Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCausesDiagnosisTreatmentCoping
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
Coping
There are many possible causes of sweaty palms, also known aspalmar hyperhidrosis. These include anxiety, thyroid disease, menopause, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and certain prescription and non-prescription drugs. Both benign (non-cancerous) and malignant (cancerous) tumor can also palmar hyperhidrosis.
Palmar hyperhidrosis affects 2% to 3% of the general population and is a subset offocal hyperhidrosisin which specific parts of the body are affected.Palmar hyperhidrosis typically refers to sweaty palms but also includes sweaty soles of the feet.
This article describes the most common causes of palmar hyperhidrosis and explains how sweaty palms are diagnosed and treated.
Catherine Song / Verywell
Sweaty palms are the result of the overactivation ofeccrine sweat glands. Eccine sweat glands are those situated in the palms of the hand and soles of the feet.
Because of these distinct pathways, a person can experience sweating on the palms while the rest of the body does not sweat (or vice versa). Palmar hyperhidrosis is almost invariably bilateral (affecting both hands or feet).
Acute vs. Chronic Hyperhidrosis
Palmar can also bechronic(persistent or recurrent), typically associated with an underlying chronic health condition. It can also be due to gene mutations inherited from your parents that cause excessive sweating.
The cause of palmar hyperhidrosis can be categorized as follows:
Emotional Causes
Stress, anxiety, fear, embarrassment, and nervousness can cause sweaty palms. Strong emotions can trigger the sudden release of acetylcholine into the bloodstream. This, in turn, overexcites postganglionic nerves, causing the spontaneous release of sweat. The sweating may continue until the acute stress is eased.
Endocrine Causes
Certain disorders can cause hormonal imbalances that lead to the overproduction of acetylcholine. Others cause the depletion of acetylcholine which triggers a contradictory effect, increasing rather than decreasing the sensitivity of postganglionic nerves.
These include hormone-related conditions like:
Neurological Causes
Certain neurological (nerve-related disorders) can interfere with the delivery of nerve signals to nerve cells, leading to palmar hyperhidrosis, These include conditions that directly injure nerves or cause the progressive loss of certain nerve cells in the brain, such as:
Tumors
Certain cancerous and non-cancerous tumors can directly or indirectly affect the nervous system and/or endocrine system. These can manifest with a host of other physiological abnormalities, including palmar hyperhidrosis.
These include conditions like:
Infectious Causes
Any infection that causes fever can interfere with the temperature thermostat of the brain (called thehypothalamus) and cause hyperhidrosis. With that said, fever tends to cause a drop in acetylcholine levels.
There are two infectious conditions where there this is not the case:
Both are associated with variations in acetylcholine levels and can manifest with palmar hyperhidrosis as a symptom.
Drugs and Alcohol
There are a host of drugs that can cause palmar hyperhidrosis, Some can disrupt hormone levels, while others cause nerve hypersensitivity or spikes in acetylcholine levels. The risk of palmar hyperhidrosis is sometimes dose-dependent, occurring when doses are high or when drugs are abused.
The drugs most commonly linked to palmar hyperhidrosis include:
Associated conditions include:
Sweaty palms affects both sexes equally, but females may be more likely to seek treatment for it.
What Are the Hyperhidrosis Treatment Options?
Your doctor will ask you where you experience sweating on your body, the pattern, timing, and whether you have other symptoms such as weight loss, fever, appetite, and hormone levels.
If you don’t have a medical condition as the cause of your sweaty palms, your doctor may do a diagnostic test including:
A diagnosis of primary sweaty palms requires that the sweat must be excessive and last six months or longer without a known cause. Other factors that contribute to the diagnosis include the frequency of sweating (having at least one episode of sweating a week), age (it is most prominent under the age of 25), family history, having sweat occur on both palms, and not experiencing any sweating during sleep (which could be a different condition altogether called sleep hyperhidrosis).
Having sweaty palms doesn’t harm your physical health, but it can certainly affect your quality of life and emotional health. There are a number of treatment options. You and your doctor can discuss which is the right choice for you, depending on the severity of your symptoms and how much they bother you.
