Sweating that is more than usual can lead to embarrassing situations that can sometimes take a toll on your social life. Even a simple task like a handshake or holding a pen at work might become unpleasant and uncomfortable. A new study has found out that people with hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating also show higher rates of anxiety and depression.
What is hyperhidrosis?
Hyperhidrosis is a medical disorder that makes people sweat unpredictably and uncontrollably. This may happen even when they are at rest or in a calm, cool place. Roughly 3% of the world’s population is known to have it. In tropical places such as India, the incidences of stress and sweating vary from 1.5 to 9%.
Sweating is important for thermal regulation, but when the sweating is more than the physiological needs, it is termed as hyperhidrosis that can lead to excessive palm and feet sweating and also in other areas such as armpits, groin etc.
Even though the people take hyperhidrosis medication like Botox injections, electrical stimulation, use of antiperspirants to stop sweating, they still feel self conscious and tend to avoid even the most mundane of activities like raising a hand in class that affect the quality of life.
The study was conducted simultaneously on 2,000 patients in clinics across Canada and China wherein the researchers had them complete standard questionnaires for generalized anxiety disorder and depression. It showed that both the mentioned conditions were common with excessive sweating and the risk of getting a mental illness was higher when the sweating was worse. The findings were published in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology.
Dr Zhou, Director of the Vancouver Hyperhidrosis Clinic in Canada says that the study shows that the two conditions are linked with excessive sweating and that there could be more underlying factors that may contribute to anxiety, depression as well as hyperhidrosis and more research is needed to understand this mechanism.
Speak to our dermatologist about your woes regarding excessive armpit sweating or to our psychiatrist about any mental health issues arising from it on Visitapp.
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