Do I have hyperhidrosis?
Focal / Primary
- mostly hands, feet & underarms
✓Your hands and feet are basically never dry - always damp and clammy (if you've already noticed this, you almost surely have it)
✓Certain fabrics or materials set off your sweating the moment you touch them
✓The slightest nervous moment makes you sweat profusely
✓You crumpled your school papers into wet pulp - the easiest tell
✓You can't walk barefoot on smooth floors without nearly slipping
✓Your hands swell up when they sweat
✓Your sweat's salt corrodes and ruins your things
Facial
- mostly the face & scalp, often with flushing
✓Your face and scalp drench instantly at the lightest heat or effort
✓Your face flushes red and beads with sweat in front of other people
Generalized
- everything above, plus it's all over the body
✓You sweat clean through your clothes
✓Your groin is often swampy
✓You're soaked even when it's cold out
✓You leave a body-shaped watermark on the mattress overnight
✓You have sweat trigger zones - a blanket brushing your neck, something touching your ankles, and the flood gates open
✓Sitting a while leaves a mark on the seat behind you
Start here
01
Get tested first
Check your thyroid and vitamin D before anything else - sweating can be a symptom of an underlying issue worth ruling out.
02
Read the database
The r/Hyperhidrosis pinned HHDB holds detailed, community-sourced treatment information beyond this summary.
Topical
Pros
- +Cheapest, most accessible thing to try - OTC or prescription
- +Worth ruling out first before creams, devices or pills
- +No appointments or devices - buy it and apply at home
Cons
- –Often doesn't work for moderate-to-severe cases (didn't work for me)
- –Stinging, itching and irritation - worse on hands and feet
- –Best for underarms; far less reliable on palms and soles
- –Applied to dry skin at night, then washed off - fiddly routine
Pros
- +Easy to apply; one tube lasts a long time
- +Only needs applying about twice a week
- +Works almost everywhere except face & groin
Cons
- –Can get expensive over the long run
- –Causes over-drying - moisturize religiously or skin cracks
- –Can leave a yellow tint - exfoliate it off
- –Itchiness and pain in hot water / showers
- –May not fully stop fingertip sweat
EffectivenessModerate–high
InvasivenessLow (topical)
Pros
- +Anticholinergic effect applied right where you need it
- +Far less whole-body effect than the oral pills
- +Single-use wipes - simple, no device
Cons
- –Mostly underarms - not made for hands or feet
- –Can still cause dry mouth, dry eyes or blurred vision
- –Wash hands after use - accidental eye contact stings badly
- –Prescription, pricey, and hard to find outside some countries
Device-based
EffectivenessHigh · 80–90%
Pros
- +One-time purchase, then ~zero ongoing cost
- +Curbs 80–90% of sweat in hands, feet & armpits
- +Can be DIY'd at home
- +More water in the bath can stop fingertip sweat
Cons
- –First effects only appear after ~4 weeks
- –Big commitment: 4+ sessions/wk at first, then 2–4
- –20 min immobile per area (hands / feet / armpits)
- –Cuts or wounds make it too painful - cover them with petroleum jelly or a small piece of electrical tape, or lift the area out of the water
- –Mineral/carbonated water boosts it but adds cost
- –Can cause irritation or electric burns on weak skin spots
Systemic medication
InvasivenessSystemic side-effects
Pros
- +Can almost completely stop sweating for the day
- +Dose-adjustable - covers the whole body, not one area
Cons
- –Wears off through the day - one dose can fade by evening, so sweating returns at night unless you re-dose
- –Hard to find - often not stocked by pharmacies across entire regions (e.g. the Middle East)
- –Cost varies a lot - depends on your insurance coverage and what the prescription goes for locally
- –Must be taken on an empty stomach (2–3 hrs before eating)
- –Severe dry eye / dry mouth (varies by person)
- –Unproven concerns linking long-term use to dementia (esp. blood-brain-barrier-crossing ones like oxybutynin)
- –Tolerance can build, pushing the dose higher over time
EffectivenessSituational only
InvasivenessSystemic side-effects
Pros
- +Propranolol blunts the nervous, performance & anxiety-driven kind of sweating
- +Taken about an hour before a known trigger (a meeting, a date) - not instant, so plan ahead
- +Clonidine is sometimes used for more generalized sweating
Cons
- –Only really helps trigger-based sweating - not constant baseline sweat
- –Lower blood pressure, slower heart rate, fatigue or dizziness
- –May do nothing for the sweat itself - for many people the real benefit is the anxiety, not the wetness
- –Not suitable for asthma and some heart conditions - needs a doctor
In-office procedures
Pros
- +Very effective for armpits - by far the most available and reliable area to treat
- +Available for hands and face too, but trickier: the sites sit close to muscles you don't want affected, so results are more mixed
Cons
- –Painful
- –Expensive
- –Must be reapplied every ~6 months
- –Can lose effectiveness after a few years of repeat treatment
- –Can cause temporary loss of sensation / grip in hands
EffectivenessHigh (armpits)
Pros
- +Supposedly stops armpit sweating completely
Cons
- –Painful, with large bruises for a few weeks
- –Some report sweating returned within 2 years
- –Expensive and hard to book (limited availability)
i
Laser sweat ablation is a newer underarm alternative that works similarly - but since miraDry itself is barely offered in most clinics, expect this to be even harder to find.
