“I leave footprints on the floor…”

“I always leave footprints behind me on the floor when I walk barefoot or with socks on”, said one of our friends who suffer from plantar hyperhidrosis, excessive sweating on the feet. She told us that there were always wet marks on the floor behind her, which she found very embarrassing. This makes her, to the greatest extent possible, avoid taking off their shoes when she is among other people, which of course requires a lot of planning. She says she often declines attending social events because of her sweaty feet.

Excessive sweating of the feet, plantar hyperhidrosis, often starts early, during childhood, but can occur at any time in life. Often, but not always, coupled with excessive sweating of the hands.
One problem with sweaty feet (and also armpits) is that, unlike the sweat of many other areas of the body, it often smells bad, increasing the problems for those who suffer from excessively sweaty feet. Many who read this think safely: Yes, but I also have sweaty feet. You just have to take care of your personal hygiene. Yes, most people have some sort of sweaty feet, more or less troublesome, but it i only called hyperhidrosis when the sweating is very intense and for no obvious reason. For example. when you get up in the morning and the sweat immediately start forming droplets or even start running down the feet. This is quite common for a person with hyperhidrosis. Many with excessive foot sweat describe that they always have to wear socks to absorb the sweat and they say it feels like the sweating is more activated when they are barefoot. They say that their shoes get ruined quickly, which becomes a major expense. But toughest of all is of course the social handicap. As with other forms of hyperhidrosis, it can not be cured but it can be treated in various ways. Some, although they are few, say that the use of aluminum chloride for example, Perspirex or Hydrosal helps the. The foot lotion, not the deodorant, is said to be the best for your feet. Some have read on the internet that aluminum chloride can cause cancer, but to our knowledge there are no scientific studies that points to this. And also, these antiperspirant are sold in pharmacies, which would not be the case if they were proven carcinogens. One can treat hyperhidrosis of the feet with Botulinum Toxin Injections. However, it has been shown that in many cases, the duration of the effect when you treat sweaty feet is short compared to other areas. 2 months effect is not uncommon. One should not be treated more frequently than every 3 months as there is a risk that one become immune to the treatment, which means that it then stops working. Iontophoresis is a treatment that helps against excessive sweating of the hands and feet and can be an option when injection treatments are not possible or in order to prolong the effect of the injections. Read more about iontophoresis here. Some feel they are helped by medication such as Oxybutynin but these tablets are often associated with a lot of side effects ranging from dry mouth and constipation to headaches and even confusion. The recommendation for these medications is to avoid daily use and only take the medication when necessary.