Definition
Sweaty hands are also called Hyperhidrosis palmaris in medical jargon. Excessive perspiration is produced in the area of the palms of the hands. This can be so pronounced that the hands are really wet.
About 1-2% of the population suffer from excessive sweating (Hyperhidrosis). Severely affected persons often suffer from psychological symptoms because they find the disease extremely unpleasant. Not infrequently, social avoidance behavior with withdrawal occurs. There are various therapeutic approaches to the treatment of sweaty hands.
Causes
The cause of sweaty hands is an overactivity of the sweat glands in the area of the palms of the hands. This is caused either by the fact that the sweat glands are particularly large and therefore produce a lot of sweat or by the fact that the autonomic nervous system is overactive. The vegetative nervous system controls our unconscious bodily functions such as heartbeat, breathing, digestion and even sweating.
Why exactly the vegetative nervous system is overactive in those affected or why the sweat glands are larger than usual is still unclear. However, there seems to be a clear genetic component. Sweaty hands can end up in a kind of vicious circle.
The affected persons are psychologically heavily burdened, are afraid of interpersonal contacts with handshakes and sometimes develop a pronounced avoidance behavior. The resulting psychological stress reaction further intensifies the sweating in the palm area. The vicious circle thus begins with increased sweating, followed by a pronounced fear of sweating due to strong feelings of shame.
The consequence is even stronger sweating. Many affected persons do not have sweaty hands in normal everyday life. Increased sweating in the area of the palms of the hands only occurs in situations in which they are excited, anxious or stressed.
This is due to the fact that stress or tension stimulates a part of the autonomic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system. If this is active, it causes, among other things, increased activity of the sweat glands, which results in increased sweat production. Emotional causes such as stress or anxiety are often at least partly responsible for excessive perspiration.
The sweat glands in the palm of the hand are stimulated by the part of the nervous system that puts our body on the alert (“fight or flight principle”, by which humans protect themselves from obvious dangers), the so-called sympathetic nervous system. In stressful situations and under permanent tension, in addition to palpitations and intense tension, this also causes heavy perspiration, especially in the palms of the hands. On the other hand, this excessive sweating can be very unpleasant in stressful situations, such as conversations with superiors or certain social situations, which increases the stress and tension of those affected.
A vicious circle of excessive sweating, tension and social restrictions can result. When the thyroid gland is overactive, increased amounts of thyroid hormones are released into the body’s circulation, which, among other things, leads to an excessive tendency to sweat. This generally affects the entire body, but can be particularly pronounced on the palms of the hands. Other possible symptoms of hyperthyroidism are heart stumbling and a pulse that is too fast, diarrhea, hair loss and unwanted weight loss. If the thyroid function can be normalized by medication, the sweating problem is usually also reduced.
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