We’ve all had sweaty hands at one time or another. But when palms seem constantly sweaty, the problem can go from an embarrassing annoyance to a major concern.
Perspiration is usually caused by an underlying condition, but it is rarely serious and can be controlled with lifestyle changes or medication. Below, we detail what causes sweaty palms and find the right treatment for sweaty palms. Plus, we’ll learn when sweaty palms could indicate a serious health condition.
Reasons
Sweaty palms occur due to overactive sweat glands, and there are many reasons for this to occur. It can run in families and may be associated with other forms of hyperhidrosis or with certain medical conditions.
stress or anxiety
When tension begins to build, it’s normal for your heart to beat faster, your breathing to quicken, and your palms to become clammy. Anxiety activates the body’s fight or flight mode, giving us the means to protect ourselves. This can result in natural body responses, including sweaty palms.
One of the best home remedies for sweaty hands caused by stress, and a great way to calm anxiety in general, is to take deep breaths. Decreases levels of physical arousal. The practice can be as simple as slowly inhaling and exhaling from the stomach while placing one hand on the abdomen and the other on the chest.
hyperhidrosis
Caused by overactive sweat glands, palmar hyperhidrosis is a condition characterized by excessive sweating not caused by heat, exercise, or another underlying medical condition. It usually affects the palms of the hands, but can also affect the soles of the feet or the face.
Sweating usually occurs on both sides of the body and can be made worse by stress or anxiety. People with hyperhidrosis can also develop secondary rashes from the buildup of sweat and fungus on the skin. May cause itching, redness, and skin maceration or breakdown.
Keeping sweat under control usually starts with a prescription antiperspirant (which can be applied to the palms of your hands). If antiperspirants don’t help, your doctor may try different oral medications or therapies, such as ionophoresis or injections with a neurotoxin like Botox. In severe cases, surgery may be necessary to remove or disable overactive sweat glands.
low blood sugar
If sweaty palms appear within a few hours of eating, they may be accompanied by feelings of hunger, weakness, tremors, or dizziness. This could be caused by reactive hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar that occurs after a meal. The problem is that it usually occurs in people with diabetes, but anyone can be potentially affected.
Reactive hypoglycemia with diabetes can be a sign that your insulin or medications may need to be adjusted. In people without diabetes, solving low blood sugar can be as simple as eating more balanced meals that include fiber and protein, limiting refined carbohydrates, and eating smaller amounts of food more often.
overactive thyroid
Sometimes sweaty hands can be the result of hyperthyroidism, a condition that occurs when the thyroid gland produces too much of the thyroid hormone thyroxine. This can cause body functions to speed up, causing a person to feel inexplicably hot or sweaty, have a fast or irregular heartbeat, feel anxious or irritable, have trouble sleeping, feel shaky, or have more frequent bowel movements.
Hyperthyroidism requires medical treatment, so we’ll call a doctor if we experience any signs or symptoms. Antithyroid medications and beta blockers can help balance thyroxine production.
Menopause
The transition to no longer having a monthly period is triggered by a drop in the production of the hormone estrogen, which can cause a number of unwanted effects. One of the most common is hot flashes, when the body suddenly becomes hot or flushed and sweats. Sweat commonly breaks out around the chest, neck, and face, but hot flashes also have the potential to cause sweaty palms.
Lifestyle changes and natural remedies are the first-line defense: Wearing breathable layers, sleeping in a cool room, avoiding triggers like spicy foods, and carrying a portable fan can help control sweat when we start to blush. Prescription hormone therapy, as well as the antidepressant paroxetine, are options that can prevent hot flashes in the first place.
Medicines
If your palms seem to have started to sweat after starting a new medication, that medication could be the culprit. According to experts, certain medications used to treat depression, dementia, Parkinson’s disease and chronic pain can cause secondary hyperhidrosis.
It is advisable to talk to a doctor if a new medication causes the palms (or other parts of the body) to sweat unusually.
Infection
In rare cases, excessive sweating can be a sign of a serious bacterial infection, such as tuberculosis or sepsis. Tuberculosis, a lung infection, can also cause symptoms such as a prolonged cough, coughing up blood or mucus, chest pain, and fatigue. On the other hand, sepsis can be marked by sweating or sweating, as well as rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, extreme pain, fever, or confusion.
Tuberculosis can cause major health complications and sepsis can be life-threatening, both of which require immediate medical treatment. We will see a doctor as soon as we can for signs of tuberculosis and seek emergency medical care for sepsis.
rare condition
Sweaty palms may have a simpler, more easily addressed cause. But in some causes, heavy palmar perspiration could be the result of a serious underlying problem, such as malaria, certain neurological conditions, or some types of cancer.
If your sweaty hands are not explained by any of the above reasons, we will see a doctor and let them know of any other symptoms we have so that they can run the appropriate tests and make a diagnosis.
Home remedies
If sweaty hands don’t require a visit to the doctor, there are several tricks and home remedies that can significantly reduce perspiration.
antiperspirants
Antiperspirants are commonly associated with underarm sweating, but they are also effective at stopping perspiration in different areas of the body, including the hands.
If we have problems with excessive sweating, we will apply antiperspirant to the hands to reduce humidity and sweating. We will start with a regular strength antiperspirant and then switch to a clinical strength antiperspirant if we don’t get the desired results. Antiperspirants work best when applied at night because it gives your hands more time to absorb them. These products work by signaling the body to stop sweating.
Sodium bicarbonate
Baking soda is a quick and inexpensive way to reduce sweaty hands. Most people have a box of baking soda in their kitchen. The effectiveness of baking soda for cleaning and whitening teeth is well known, but we may not have caught on to how baking soda works as an antiperspirant and deodorant.
Since baking soda is alkaline, it can reduce sweating and make sweat evaporate quickly. We will mix a couple of teaspoons of baking soda with water to create a paste. We will rub the paste on our hands for about five minutes and then wash them.
Apple cider vinegar
If we have hyperhidrosis, organic apple cider vinegar can keep sweaty hands dry by balancing the pH levels in the body. You can clean your palms with apple cider vinegar. We will leave it overnight to get the best effect.
We can also include a couple tablespoons in the daily diet. It tastes better with honey and water or with a fruit juice.
sage leaves
Adding sage leaves to food or drinking sage tea can relieve sweaty hands. We can also carry dried sage wrapped in cloth (sachet) in the pocket and put your hand around it to absorb and prevent perspiration. The astringent property of sage removes excess oil from the skin and prevents sweating. This property can also reduce odor caused by sweating.
For best results, we will put a handful of sage leaves in water and then soak our hands in the mixture for about 20 minutes. Another option is to drink sage tea. Since sage is an herb, we’ll ask a doctor before drinking this tea to make sure it doesn’t interact with any medications we’re currently taking.