Treatments can include:
Medical procedures that can help treat sweaty palms:
Dealing with sweaty palms can be stressful for some people. If you’re feeling anxious in everyday situations—such as holding or shaking hands, filing papers, or writing—it can cause social distress and embarrassment. Stress and anxiety can cause you to sweat, which may exacerbate the problem.
In addition to medical treatments, psychotherapy is often recommended to help learn techniques and tools to cope. Psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy may help you learn how to successfully reduce the release of cortisol in your body (a hormone that often increases in times of stress). You may also adopt social skills to help you cope in your day-to-day life as you continue to get treatment for sweaty palms.
Why Do My Armpits Sweat So Much?
6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Romero F., Haddad G., Miot H., Cataneo D.Palmar hyperhidrosis: Clinical, pathophysiological, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects.Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia, 2016; 91(6): 716-725. doi:10.1590/abd1806-4841.20165358.Gopinathannair R, Salgado BC, Olshansky B.Pacing for vasovagal syncope.Arrhythm Electrophysiol Rev.2018;7(2):95-102. doi:10.15420/aer.2018.22.2International Hyperhirosis Society.Causes of secondary hyperhidrosis: Hyperhidrosis and psychiatric illness, including social anxiety disorder.Children’s National Health System.Pediatric sweatypalms – Palmar hyperhidrosis.Jamani NA., Shanaz JK., Azwanis AH.The man with sweaty palms and soles.Malaysian Family Physician.2018; 13(1):52-54.International Hyperhidrosis Society.Sweaty hands.
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Romero F., Haddad G., Miot H., Cataneo D.Palmar hyperhidrosis: Clinical, pathophysiological, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects.Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia, 2016; 91(6): 716-725. doi:10.1590/abd1806-4841.20165358.Gopinathannair R, Salgado BC, Olshansky B.Pacing for vasovagal syncope.Arrhythm Electrophysiol Rev.2018;7(2):95-102. doi:10.15420/aer.2018.22.2International Hyperhirosis Society.Causes of secondary hyperhidrosis: Hyperhidrosis and psychiatric illness, including social anxiety disorder.Children’s National Health System.Pediatric sweatypalms – Palmar hyperhidrosis.Jamani NA., Shanaz JK., Azwanis AH.The man with sweaty palms and soles.Malaysian Family Physician.2018; 13(1):52-54.International Hyperhidrosis Society.Sweaty hands.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Romero F., Haddad G., Miot H., Cataneo D.Palmar hyperhidrosis: Clinical, pathophysiological, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects.Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia, 2016; 91(6): 716-725. doi:10.1590/abd1806-4841.20165358.Gopinathannair R, Salgado BC, Olshansky B.Pacing for vasovagal syncope.Arrhythm Electrophysiol Rev.2018;7(2):95-102. doi:10.15420/aer.2018.22.2International Hyperhirosis Society.Causes of secondary hyperhidrosis: Hyperhidrosis and psychiatric illness, including social anxiety disorder.Children’s National Health System.Pediatric sweatypalms – Palmar hyperhidrosis.Jamani NA., Shanaz JK., Azwanis AH.The man with sweaty palms and soles.Malaysian Family Physician.2018; 13(1):52-54.International Hyperhidrosis Society.Sweaty hands.
Romero F., Haddad G., Miot H., Cataneo D.Palmar hyperhidrosis: Clinical, pathophysiological, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects.Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia, 2016; 91(6): 716-725. doi:10.1590/abd1806-4841.20165358.
Gopinathannair R, Salgado BC, Olshansky B.Pacing for vasovagal syncope.Arrhythm Electrophysiol Rev.2018;7(2):95-102. doi:10.15420/aer.2018.22.2
International Hyperhirosis Society.Causes of secondary hyperhidrosis: Hyperhidrosis and psychiatric illness, including social anxiety disorder.
Children’s National Health System.Pediatric sweatypalms – Palmar hyperhidrosis.
Jamani NA., Shanaz JK., Azwanis AH.The man with sweaty palms and soles.Malaysian Family Physician.2018; 13(1):52-54.
International Hyperhidrosis Society.Sweaty hands.
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