Excessive Sweating In Children – A Parent’s Guide
This guide should be pretty helpful for you if you are a parent dealing with excessive sweating in children.
We hope that you find it to be valuable, and that it helps solve your problem.
A Bit of Background
Sweating more than normal is a common, yet mysterious condition medically referred to as "Hyperhidrosis." Although there is no known cure for it, there are several well-documented and effective treatments available.
The route cause of every case of excessive sweating in children (and over-sweating in general) boils down to an over-activity in the nervous system.
Knowing this, the question that one should seek to answer is NOT what causes the sweating, but rather, what specific inputs may be effecting the nervous system into over-activity.
More on the causes of excessive sweating
Start at the Doctor’s Office
A good place to start seeking solutions is your family doctor. Actually, it would be pretty stupid not to take your child to the doctor if you have the means.
The reason is because even though excessive sweating in children is usually not caused by anything specific, sometimes it can be triggered by much more serious, underlying conditions. So NOT taking your child to the doctor, and trying to treat the condition by yourself is NOT a good idea.
When you take your child to the doctor, they will likely run some testing, and prescribe some type of solution based on the results of the test.
More often than not, the first thing the doctor will prescribe is a prescription-strength antiperspirant. There are a few different brands and varieties, the most popular of which is called ‘Drysol.’
Drysol is effective in reducing sweat levels in the majority of cases. It can be applied to the underarms, palms, feet, scalp, and sometimes to the face. The most common side-effect is skin irritation, sensitivity, and tingling. Treating excessive sweating in children with Drysol may cause more irritation, as their skin is often more sensitive.
Read more about Drysol and other prescription antiperspirants
If the prescription antiperspirant does not solve the problem, the doctor will have a few other tricks up his sleeve.
More about doctors and excessive sweating
So that should be your first step. IF you have already been to the doctor, AND there is no specific underlying cause of the sweating, AND the Drysol didn’t work, there are some other options for reducing excessive sweating in children.
Finding the Physical Trigger for Sweating
In most cases, there are certain foods, drinks, or other ‘ingestibles’ (things that one may ingest) that can trigger or exacberate sweat-levels.
Our book discusses a detailed strategy that has been proven to be effective in identifying those triggers. A lot of times though, if you pay a bit of attention, you can identify them easily. Once identified, these ingestibles should obviously be avoided, if possible.
Some common triggers of excessive sweating in children include spicy foods, sugary snacks, caffeine, and prescription medications.
Other physical aspects should be taken into effect as well. Excess body fat or obesity has been linked directly to increased sweat-levels. So if your child is overweight, slimming down a bit should make a big, immediate difference.
Physical activity levels can also effect excessive sweating in children. In general, the more physical activity, the better. If your child, like many children these days spends a lot of time watching TV or playing video games, get them involved with some other activities. Ask them what they would like to get involved with, and help them.
(Just because you like soccer doesn’t mean it’ll be your kid’s favorite sport.)
Hyperhidrosis and Emotional Considerations
The biggest, most positive effect you can have on your child is to help them feel better about their condition. Not many people realize it, but many chronic conditions can be treated effectively by producing and maintaining a specific mental chemistry.
Let me explain.
Your child is suffering with an embarrassing problem that they do not understand. When they think about it, it immediately produces a negative mind-set; they feel bad about it. Their friends or school-mates may make fun of them, making them feel even worse.
Experiencing things like this at such a tender age can have long (sometimes life-long) negative consequences. In the present, the bad feelings usually cause other bad feelings, which lead to less-than-desirable actions, which can often perpetuate the condition’s manifestation.
That may not have made sense. But to make a long story short, by making your child feel better about the condition, you will be helping them tremendously.
We get letters from young people all the time telling us how hard it is to deal with socially. You’re in a position to be a great ally to your child, but you could also screw it up, and make it even worse.
If they feel okay about it, they will be more positive while going through the trial-and-error process inherent in seeking out the right solution.
The solution exists for your child. There are few people that have hyperhidrosis for more than 5 years or so.
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Excessive Sweating in Children – How To Make Your Child Feel Better
The simplest way to make them feel better is by not making a big deal out of it. Maintain open communication, and let them know that it’s not THAT big of a deal, because it’s really not.
Let them know that you’re in their corner, and that you’ll love them very much whether they’re sweating their butt off, or losing their hair, or get all zitty and pimply, or whatever; because you will.
Although it can be embarrassing socially, the condition is not life-threatening, or anywhere close. Talk about it casually, let them know that it’s not their fault, and assure them that they won’t have to deal with it for much longer. Get them busy and involved in things that they enjoy doing–things that they choose–to help keep their mind off of it.
This is the easiest way. There are other, more advanced tricks that you can use which we detail in our book. The more advanced mental training strategies focus on producing changes from the inside which take effect on the nervous system.
Technically, the nervous system is involuntary, which means that it cannot be consciously controlled. However, it has been our experience–and well-documented in many cases–that using certain mental techniques, produces change at the sub-conscious level.
Since the subconscious is in control of the body’s involuntary functions, these techniques are effective in eliminating sweat. But it does take some cleverness, some consistency, and some time.
Typically people use these strategies on themselves. But in your case, if your child is too young to understand what’s going on, you can administer them on their behalf.
More about mental strategies to stop excessive sweating in children
