Hand sweating is a disorder caused by excessive sweating caused by overproduction of sweat glands. It is common in adolescents and young adults, with onset at the age of 8 to 12 years old, and symptoms are most pronounced before the age of 30 years. Some patients begin to experience a decrease in symptoms after the age of 40, while others continue to experience symptoms for life.
We know that the body’s sweat glands are innervated by the sympathetic nerve. When the sympathetic nerve is excited, the sweat glands will open and the body will sweat. When the sympathetic nerve is excited, the sweat glands are closed and the body does not sweat.
And hand sweating is the result of sympathetic over-excitation. For example, nervousness, psychological stress, hot weather, and extreme fear can cause increased sweating on the palms of the hands beyond the range of body temperature regulation, and hand sweating can occur.
Based on the amount of sweating, hand sweating can be classified as mild, moderate or severe.
Mild hand sweating is simply increased sweating on the palms of the hands, which are moist, but not enough to wet a handkerchief. Moderate hand sweating is a condition in which the palms of the hands sweat significantly more and are able to wet a handkerchief. In severe hand sweating, the palms sweat profusely, in the form of drops of water, which can be described by the idiom “sweating like rain”.
In general, patients with hand sweating do not sweat except on the hands, but some patients may have sweating on the head, face, armpits, and soles of the feet.