Surgery - last resort
If surgery is genuinely on the table, this is the option to weigh - local, armpits-only, and without the body-wide compensatory sweating that makes ETS so regretted.
EffectivenessGood (armpits)
InvasivenessSurgical, but local
Pros
- +Targets only the armpit sweat glands - no spinal nerve involved
- +Compensatory sweating risk is far lower than ETS - but not zero: block sweat anywhere and the body can reroute it
- +Often lasting once it takes - a single procedure
Cons
- –Underarms only - does nothing for hands, feet or face
- –Still surgery: scarring, bruising and a real recovery period
- –Results vary by surgeon and technique; sweating can partly return
Frequently regretted. It is widely discouraged in the community - the trade-off is severe and cannot be undone.
!
This is not a cosmetic decision. A significant number of people who went through ETS report deep, lasting regret and depression - many describe becoming suicidal afterward. If it's on your mind, please talk to people who've actually had it before going anywhere near an operating room.
EffectivenessNet negative
InvasivenessExtreme · irreversible
Pros
∅No meaningful upside the community agrees on.
Cons
- –Invasive, irreversible surgery that cuts a spinal nerve to stop sweating in hands, face & feet
- –In return, compensatory sweating surges almost everywhere else on the body
- –The body loses its ability to regulate heat - risk of hyperthermia
- –Emotional dampening is widely reported - a flattened, muted affect alongside the loss of the body's fight-or-flight response
Nerve reconstruction surgery to reverse ETS is emerging, but reported success rates are unverified - it is not a dependable undo. Treat ETS as permanent.
Everyday workarounds
These don't stop the sweat - they manage how it shows. Pair them with any treatment above.
Upper body
Sweat-proof undershirts
e.g. ThompsonTee, OfficeUndershirt
- +Stops sweat seeping through - wear anything over it
- +Reusable for years; blocks odor too
- –Can feel bloated/wet once the pads soak up sweat
- –Wash after every use & air-dry; it's a tee, so no sleeveless or deep necks
Upper body
Sweat-absorbing pads
Stick-in underarm pads & vests
- +Wear under anything; easy to apply and swap mid-day
- +Underarm sweat vests are an option for women
- –Don't work as well as a full shirt
- –Mostly single-use; reusable ones review poorly
Lower body
Sweat-proof underwear
e.g. Ejis
- +Same concept as the undershirt, for the lower half
- –Reportedly feels like a diaper once soaked - uncomfortable
Feet
The right socks
Ankle-length, natural fibres
- +Ankle-length Dickies (or similar) socks wick and breathe
- +Any natural fibre - cotton, bamboo, merino - beats synthetics
- +Cheap, easy to swap during the day
Drying
Powders & insoles
Cornstarch / Gold Bond, charcoal insoles
- +Foot/body powder keeps skin dry and cuts friction and rubbing
- +Add an antifungal powder if the damp brings on athlete's foot
- +Charcoal or cedar insoles soak up sweat and odor - swap and dry them
- –Powder cakes up once it's fully soaked; reapply through the day
- –Rotate shoes so each pair dries out fully between wears
Odor
Odor control
It's the bacteria, not the sweat
- +Odor is bacteria feeding on sweat - antibacterial soap or a benzoyl-peroxide wash on feet and pits cuts it at the source
- +A black-tea or diluted-vinegar foot soak knocks odor down (tannins)
- +Silver- or copper-infused socks slow odor between washes
- –Deodorant only masks smell - it doesn't reduce sweat, so pair it with a real solution