Nearly eight million Americans have a problem that makes them sweat so much it's embarrassing. No amount of antiperspirant or powder is strong enough to stop it, but there's a surgical procedure that can help.
Chrissey Stull used to sweat so much she couldn't hold a needle. It made her self-conscious.
"Shaking people's hands and just human contact in general was horrible. It was extremely embarrassing," she said.
Chrissey suffered hyperhidrosis, which can affect a person's hands, arm pits, feet and face.
"The sympathetic nervous system is wired abnormally in these people, so that they're more sensitive to the normal triggers for sweating," said Dr. Curtis Dickman, neurosurgeon, Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital.
Surgery used to mean cutting open the chest and a week in the hospital.
Related Content
"It was a tremendously painful procedure and was very difficult to identify these sympathetic nerves with that very invasive technique," said Dickman.
Now doctors make two small incisions under the arm pit and cut the nerve that supplies the sweat glands. Patients go home the same day.
"It changes the way that the body sweats. The patients no longer sweat on their hands or their armpits, and sometimes on their head and face they also have diminished sweating," said Dickman.
In a recent study of 300 patients, the surgery was successful in treating over 99 percent of those with hyperhidrosis of the hands and 61 percent of those with excessive sweating under the arms.
Chrissey can exercise, play with her dogs, and do all the things she loves-no sweat!
"Life is great now. I'm very, very happy I did it," said Chrissey.
There's a risk the surgery can cause nerve damage. Dickman says the most common side effect is increased sweating in other areas of the body.
Surgery is only recommended for the most severe cases. The procedure is available at Swedish Medical center. Prescription antiperspirants and Botox injections can also be helpful.
