Overview Hand sweating is a fairly common form of functional, localized abnormal sweating of unknown origin. Because of ethnic specificity, young people growing up in subtropical regions are particularly prone to this problem. Sweat secretion is controlled by the sympathetic nerves, and hand sweating is caused by unexplained sympathetic overstimulation, such as tension, excitement, stress, or abnormal increases in palm sweating caused by summer heat. In Taiwan, a survey of young people between the ages of 10 and 30 showed an incidence of about 0.3%, which means that one in 3,000 young people suffers from significant palm sweating. Hand sweating can occur in both men and women, and is quite common among young people of Eastern ethnic groups, with a familial pattern of up to 12%. In one case where both parents had hyperhidrosis, all four children had varying degrees of hyperhidrosis. Many patients with hyperhidrosis of the palms have a family history, but it is not always passed on to the next generation. Most suffer from hand sweating since childhood, and it becomes more severe in adolescence. Most patients with hyperhidrosis have normal health, except for sweaty hands and feet, and a few have fox. Hyperhidrosis: Sweating of the hands, armpits, feet, and head and face is common and is caused by excessive sweating of the sweat glands due to sympathetic hyperexcitation. The sympathetic nerve governs sweating throughout the body. Normally, the sympathetic nerve regulates body temperature by controlling sweating and heat dissipation. However, in patients with hand sweating, the normal control of sweating is completely lost. Symptoms Hand sweating is not a disease, but rather an overactive sympathetic nerve that often causes problems at school, work, or socially, and is treated. People with a tendency to sweat excessively have wet palms most of the time, and chronically wet hands often cause easy peeling, which is an eyesore. Youngsters of school age are often affected by excessive hand sweat that makes their exam papers wet, often before they write them. Teenagers are afraid to hold hands with others, and even shaking hands is a problem. In severe cases, the palms of the hands may even show symptoms of eczema dermatitis. In adulthood, it also causes inconvenience in work and social activities. Patients with hand sweating often have a combination of sweaty hands and feet, but the sweat is usually odorless, which is different from fox odor. In contrast, fox odor (sweaty underarm odor) is related to genetics, mainly because the sebaceous glands under the armpits are well developed, and the chance of occurrence is higher than hand sweating, which also causes more common problems. The most important thing is that when you are close to people, you feel a psychological burden and fear. In hand sweating, regardless of whether it is hot or cold, the palms of the hands, soles of the feet and armpits are always sweaty, wet and cold, sometimes in the form of drops of sweat, and even more serious when emotionally stressed. Often when writing the paper blotting wet, typing the keyboard dripping wet, more afraid to shake hands with others, seriously affecting daily life, and even cause psychological problems. These are not serious diseases, but sweating makes the patient in a daily helpless, anxious or panic, bringing great inconvenience to the patient’s work, social and life, and seriously affecting the patient’s self-confidence. The patient’s psychological pain is so great that it is difficult for ordinary people to understand. The treatment of hand sweating, non-surgical treatment is very ineffective and has long been a difficult problem. The treatment of hand sweating is divided into two methods: medical and surgical. The medications used in internal medicine to suppress the sympathetic nervous system often have side effects such as dry mouth or gastrointestinal disorders, making people afraid to take them for a long time. Topically applied medications are not convenient because they have limited effectiveness and need to be reapplied from time to time. Because of the limited nature of medical treatment, surgical treatment has become the trend. Surgical treatment The sympathetic nerves that control the sweat glands in the hands are located in the second and third vertebrae of the thoracic spine. Traditionally, the procedure is performed by cutting through the middle of the back and cutting the bone where the rib cage meets the spine to remove the second and third sympathetic nerves on both sides. The surgery takes about 2-3 hours, and there is a wound of about 5-7 centimeters after the surgery, which is painful and requires a longer recovery time. It may also cause complications such as pneumothorax, which has been replaced by thoracoscopic sympathectomy. This surgery has the advantages of small trauma (only 2 tiny incisions less than 1 cm in diameter are needed in both axillae to complete the surgery), quick recovery (you can be discharged the day after surgery), no impact on aesthetics, and no impact on study and work. The vast majority of patients’ symptoms disappear immediately after surgery. High cure rate and fast return to normal work life. Patients’ pain of several years or decades disappears immediately, and patients’ self-confidence increases rapidly, and they can soon dissolve into normal social life, interpersonal communication and work. Psychometric studies, found that the level of mental health of patients after surgery also improved significantly. The success rate of treatment is as high as 95-99%.