Excessive hand sweating is caused by an abnormal increase in the secretion of sweat glands in the hands and can be caused by a variety of reasons. Endocrine metabolic diseases, such as hyperthyroidism, diabetes, and obesity, can cause excessive hand sweating; some diseases of the central system can also cause excessive hand sweating; another common cause is sympathetic hyperfunction, which controls the secretion of hand sweat glands. After you are admitted to the hospital, we will do some routine tests. For example, routine blood tests are done to find out if there is any infection in your body and if you have anemia; a chest X-ray is done to see if there is pleurisy or tuberculosis, because tuberculosis is also a cause of excessive hand sweating; and thyroid function T3 and T4 tests are done to find out if the thyroid gland is functioning normally, and blood sugar to see if there is diabetes. The above-mentioned tests are used to rule out other causes of excessive hand sweating, so we can diagnose you with primary hyperhidrosis of the hands and proceed to the next step of treatment. If you have primary hand hyperhidrosis, it is caused by abnormal hyperactivity of the sympathetic innervation that controls the secretion of the sweat glands in the hands. Although there are many methods of treatment, such as herbal medicine, formaldehyde immersion, ionized water to destroy sweat glands, etc., the effect is general and short-lived. If you want to achieve long-term effective results, you can do a minimally invasive thoracoscopic surgery. This surgery is less invasive and has a quick recovery. The Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Third Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University has extensive surgical experience in this area and has relieved hundreds of patients with hyperhidrosis of the hands and feet from all over China. The physiopathological mechanism of sweating Sweating is a normal phenomenon of the body to regulate body temperature, and the body carries away part of the body heat through evaporation of sweat. There are approximately three to five million sweat glands in a person, and there are sweat glands throughout the body, located in the dermis, with a long duct that directs secretions (sweat) to the surface of the skin. The human sweat gland is a secretory gland within the skin. They are particularly abundant in the armpits, soles of the feet, palms of the hands and forehead. The sweat glands are controlled by the sympathetic nerves (vegetative nerves), and when the signal of a change in ambient temperature is transmitted to the nervous system, the autonomic nervous system regulates the sweat glands and thus the body’s heat dissipation, preventing the body from becoming too hot or too cold. The amount of sweating varies greatly among individuals, i.e., in the same environment, some people are still dry, but others are drenched in sweat. In addition to the part of our brain that consciously governs the functional activities of the body, there is another part called the autonomic nervous system. It is responsible for controlling the heartbeat, visceral movements, sweating, salivation, and other organs that are not under conscious control. The autonomic nervous system is divided into two parts: sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic nerves start from the middle part of the spine, while the parasympathetic nerves start from the brain and lower part of the spine. The heart, smooth muscles and most glands are innervated by both nervous systems. The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems interact to regulate the function of the heart, smooth muscles, glands, etc. In the average healthy person, the secretion of sweat glands increases during exercise or when exposed to high temperatures. This is to let the body heat out and prevent the body from overheating. Therefore, obese people tend to sweat more than thin people, which is not due to the former body surface area increase, only because the obese weight proportion is high, body temperature is easy to rise, in order to reduce the excessive body temperature, must be more sweating to regulate. In normal people do not sweat, some people’s hands and feet will also sweat a lot, this may be a problem with sweat secretion, which may be other diseases caused by hyperhidrosis. For example, endocrine disorders such as diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and possibly hypertension, menopause, and the effects of adrenal cortical hormones. There are also some special conditions that may cause excessive sweating. For example, taking cold medicine to reduce fever and shock can cause profuse sweating. In addition, young children are more likely to sweat because of their body shape. Of course, when there is cerebral ischemia, the flow of blood to the brain is impaired and the thermoregulatory center is stimulated, resulting in more sweating. Another type of hyperhidrosis is called localized hyperhidrosis. This mostly occurs when people are depressed or emotionally excited. People with this condition sweat easily on the palms of their hands, soles of their feet, armpits, foreheads, and the tip of their noses. For example, sweating on the palms of the hands increases significantly when traveling by airplane or driving; sweating on the face when talking in front of the public. Primary hyperhidrosis has a family history in 12% of people and often appears when they are young. Many people have difficulty writing in elementary school, and the condition worsens during adolescence, causing much inconvenience and distress in life and work, and even causing emotional depression and social reticence. The symptoms persist into adulthood, and for those who work with the delicate hands, excessive sweating makes it almost impossible to carry out work.