What Causes Excessive Sweating?

At Schaffer Plastic Surgery, our greatest achievement is helping patients overcome long-term insecurities about themselves and develop newfound confidence. For many people, excessive perspiring is a top cause of chronic self-consciousness and embarrassment. We are pleased to offer the miraDry® procedure, which works by destroying sweat and odor glands in the armpits, to permanently eliminate underarm sweating. Even though miraDry® stops excessive underarm perspiration forever, you may be interested in learning more about what started the problem in the first place.

Common Causes of Excessive Sweating

Hyperhidrosis is a condition that causes excessive sweating. It causes your body’s sweat glands to overact, which leads to excessive perspiration at times and in places where other people would normally not sweat excessively. Hyperhidrosis can be triggered by a medical condition, an emotion (like anxiety), or other health issues. People with hyperhidrosis are excellent candidates for miraDry® treatments and can experience a newfound quality of life after eliminating underarm sweating permanently.

Hypothyroidism is another common cause of excessive sweating. Since thyroid disorders can disrupt the body’s ability to regulate its temperature, excessive perspiring is a common symptom of hypothyroidism. Menopause can also cause excessive sweating due to extreme hormone fluctuations that result in hot flashes. To make excessive sweating symptoms of hypothyroidism, menopause, and other hormonal imbalances more bearable, miraDry® can make a significant difference.

A more serious cause of excessive sweating can be certain cancers, including leukemia. Acromegaly, a rare condition that causes the body to produce too much growth hormone as an adult, can also cause excessive perspiring. For these reasons, discovering the underlying cause of your extreme perspiring is an important step to take before undergoing the miraDry® procedure. Your excessive sweating may simply be a side effect from a medication you are taking. Our board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Christopher Schaffer, can help determine this. Among other reasons, determining if your excessive sweating is linked to a serious medical condition is why you should never undergo the miraDry® procedure at a medical spa where you may not be under the care of a licensed physician.

How miraDry® Works

Regardless of the cause of your excessive perspiring, miraDry® will permanently stop excessive underarm sweating. This is because miraDry® uses controlled thermal energy to permanently destroy sweat and odor glands in the armpits. These sweat-producing glands are permanently eliminated during a treatment that usually lasts less than an hour. Since these glands will never grow back, you will never need to wear deodorant or antiperspirant again. Thanks to miraDry®, you can say goodbye forever to underarm stains and odors.

Safety of miraDry®

Even though miraDry® is incredibly safe, it is important to only trust a board-certified physician, like Dr. Schaffer, to conduct miraDry® treatments. Recognizing that sweating is a normal and necessary bodily function, miraDry® only eliminates two percent of the approximately two million sweat glands with which most people are born. After a miraDry® treatment, you will continue to sweat normally in other areas of the body, even though your underarm sweat glands have been eliminated. This allows the body to continue perspiring and cooling itself normally, without the unpleasantness of underarm sweating.

Eliminate Excessive Underarm Sweating Forever

If you are a woman who is bothered by underarm perspiration or has been diagnosed with axillary hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating in the underarms), you are likely an excellent candidate for miraDry®. An added benefit of miraDry® is the subsequent reduction in underarm hair growth. Men could also benefit from miraDry® but may not appreciate this particular benefit. After a simple treatment in the comfort of our office that lasts an hour or less, you can eliminate excessive underarm sweating forever.

To learn more about what causes excessive underarm sweating and how to stop it forever, schedule a consultation with Dr. Schaffer by calling 205.278.7969.