as well as thought-provoking, engaging exercises that can help teens gauge and discuss how sweating impacts their lives.
7. If you are an adult who has been suffering from hyperhidrosis since you were a child, consider writing a "Letter to a Teen" who has hyperhidrosis. Tell the teen what it was like when you first began suffering from hyperhidrosis, what you did to help yourself and how you learned to live with your condition. We will publish winning letters in an upcoming newsletter. Please send submissions to LJP@ihhs.net and type "Letter to a Teen" in the subject field.
8. If you are a corporate sponsor with a foundation interested in helping promote public awareness of this debilitating medical condition, especially related to children, please also e-mail LJP@ihhs.net. Children and teens with hyperhidrosis need to know they can live a normal life. The more adults know about this disorder, the more we can help them.
Please, all hyperhidrosis sufferers everywhere, young, old and in between, remember: You are not alone. You do not have to suffer. Drop us a line at support@SweatHelp.org and let us know how you are doing. We care.
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Find a doctor who treats excessive sweating. |
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