More than 6 million Americans have excessive hand sweating or palmar hyperhidrosis.
And the nearer we move to the equator the more people have this condition.
Indeed, sweaty hands are a common problem.
Excessive hand sweating can be extremely distracting, frustrating and embarrassing for the sufferer to say the least.
If you have the condition, you are probably very much hindered from social interaction in basic activities such as hand shaking.
And any personal interaction becomes a daily challenge to the victim.
As sweaty hands condition starts in early teens and aggravates over time for life, teenagers and young people are particularly vulnerable and can be the most affected emotionally as they feel the great need to be accepted by their peers.
Wet, cold and clammy hands do set them apart from the rest, and not really in a positive context.
And for those who are severely stricken by it, no amount of toweling could stop the flow.
Palmar hyperhidrosis is largely an inherited condition so if you have a kin or parent with this condition, you might just have inherited it from them.
This is a condition stemming form the nervous system with symptoms stimulated by anger, anxiety, stress.
The more severe conditions are involuntary physical reactions which are beyond the control of the sufferer.
Essentially this means that regardless of the surrounding temperatures or emotional stimuli, the victim is unable to control the sweating.
For such severe cases, excessive hand sweating can only be managed with extreme treatment such as ETS surgery which gives almost instant relieve.
However the side effects of compensatory sweating on the torso, face, underarms, groin or feet could essentially create even more social and emotional problems.
Iontophoresis is a better choice as it is non surgical, non invasive with no side effects.
This 50 years old procedure is simple.
Soak both your palms in separate trays of water and connect the machine.
Each session takes 20 minutes and you need to repeat the sessions daily for one week.
You will then have dry palms.
To maintain the level of dryness, repeat one session every three weeks.
And if you should feel that the iontophoresis device is beyond your budget about 500 to 700 dollars, you can always make you own.
The materials are easily available at your local hardware store or supermarkets.
One wonderful surprise is that the basic function of your homemade version is in no way compromised when compared to the commercial version.
Hence if you are silently suffering from sweaty hands like I did, I strongly urge you to seek treatment to stop sweaty palms.
Start with the non invasive, non surgical and reversible ones as they are safer.
Live life again for good.