There Might Be a Way For You to Prevent Underarm Sweating

Oh man, I was really over a barrel on this perspiring armpits matter. I was at a complete loss, and nobody was offering any help. I was wasting every extra penny on new shirts, shirts which were quickly destroyed when the yucky outflowing of my underarms got its hand on the defenseless fabric. I was always self-conscious. It seemed everything I tried to do to help the problem only made it worse. Every photograph of me was a scary thing. There's no hiding those sweat circles when the all-seeing camera flash gets its way.



I was totally at a loss, so I started to explore. While I’m no physician and I never had a diagnosis, it seems that the label for my excessive armpit perspiration is hyperhidrosis.



There appears to be a lot of research on hyperhidrosis and medicine has delivered a lot of treatments, for instance:



Get your act together: Give up a bit of the fun in life by ditching alcohol and Mexican cuisine and pretty much anything else that gives me joy. Mostly "prescribed" as a natural cure, but not by doctors – and barely sustainable.



Antiperspirants: Treatments usually start with "potent" anti-perspirants (10-15% aluminum chloride hexahydrate). With a prescription, yet stronger anti-perspirants are available. Apparently this can lead to some skin irritation. This was a special worry for me because I already break out in a painful rash with some deodorants. It turns out the antiperspirant isn't the portion that I'm allergic to.



Some doctors will prescribe an actual oral medication that prevents sweat gland stimulation. These drugs don't work for everyone, and they can include side effects. These symptoms include lightheadedness and dryness of the mouth.



Iontotherapy: This is FDA-sanctioned, but typically for head and feet sweating. It involves water and some sort of electrical signal. You heard me.



Botox: Yup, that’s right. Botox! Apparently they are able to pump this in you to stop excessive armpit perspiration by temporarily blocking the nerves that make it happen. Wow, that sounds serious, but talk to your doctor if you imagine it might work, I suppose. But, be forewarned - one major side effect is serious pain.



CAUTION: While excessive perspiration is generally harmless, in some cases it is an indication that something else is amiss, so I advise consulting your physician - especially if you are also experiencing a fever, loss of appetite or recent unexplained weight loss.



For me? Well the solution came down to a strong over-the-counter antiperspirant. I tried it out on a little patch to make certain I wasn't allergic, then went ahead and started using it as directed. For the first few weeks I just used it once a night, but soon dropped the frequency to weekly. Now I break it out perhaps once a month, at most.



The end result? Now I simply don't worry about sweating any longer. It's not something I think about. And I wear whatever I want.



There are solutions out there, even including support groups where you can learn what else has worked for people. Please seek out the material, including a few of the solutions listed above, and end this unpleasant problem now.



f you'd like to like to stop sweating so much, go to www.isweatalot.com, where you can find resources, humor, and how to prevent underarm sweating.