Sweaty palms, more properly known as
palmar hyperhidrosis,
is a condition that affects about 1% of the US population. Although the
exact cause of sweaty palms is still debated, many experts believe it
is caused by a hyperactive
sympathetic nervous system, causing the
sweat glands in the hands to produce sweat unnecessarily.
Sweating
is a device the body uses to help regulate its temperature to keep
everything running smoothly. The human body has millions of sweat
glands, and more than half of them are found in the hands. When the body
becomes agitated – through physical exertion, extreme temperatures, or
stress – the sweat glands release sweat to help cool the body back down
to its optimal temperature range.
People who have severe palmar
hyperhidrosis
experience sweaty palms even when the body should not, for any
physiological reason, be trying to cool down. This can cause severe
discomfort and embarrassment and can get in the way of performing
certain everyday tasks. Though sweaty palms are treatable through a
number of different procedures, there is no complete cure, and most
people continue to live with the
condition throughout their lives.
In the past, the medical
establishment tended to diagnose sweaty palms as a purely psychosomatic
illness, but this view is gradually fading. While psychological factors
can certainly exacerbate the condition – when one begins experiencing
sweaty palms in a social situation, for example, the stress induced by
inappropriate sweating can cause even more sweating to occur – it is
generally accepted now that the underlying cause is physiological. The
most likely cause of sweaty palms, as well as other types of
hyperhidrosis, is an overactive sympathetic nervous system. The
sympathetic nervous system manages all sorts of functions in the body
that make up what is commonly termed the fight-or-flight response;
this includes the release of a number of chemicals such as adrenaline,
increasing heart rate, constricting blood vessels, and of course,
sweating. When the sympathetic nervous system malfunctions, certain
fight-or-flight responses may be triggered at inappropriate times, as in
the case of sweaty palms.
Whether the malfunction of
the sympathetic nervous system has, in turn, a deeper cause is a matter
of some study and discussion. It may be that the malfunction occurs on
the level of the ganglia themselves, or it may be that a neurological
malfunction triggers the sweat glands in the palms to act
inappropriately. Whatever the root cause, sweaty palms is at last
sufficiently understood to offer a number of chemical treatments to help
those suffering from this affliction to realize a level of normalcy in
their lives that only a few decades ago would have been nearly
impossible.
