Most of my life I have dealt with an embarrassing body problem.
I started having problems with sweaty palms around fourth or fifth grade. I remember someone taking my hand and saying, "Eww," and letting go. I remember my dad throwing my sneakers in the back of the truck when we were going on a trip to Ohio because they smelled that bad when I was in junior high. By the time I was in high school, I wondered if I would only be able to date during the winter and outside and safely bundled in thick gloves.
I remember loving accounting class in high school, but also I remembered all the tv shows of business people who SHOOK HANDS with strangers every day. How could I ever hope to lead a normal life when my hands could literally leave wet paw prints on papers and desktops?
Eventually I was able to use my girlish charms to convince someone to fall for me despite not being able to hold hands (I also found that guys who really like you, don't really complain about it). I did choose childcare and homemaking as my initial careers (after those teenage restaurant years). Kids don't complain about yucky hands.
Over the years, I tried everything available over the counter. I ordered special online products. Powder and antiperspirants did nothing. Even giving up coffee didn't help.
Finally, after my first year of teaching (minimal handshaking required), ( and after giving up the idea of careers in other areas when a lady working for a nonprofit organization I was doing a service learning project for while temporarily working towards a technical writing degree literally grimaced and wiped her hand off after shaking hands with me), I found the cure!
But let's back up a minute. What is hyperhidrosis?
According to WebMD, hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating (particularly of underarms, hands, and feet) which affects 2 to 3% of Americans for reasons unrelated to exertion or heat. It is a socially and professionally damaging condition to struggle with. For me, it often meant profuse hand and foot sweating starting as soon as I woke up in the morning or a few minutes after. It wasn't constant. There were a few times, on the jobs I got, when my hands were inexplicably dry. I savored those moments. I truly felt I was kissed by God when my body behaved during important situation. These moments were rare, unfortunately. People all over this city have probably wiped my sweat on their pants when I turned away. While for me there is definitely an anxiety link, apparently up to 32% of people with a social anxiety disorder suffer from the condition, (see https://www.healthline.com/health/diagnosing-hyperhidrosis/depression-and-anxiety#1) and even thinking about sweating could cause me to sweat, it also occurred while driving, typing, or sitting around watching television.
For more information on the condition itself, see the link below.
Web MD information on Hyperhidrosis
I was lucky enough the summer after my first year of teaching to discover an ebook which had the "cure." It only cost about $20 plus about $10 for the initial supplies. And within a week. My hand and foot sweating stopped. Now when I have been pregnant or neglectful of the one week maintenaince treatment, my symptoms have returned, but as long as I do it once a week. My hands and feet are blessedly dry! It has truly taken a huge amount of painful stigma and embarrassment out of my daily life. There has been some compensatory sweating, like my upper lip, during stressful time, but I'd much rather swipe my lip off with my own sleeve than inflict the sweat on someone else.
If you know someone with this problem, check out this link below (or the many others which have since appeared)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOQfjZ9-Akw
This treatment takes some time. I have found using three 6v batteries works best, and it is helpful to have a show or podcast ready to go, because it gets boring. For me, I start with an initial treatment of 10 minutes before switching the current for another 10 minutes on my hands, and then my feet for a total of another 20 minutes. Usually after about 3 to 4 days it begins to work. Once it works fully, I only need to do the treatment every 7-10 days to maintain dryness. Side effects include itching. When the treatment is starting to work it starts to itch during and after treatment. It isn't constant, just sometimes.
Even though, I would rather not deal with this issue, I thank God every day I found this treatment!
I started having problems with sweaty palms around fourth or fifth grade. I remember someone taking my hand and saying, "Eww," and letting go. I remember my dad throwing my sneakers in the back of the truck when we were going on a trip to Ohio because they smelled that bad when I was in junior high. By the time I was in high school, I wondered if I would only be able to date during the winter and outside and safely bundled in thick gloves.
I remember loving accounting class in high school, but also I remembered all the tv shows of business people who SHOOK HANDS with strangers every day. How could I ever hope to lead a normal life when my hands could literally leave wet paw prints on papers and desktops?
Eventually I was able to use my girlish charms to convince someone to fall for me despite not being able to hold hands (I also found that guys who really like you, don't really complain about it). I did choose childcare and homemaking as my initial careers (after those teenage restaurant years). Kids don't complain about yucky hands.
Over the years, I tried everything available over the counter. I ordered special online products. Powder and antiperspirants did nothing. Even giving up coffee didn't help.
Finally, after my first year of teaching (minimal handshaking required), ( and after giving up the idea of careers in other areas when a lady working for a nonprofit organization I was doing a service learning project for while temporarily working towards a technical writing degree literally grimaced and wiped her hand off after shaking hands with me), I found the cure!
But let's back up a minute. What is hyperhidrosis?
According to WebMD, hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating (particularly of underarms, hands, and feet) which affects 2 to 3% of Americans for reasons unrelated to exertion or heat. It is a socially and professionally damaging condition to struggle with. For me, it often meant profuse hand and foot sweating starting as soon as I woke up in the morning or a few minutes after. It wasn't constant. There were a few times, on the jobs I got, when my hands were inexplicably dry. I savored those moments. I truly felt I was kissed by God when my body behaved during important situation. These moments were rare, unfortunately. People all over this city have probably wiped my sweat on their pants when I turned away. While for me there is definitely an anxiety link, apparently up to 32% of people with a social anxiety disorder suffer from the condition, (see https://www.healthline.com/health/diagnosing-hyperhidrosis/depression-and-anxiety#1) and even thinking about sweating could cause me to sweat, it also occurred while driving, typing, or sitting around watching television.
For more information on the condition itself, see the link below.
Web MD information on Hyperhidrosis
I was lucky enough the summer after my first year of teaching to discover an ebook which had the "cure." It only cost about $20 plus about $10 for the initial supplies. And within a week. My hand and foot sweating stopped. Now when I have been pregnant or neglectful of the one week maintenaince treatment, my symptoms have returned, but as long as I do it once a week. My hands and feet are blessedly dry! It has truly taken a huge amount of painful stigma and embarrassment out of my daily life. There has been some compensatory sweating, like my upper lip, during stressful time, but I'd much rather swipe my lip off with my own sleeve than inflict the sweat on someone else.
If you know someone with this problem, check out this link below (or the many others which have since appeared)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOQfjZ9-Akw
This treatment takes some time. I have found using three 6v batteries works best, and it is helpful to have a show or podcast ready to go, because it gets boring. For me, I start with an initial treatment of 10 minutes before switching the current for another 10 minutes on my hands, and then my feet for a total of another 20 minutes. Usually after about 3 to 4 days it begins to work. Once it works fully, I only need to do the treatment every 7-10 days to maintain dryness. Side effects include itching. When the treatment is starting to work it starts to itch during and after treatment. It isn't constant, just sometimes.
Even though, I would rather not deal with this issue, I thank God every day I found this treatment!
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