How to stop sweaty hands
Sweaty hands are a condition that occurs with some frequency and should not be confused with cold and clammy hands that are symptoms of illness. Cold and sweaty hands during pregnancy, for example, when combined with other symptoms, can indicate a dangerous health situation, for example an ectopic pregnancy or pre-eclampsia. Always consult your doctor first.
Home remedies for sweaty hands:
* Carry a hand towel with you at all times
* Rub antiperspirant on your hands; use an aluminum-based antiperspirant instead of deodorant
* Manage your stress through means such as biofeedback. To get through stressful situations at work, focus on the second hand of a clock or watch for a full minute, breathing deeply the entire time. Or take yourself to a “happy place” in a dream
* Lose weight
* Soak up sweat with talcum powder, cornstarch, alum, or medicated powder (although this could make things worse and leave your hands sweaty and cakey)
* Single-handedly restore the custom of wearing white gloves; change them as they get wet.
* Whine loudly and tell the other party you can’t shake hands because you’re contagious, then keep them hidden
* Talk to your doctor about iontophoresis, a technique that involves applying low electrical currents to the skin while the hands are submerged in water. We don’t know if it’s effective, but we’ve read reports that it’s uncomfortable at best and painful at worst. It must be done daily and is effective (if effective at all) for only six hours.
How to stop sweaty hands surgically:
* Thoracoscopic sympathectomy (TST), performed by a thoracic surgeon, cuts the sympathetic nerve that controls sweat production in the hands and feet, but does not affect sweating in other parts of the body, such as the armpits. (Another surgical procedure, retrodermal curettage, is done to stop underarm sweating.) A procedure similar to TST deactivates the nerve but does not cut it, so the operation is reversible.
* Botox, used to block the chemical transmitter that causes underarm sweat, has been tried without much success to stop hand sweat. Injections at that site are also painful.
Pharmaceutical cures for sweaty hands
The oral medications Ditropan, Robinul and Probanthine are sometimes prescribed, all anticholinergics that essentially block the neurotransmission responsible for sweat production. Neither drug is specific for the treatment of sweaty hands, but one of its side effects is dryness. Blurred vision and dry mouth are other side effects, and the success rate is limited.
Some sweating is induced by medications such as antidepressants. An experimental drug, terazosin, has already been approved for the treatment of hypertension and is currently being tested to see if it should be added to the antidepressant. Control sweating. Another drug for hypertension, the first beta-blocker to hit the market, Inderal, has been used to treat stage fright; it also reduces sweating. Other beta blockers could accomplish the same thing. Check with your doctor.
