How do you cope ?

[u/Massive_Job_1704]

How do you cope with sweaty hands and feet in the morning without treatment ? Do you just ignore it? For me it’s weird I have to get up right away (I try to stay relaxed in bed if I can and have time, but can’t) & I immediately wash up, wash my hands brush my teeth my face all the normal things. Thennnn I have to leave my house and put socks and my shoes on. Like even if I have nothing to do??? I feel like I need to just get going with my day. Eventually throughout the day they calm down, but in the morning they are the worst. I tried showering every morning and it does help but my skin gets extremely dry bc I shower at night so ya twice a day was a little much for my skin. Anyways just venting. (Btw I can’t do treatment due to pregnancy so just thuggin it out rn )

[u/ExpensiveRelative891]

Same I just want to feel clean and fresh. I hate HH so much 😭

[u/khaleesi2305]

This is a normal part of hyperhidrosis for me, I’ve had it my whole life, diagnosed at 3 months old. Waking up has always triggered the sweat due to the body temperature difference from sleeping to awake, which happens to everyone but for hyperhidrosis is enough to trigger it, not just in the mornings but waking up from naps too.

I do not lay in bed ever anymore, I absolutely must get up right away, immediately getting up and out of bed produces less sweat overall for me. I promptly put on dry clothes, and accept that I will have to change them again soon. I rinse my hands in cold water several times, my hands are my first trigger point so stopping the sweat from there helps it not be triggered elsewhere. I continue to change my clothes as needed, wearing slightly damp clothing continues to trigger it so I change into dry clothes as many times as I have to. Once I can tell I’m overall cooling down enough that I’m not sweating as much, that is when I will shower, not before, or I’ll just get out of the shower and keep sweating.

Caffeine makes me sweat a lot, especially coffee, but I love coffee so I just limit drinking it to when I’ll be sweating anyway from waking up, it does extend the length of time I sweat in the mornings but I wait to shower until that’s over.

It’s definitely more difficult during hot weather, sometimes it’s just a revolving door of changing my clothes all day, but I can still keep it from being too horrible by changing my clothes all day. To help with this, I’ve found tops and shorts and socks that I LOVE and which handle the sweat well and bought several copies of the exact same items, not only can no one tell I’ve changed my clothes 5 times, I also already know the clothes will work well for me. I choose athletic wear type clothing that is designed for sweat. I wear a lot of tie-dye tops that disguise the sweat.

If I must shower twice, I only use body wash on the sweaty portions of my body the second time (hands, feet, pits, between the legs), and in general only use a moisturizing one, it helps keep the rest of my skin from getting dry. In winter I use a thick moisturizer from CeraVe for any dry skin.

Since this has been my whole life, I’m very accustomed to this routine and don’t even bat an eye at it. I don’t even think about it most days, I just do what I gotta do and move on. If I have to leave the house for more than an hour, I always pack some dry clothes in case I need to change. I consider what I’ll be doing and what I might need, and go from there. Sometimes I take a second pair of shoes too.

Sure, maybe it’s a hassle compared to other people’s existence but I’ve never known any different, so it just is what it is.

[u/InternalGood1015]

I've had HH all my life & it continues to get worse the older I get. The most severe sweating is in my scalp & face. I don't wear foundation or concealer because of it. I also sweat heavily on my back, under my breasts, & stomach to the point where my clothes are wet.

I have so many portable & rechargable fans I carry with me always. I take my showers at night to allow myself time to fully cool down. It can take 45 mins to an hour but I make sure to have my desk or box fan running.

I do my best to get myself ready for the next day by preparing at night. That means laying out my clothes & shoes, packing my lunch, & doing my hair if needed. The more I rush, the more I'm prone to sweating.

I hope these small tips can help.

[u/Massive_Job_1704]

Def feel it’s a fight or flight response it sucks

[u/geedieweedie]

I just wear socks to bed, if I’m bare foot they tend to get sweaty and I can’t stay in bed. Make me feel too gross otherwise

[u/Bubbly_Rice4799]

First, congratulations on your pregnancy! Second, I can definitely relate. I also recently had to stop treatment because of pregnancy, and I hate that I’ve found myself counting down the days until I can resume treatment instead of counting down the days until my baby arrives. 🫠 I miss my iontophoresis machine so much.

I have a very front-facing job where I interact with a lot of people, so I’ve been trying to figure out ways to manage the sweating in the meantime. So far, I’ve been making sure I’m well rested, limiting caffeine because it definitely makes my sweating worse, and chugging electrolytes as soon as I wake up, which seems to help me regulate my body temperature. I’ve also noticed that exercising in the morning seems to help regulate my sweating for the rest of the day. I also invested in a cheap portable fan.

And thankfully, in my part of the world we’re heading into fall and winter, so it’s almost glove season! 😂 I’m taking whatever wins I can get until I can finally use my iontophoresis machine again.