Sweating of the Feet (Plantar Hyperhidrosis)

Plantar Hyperhidrosis rarely happens alone, usually you will also suffer from excessive sweat on your hands, however some people might find that they encounter localised sweating of the feet.  Excessive foot sweating is something that can cause undue embarrassment and discomfort throughout your life, and is relatively easy to ease.  Foot sweating can lead to bad odours being emitted from the feet, and might leave your shoes and socks needing to be washed very often.  Excessively sweating feet can also lead to health problems, such as skin infections like athletes foot.  These, in turn, can cause you discomfort, and will need to be treated.  It is likely that you will have to wear certain types of footwear and socks in order to eliminate the problem as much as possible, limiting your footwear choice.  Foot sweating can be treated, through the use of powders, sprays or lotions as well as by using iontophoresis or even with surgery.  There are many different ways to address your plantar Hyperhidrosis problems.

Medical Problems

Increased dampness around your feet can lead to real, uncomfortable health problems.

• Athletes Foot.  Excess moisture around your feet can cause real problems with regards to fungal infections such as Athletes Foot.  The warm temperature and moist environment are the perfect combination to allow bacteria to multiply and fungal infections to grow.  Fungal infections are uncomfortable and itchy, and lead to your skin flaking off. 
• Blisters and open sores.  As you walk your shoes are likely to slip due to the moisture on your feet.  This, in turn, will cause the development of blisters and could lead to open wounds on your feet.  In extreme cases this might make walking uncomfortable

In some cases these conditions will have to be treated, and can continue to get worse until this has happened.  The best way to avoid any additional problems is to keep your feet as dry as possible by trying treatments for your plantar Hyperhidrosis.  This will prevent these problems from occurring in the first place.

Causes of Sweating of the Feet

There are many reasons why people might find themselves suffering from plantar Hyperhidrosis.  Sometimes it might be the case that the sweating is merely a symptom of another problem, and once the initial health issue is cleared up, the sweating also stops.  Some reasons for foot sweating are:

• Anxiety and being nervous
• Primary Hyperhidrosis
• Secondary Hyperhidrosis
• The use of man made materials for shoes and socks
• Thyroid problems
• New medications that you might be taking could be contributing to the sweat on your feet as a side effect

Seeking Help

If you are concerned about how much your feet are sweating then it is a good idea to seek the advice of your local GP.  They will be able to ascertain how much sweat you are producing and whether this is above normal levels.  If you are thought to have a problem then they will also be able to advise possible treatments and might be able to refer you to a dermatologist for more specialist advice. 

Making an appointment with your GP is easy, you simply need to phone them or sometimes you might be able to book an appointment online.  It is important that you do so, especially if your foot sweating has come on over a short period of time.  It is possible that it is merely a symptom of a larger problem, and it is likely that your GP will want to check you over to make sure that this isn’t the case. 

Suffering from plantar Hyperhidrosis can be incredibly frustrating, however there are some steps that you can take to reduce the impact that they problem will have.  You could:

• Try different shoe materials.  Leather might help some people, whereas other might find that their sweating increases due to a possible allergy
• Use socks that are mostly made from cotton or wool
• Some sports socks aim to allow your feet to breathe which you may find helpful if your feet sweat a lot
• When you get a chance to, remove your shoes and socks and allow your feet exposure to the air.  This will ensure that they can dry up as much as possible, and may help in the long term to reduce the amount of sweating.
• Shoe rubbing due to the increased movement might make blisters more apparent when you walk for long distances.  This might make your shoes feel uncomfortable and could lead to open sores.  Ensure that your shoes fit well to help with this as much as possible.
• Keep your feet as clean as possible

These methods might help to reduce the amount that your feet sweat, however they don’t always work for everyone.  If you still find that you are experiencing problems then it might be worth trying some different treatments.

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