ok kinda embaressed. i sweet excesseivley from my armpits and i hate it, any ideas on how to make it stop?

Answer 1

Here's a tip I copied from an ask the Dr. site. Hope it helps!

Excessive Perspiration

Q: My 23 year old son has regular problems with excessive perspiration under his arms. He has been dealing with this problem since his teen years. There is not really an objectionable odor, but he just gets very wet at times. There seems to be no nervousness or anxiety that causes this.

About 2 years ago, our family physician gave him a prescription for an anti-perspiration product which caused burning and itching. Is there something else on the market? Are there oral medications that might alleviate the symptoms? Would a specialist be able to help?



A: Sweating is the body's way of cooling itself, but it can also be a response to emotional stress. Excessive sweating usually involves the armpits, palms of the hands and soles of the feet, and reflects increased impulses from the central nervous system (beyond our conscious control). There usually is no underlying problem with the sweat glands or brain.

The good news is that there are several options for your son to try. Brad Straka, MD, a dermatology resident at the Medical College of Wisconsin, recommends the use of aluminum chloride hexahydrate (Drysol). One to three treatments a week for a few weeks should result in improvement , and then one treatment a week should suffice to maintain dryness. This is a prescription anti-perspirant and if this is the same one that caused irritation for your son, he could try aluminum tetrachloride (Xerac), a less potent solution.

A unique treatment is the use of electrical current (iontophoresis) to block the activity of the sweat glands. The device (Drionic) is used daily for a week and may relieve sweating for up to a month! Oral medications have been used, but usually result in undesireable side effects, such as dry mouth, drowsiness, and urinary retention. If none of these options work, liposuction of the sweat glands can be performed.

A dermatologist will be able to work with your son in finding the best treatment for him.


Article Created: 2000-04-13
Article Reviewed: 2000-04-14

"Dear Doctor" is a compilation of patient questions answered by doctors from the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Answer 2

I assume that you are asking why you 'sweat' from your armpits, so I'll answer that question, but only 'sort of' ... because there are really two 'completely separate issues' you need to deal with here. First, let's deal with the 'odor' of the sweat in your armpits, which probably 'stinks bad' ... and you may use a 'scented' deodorant that actually makes this odor worse, or use an 'anti-perspirant' which is scented, but also makes the odor 'worse' because it is 'holding in' some of the wetness but letting the 'odor' leak out. So, you'll need to stop using 'anti-perspirant' at all, and also don't use any scented deodorant. You may use an 'unscented' deodorant only. That should take care of the 'odor problem.'
Then you are 'too wet' in your armpits, and you 'hate that' feeling. I'm guessing that you wear clothing next to your skin that is 'artificial' and 'non-absorbent' ... when you should be wearing only 'natural' fibers next to your skin, like cotton, over which you may wear either more cotton or wool ... thus you will 'absorb' and 'wick away' that moisture that bothers you so much. Clothes that are 'too tight' can be bad, and so can clothes that are far too loose on you ... you want to find your 'perfect fit' so that your clothes both 'feel comfortable' and 'look good' ... and if you do all of this, you'll still 'sweat excessively' but you won't notice it or feel it as much, and you'll still 'smell good.' I'm sorry but you can't do anything that will make it 'stop' ... and you don't really want to do that, because 'sweating' is how your body 'sheds toxins' that can be extremely harmful if you can't get rid of them through your sweat. So, what I have done is 'outlined' a way that you can at least 'cope with' your problem a bit more easily ... and as you get older, you'll start to 'sweat less profusely' and if you 'eat healthy' and eat a minimum of one clove of garlic every day (you may take it in pills) you'll find that over time you'll actually start 'sweating less' and 'smelling better' ... both my husband and I eat garlic at least 6 days out of 7, and neither of us sweats much at all, nor do we 'smell garlicky' ... because garlic (and also onions, the 'stronger' the better) acutally help get those toxins out of your body faster ... and they 'keep doing it' so that after about two weeks, you and the people around you won't smell any 'garlic' or 'onions' on your breath at all.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Shave your pits and use some heavy duty deodorant.