Huge improvement. A must read
Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2015 11:21 am
I've tried various drugs to reduce sweating along with electrophoresis and nothing has worked. I'm sure this is the case for most of you here. This condition can be relentless but there are ways to actively combat the sweating and I hope you all give them a try because these methods have worked extremely well for me.
I'm going to medical school in August and have always been fascinated by the physiology of our human bodies. So I have been using myself sort of as a test rat for these sweat reducing therapies by altering habits to find out what does or does not help my sweating.
I noticed that the areas on my hands that have calluses rarely sweat. These calluses usually came from playing golf ~5 times a week during the summer months. When I noticed a sweat trigger occurring (that flushing feeling when you know oncoming sweat is inevitable) I noticed that the callused area may sweat a little but overall it was much less and the duration of the sweat 'episode' was significantly less than I have become used to.
Also, I am an avid runner and barefoot running is something I do occasionally. I would run barefoot on pavement or wherever, true barefoot running, and noticed that the soles of my feet stopped sweating. I noticed after a long day of work my socks would be wet from absorbing all the sweat from around my foot, but the bottoms of the socks were dry! So the part of my foot that was thickened and callused from barefoot running would not sweat despite the sides/tops of my feet sweating a lot.
So the pattern here is this: the parts of my hands/feet that have become thickened/toughened/callused are less prone to sweating. So we have a pattern but without a valid explanation as to why the sweating has decreased and without more people to validate the results it is anecdotal and of little use to us. But it recently occurred to me that maybe the key is desensitization of our nerves.
Think about it: electrophoresis - we literally shock ourselves in hopes that it stops sweating. The electric current is supposed to 'shut down' or deactivate the nerve receptors in our hands to some extent to lessen sweating. Same with the drugs like aluminum chloride or botox or other topical agents. They work by inhibiting nerve impulses.
So one way to do this without drugs is abrasion. I found rubbing my hands on my skateboard deck (grip tape) works exceptionally well. Sand paper would work well also. At the most basic level this is making the nerve receptors in our hands less sensitive, similar to how barefoot running made the bottoms of my feet tougher and less sensitive to stimuli.
My routine is this : I rub my hands against this grip tape / sand paper quickly, like I'm exfoliating. Don't over do it, this does not hurt me in any way and I'm certainly not coming anywhere close to it being painful or bleeding. Just some exfoliation. I do it when my hands are dry and usually at night before I go to bed. It has worked very well for me and I hope others can find similar success. The results are not immediate but ~1 week you might notice them.
I don't do it for my feet because I don't care that my feet sweat. It's my hands that I really want to stop sweating so that's what I focus on.
In addition, read my thread about drinking a lot of water. Drinking a lot of water and this exfoliating technique work great in tandem.
Also, I am not a doctor. I have no medical training whatsoever. I am only reporting what I have noticed works for me and you should always listen to your doctor. Good luck and please respond below how this works for you if you decide to try it.
I'm going to medical school in August and have always been fascinated by the physiology of our human bodies. So I have been using myself sort of as a test rat for these sweat reducing therapies by altering habits to find out what does or does not help my sweating.
I noticed that the areas on my hands that have calluses rarely sweat. These calluses usually came from playing golf ~5 times a week during the summer months. When I noticed a sweat trigger occurring (that flushing feeling when you know oncoming sweat is inevitable) I noticed that the callused area may sweat a little but overall it was much less and the duration of the sweat 'episode' was significantly less than I have become used to.
Also, I am an avid runner and barefoot running is something I do occasionally. I would run barefoot on pavement or wherever, true barefoot running, and noticed that the soles of my feet stopped sweating. I noticed after a long day of work my socks would be wet from absorbing all the sweat from around my foot, but the bottoms of the socks were dry! So the part of my foot that was thickened and callused from barefoot running would not sweat despite the sides/tops of my feet sweating a lot.
So the pattern here is this: the parts of my hands/feet that have become thickened/toughened/callused are less prone to sweating. So we have a pattern but without a valid explanation as to why the sweating has decreased and without more people to validate the results it is anecdotal and of little use to us. But it recently occurred to me that maybe the key is desensitization of our nerves.
Think about it: electrophoresis - we literally shock ourselves in hopes that it stops sweating. The electric current is supposed to 'shut down' or deactivate the nerve receptors in our hands to some extent to lessen sweating. Same with the drugs like aluminum chloride or botox or other topical agents. They work by inhibiting nerve impulses.
So one way to do this without drugs is abrasion. I found rubbing my hands on my skateboard deck (grip tape) works exceptionally well. Sand paper would work well also. At the most basic level this is making the nerve receptors in our hands less sensitive, similar to how barefoot running made the bottoms of my feet tougher and less sensitive to stimuli.
My routine is this : I rub my hands against this grip tape / sand paper quickly, like I'm exfoliating. Don't over do it, this does not hurt me in any way and I'm certainly not coming anywhere close to it being painful or bleeding. Just some exfoliation. I do it when my hands are dry and usually at night before I go to bed. It has worked very well for me and I hope others can find similar success. The results are not immediate but ~1 week you might notice them.
I don't do it for my feet because I don't care that my feet sweat. It's my hands that I really want to stop sweating so that's what I focus on.
In addition, read my thread about drinking a lot of water. Drinking a lot of water and this exfoliating technique work great in tandem.
Also, I am not a doctor. I have no medical training whatsoever. I am only reporting what I have noticed works for me and you should always listen to your doctor. Good luck and please respond below how this works for you if you decide to try it.