Excessive Sweating FAQs

1. What is hyperhidrosis?
2. What is primary hyperhidrosis?
3. Impact of excessive sweating?
4. Solutions to help with excessive sweating?

Excessive sweating also known as hyperhidrosis is a condition which affects approximately 1.53 million of us in the UK.

It is perhaps more common than you may have first thought, however those suffering from excessive sweating will know that it can be a nuisance in every day life, to the point of affecting someone's quality of life!

Scrubs UK has launched a new range of antiperspirants effective against excessive sweating - the AHC range from JV Cosmetics. The AHC products are not only effective against excessive sweating, they are also gentle to your skin! However first some facts on hyperhidrosis...

1.  What is hyperhidrosis?

Hyperhidrosis can either be generalized or localized to specific parts of the body. Hands, feet, armpits, and the back area are among the most active regions of perspiration due to the relatively high concentration of sweat glands; however, any part of the body may be affected.

Hyperhidrosis can also be classified depending on if it is a congenital or acquired trait. Primary hyperhidrosis is found to start during adolescence or even before and seems to be inherited as an autosomal dominant genetic trait.

Primary hyperhidrosis must be distinguished from secondary hyperhidrosis, which can start at any point in life. The latter form may be due to a disorder of the thyroid or pituitary gland, diabetes mellitus, tumors, gout, menopause, certain drugs, or mercury poisoning.

Hyperhidrosis might be also divided into palmoplantar (symptomatic sweating of primarily the hands or feet), gustatory or generalized hyperhidrosis.

2.  What is primary hyperhidrosis?

Most experts believe that primary hyperhidrosis is caused by problems with the sympathetic nervous system.

The sympathetic nervous system controls most of your body’s functions that do not require conscious thought, such as movement of food through your body and the movement of urine out of your kidneys and into your bladder.

The sympathetic nervous system uses sweat like a thermostat. If it senses that you are getting too hot, it will send a signal from your brain to the millions of sweat glands in your body to produce sweat. The sweat cools on your skin and reduces the temperature of your body.

Sweat glands, known as the eccrine glands, appear to be involved in hyperhidrosis. Eccrine glands are present in the greatest numbers on your armpits, hands, feet and face, which may explain why these areas are often affected by hyperhidrosis. It is thought that in cases of primary hyperhydrosis, there is a problem with the part of the brain that regulates the sweating process, that results in the brain sending signals to the eccrine glands, even though there is no need to cool the body. Hyperhidrosis in families

Cases of primary hyperhidrosis can run in families, with 1 in 4 of all those affected having a close family relative who was (or is) affected by the condition. This would suggest that a genetic mutation is responsible. A genetic mutation is where the instructions that are carried in all living cells become scrambled in some way, which can disrupt the normal workings of the body. Some genetic mutations can be passed down from parents to their children.

3.  Impact of excessive sweating?

Hyperhidrosis can have physiological consequences such as cold and clammy hands, dehydration, and skin infections secondary to maceration of the skin. Hyperhidrosis can also have devastating emotional effects on one’s individual life.

Affected people are constantly aware of their condition and try to modify their lifestyle to accommodate this problem. This can be disabling in professional, academic and social life, causing embarrassments. Many routine tasks become impossible chores, which can psychologically drain these individuals.

Excessive sweating of the hands interferes with many routine activities,such as securely grasping objects. Some hyperhidrosis sufferers avoid situations where they will come into physical contact with others, such as greeting a person with a handshake.

Hiding embarrassing sweat spots under the armpits limits the sufferers' arm movements and pose. In severe cases, shirts must be changed several times during the day. Additionally, anxiety caused by self-consciousness to the sweating may aggravate the sweating. Excessive sweating of the feet makes it harder for patients to wear slide-on or open-toe shoes, as the feet slide around in the shoe because of sweat.

4.  What solution can we offer against excessive sweating?

JV Cosmetics' products naturally close up the pores in the middle and upper skin layers. It works after the first application and reduces excess sweating by between 80% and 100%. The body still has enough other evaporation areas, so your well-being will not be affected. The product is only used externally and, in most cases, using it once a week is enough to ensure that the products are optimally effective.

The additional plant extracts mean that the products are very gentle to the skin. The result: “simply dry” – despite the demands of everyday life.

Some products, which contain aluminium chloride, can often have side effects such as temporary burning, itching, prickling, or tingling in treated areas. However the AHC antiperspirants have gone a step further and integrated additional plant extracts, which are specifically aimed to soothe and protect your skin.

The AHC range includes extracts of old man’s beard, clove oil and sage. Additional information on the benefits and constituents of these plants can be found on our site. All products in the AHC range contain no colorants or preservatives.