Cold, Sweaty Hands and Feet

About one person in 100 suffers from excessive sweating, including sweaty hands and sweaty feet. That’s enough for it to have its own name: palmar hyperhidrosis.

There’s a physiological basis for this condition: an unknown problem with the sympathetic nervous system. A malfunctioning system not only reacts to anxiety-producing situations with disproportionate response levels, but it goes on to produce even more anxiety and thus more perspiration because of the stress it causes. It’s a problem that’s self-escalating.

How to Stop Sweaty Hands

Clammy hands are a condition that occurs with some frequency and should not be confused with the cold (Learn how to get rid of a cold), wet hands that are symptoms of illness. Cold, sweaty hands during pregnancy, for instance, when combined with other symptoms, may indicate a dangerous health situation – an ectopic pregnancy or preeclampsia, for instance. Always consult your doctor first.

Home Remedies for Sweaty Hands:

• Carry a hand towel with you at all times
• Rub anti-perspirant on your hands; use an aluminum-based anti-perspirant rather than deodorant
• Control your stress through such means as biofeedback. To get through stressful situations at work, concentrate on the second hand of a clock or watch for a full minute, breathing deeply all the while. Or take yourself to a “happy place" in a daydream
• Lose weight (See 7 ways to boost your metabolic rate and lose weight)
• Soak up sweat with talcum, cornstarch, alum, or medicated powder (though this could make matters worse, leaving you with sweaty, caked-up hands)
• Single-handedly restore the custom of wearing white gloves; change them as they moisten.
• Sniffle loudly and tell the other party you can’t shake hands because you’re contagious, then keep them hidden

• Talk to your doctor about iontophoresis, a technique that involves applying low electrical currents to the skin while the hands are immersed in water. We don’t know whether it’s effective, but we have read reports that it’s uncomfortable at best and painful at worst. It must be done daily and is effective (if it is effective) for only six hours.

How to Stop Sweaty Hands Surgically:

• Thoracoscopic sympathectomy (TST), performed by a thoracic surgeon, snips the sympathetic nerve controlling sweat production by the hands and feet but does not affect sweating in other parts of the body, such as under arms. (Another surgical procedure, retrodermal curettage, is done to stop arm pit sweating.) A procedure similar to TST deactivates the nerve but does not snip it, so that the operation is reversible.
• Botox, used to block the chemical transmitter that causes arm pit sweats, has been tried without much success to stop sweating in hands. Injections at that site are painful, too.

Pharmaceutical Cures for Sweaty Hands

The oral medications, Ditropan, Robinul, and Probanthine, all anti cholinergics which, in essence, block the neuro transmission responsible for the production of sweat, are sometimes prescribed. None of the drugs are specific to the treatment of sweaty hands, but one of their side effects is dryness. Blurred vision and dry mouth are other side effects and the success rate is limited.

Some sweating is induced by medications such as antidepressants. An experimental drug, terazosin, has already been approved for the treatment of hypertension (Learn how to get rid of hypertension) and is currently being tested to see whether it should be added to the antidepressant. It controls sweating. Another drug for hypertension, the first beta blocker that came on the market, Inderal, has been used for treating stage fright; it also reduces sweating. Other beta blockers might accomplish the same thing. Check with your doctor.

Resources:

• Shapiro’s Syndrome (PDF). Don’t ignore excessive sweating. It can be a symptom of something worse.
• “Sweating and body odor." CNN. More causes and complications of excessive sweating.
• Folk remedies for sweaty hands. Some proponents of healthy eating also believe that a sufferer should undergo a food elimination diet to see whether the sweating may be a reaction to food sensitivity.
• Relieve Stress with Exercise - Learn how to relieve stress with exercise.