Facial Hyperhidrosis, Stop Facial Hyperhidrosis

Excessive sweating of the head, face and neck is a condition called facial hyperhidrosis, and stems from over activity in the sympathetic nervous system. It often occurs in conjunction with increased facial blushing, and both reactions are involuntary, and can be triggered by emotional distress and anxiety.

Facial hyperhidrosis can make the skin appear greasy, even straight after it has been cleansed, and can aggravated existing conditions such as dandruff, eczema and acne. At its worst the sweat will literally drip off the face, scalp and neck and this can be a very distressing and embarrassing condition, with some significant psychological symptoms including social withdrawal, anxiety and depression. Sufferers may find that they are restricted with their physical appearance, having to keep their hair short and unstyled, as hair products are rendered ineffective by the quantity of sweat, and women that suffer from this condition may find that they are unable to wear make up because it just runs off. Also clothing may be restricted, as collars and neck lines of outfits can become soaked and stained with sweat.

This condition is thought to be genetic, and can often occur randomly, even when no obvious triggers such as emotional distress are present.

Those who suffer from excessive blushing in conjunction with facial hyperhidrosis will often experience a red, glowing face which will occur more frequently and be more prolonged that regular blushing. The blush can be quite intense, affecting the neck and sometimes the top of the chest as well, and sufferers may experience a feeling of increased heat prior to, and during the attack. This blushing can be triggered by emotional distress, but equally it can be completely random, and can occur at any time, even when there is no obvious stimulus. It can also occur independently to, or in combination with excessive sweating of the face and sometimes also the hands, armpits, or feet.

There are some treatments available for facial hyperhidrosis. You can use stronger antiperspirant products containing aluminium chloride, which work to block sweat glands. Some of these are available over the counter, or you can get them on prescription from your medical advisor. These should only be applied at night to clean, dry skin and can react with moisture to cause irritation. You may also need to increase the use of moisturizers during the day, as these products can be very drying on the delicate skin of the face. You must also take care not to get it near you eyes, nose or mouth and aluminium chloride is very irritating to the mucus membranes.

There are also some low dose medications such as anticholinergics or Beta-blockers that may help, but these cannot be used in conjunction with some other medications that you may be already taking, and do have some minor, unpleasant side effects such as drowsiness and nausea.

Botulinum Toxin injections (Botox) can be effective in treating facial hyperhidrosis, and will involve a number of small injections across the facial area. This however is not permanent and will need to be repeated ever 4-8 months, so this can be an expensive treatment to undergo. Also with Botulinum injections there is a risk of weakness and paralysis to the small muscles surrounding the injection sites, which can cause facial stiffness and some people may experience a slight allergic reaction which will appear as mild flu-like symptoms following the procedure.

A surgical procedure known as a ‘sympathectomy’ can be successful at treating facial hyperhidrosis, which involves severing the nerves that trigger the sweat glands, but this can cause significant compensatory sweating to occur in other parts of the body such as the stomach or legs, and there is also a risk of Horner's Syndrome, which makes the eye lids droop uncontrollably and can cause dry eyes and pupil constriction problems.