Stop Excessive Foot Sweating

Learn how to stop excessive foot sweating and cure sweaty feet.

Sweaty feet, medically known as plantar hyperhidrosis (or excessive foot sweating) can be a nuisance and embarrassing condition to have. While sweating of the foot can easily be obscured and is not as obvious as hand or facial sweating, sweaty feet can still pose problems - both functionally and socially - for the sufferer.

Individuals who have this problem often complaint about shoes getting ruined and feet smelling foul. In severe cases, there are also reports of fungal infection such as athlete's foot.

Causes

Medical experts believe that there can be several reasons why a person has sweaty feet. Factors such as hereditary, obesity, hygiene, stress, menopause, medications and emotional stimuli, all of which can trigger the condition.

Remedies and Treatments

Footwear Hygiene

For cases of sweaty, smelly feet caused by wearing of socks and shoes, some simple footwear hygiene is usually effective in dealing with the problem.

Try the following footwear recommendations to see if it helps.

• Wear shoes made of leather, especially the ones that are also lined with leather, which has the ability to pull moisture away from the foot and allow the feet to "breathe".
• Since a lot of sweat is absorbed by the insoles of the shoes, get insoles that are detachable and washable. Change and wash the insoles everyday before wearing them again.
• Wear clean socks every day. Get socks that are also able to absorb moisture away from the foot, like wool, or wool/cotton mixture. Always wash your socks before using them again.

Antiperspirants

Special foot antiperspirant creams or lotions such as Drysol containing aluminum chloride hexahydrate is another good treatment solution to help control mild excessive foot sweating. Applying the antiperspirant cause the opening of the sweat glands to be blocked, thereby effectively stopping the production of sweat.

Typically, the lotion is applied onto the feet at night and then washed off in the morning, or after six or eight hours. For best results, wash and dry feet before application. Use daily until problem is under control.

Oral Medications

In cases where foot sweating that cannot be controlled by antiperspirant, doctors may prescribe oral medications such as beta-blockers and anticholinergics to help stop excessive foot sweating.

Anticholinergics drugs block the action of the nerves responsible for sweating, and are fairly effective however such medications can carry many side effects including dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, drowsiness and nausea.

Iontophoresis

Iontophoresis is a safe, non-invasive treatment that involves soaking your feet into an electrolyte solution where a mild electrical current is pass through the solution to disrupt the function of the sweat glands.

Each treatment generally last about 20 to 30 minutes per session and must be repeated about three times a week, over several weeks. While the patient might experience some slight discomfort during treatment, results has shown that Iontophoresis is effective and has been able stop excessive foot sweating in around 80% of patients with mild cases of plantar hyperhidrosis.

Iontophoresis treatment have also been researched and shown to help cure sweaty hand and foot by the International Hyperhidrosis Society, Sweat Solutions and AAFP.

This downside of this treatment is it is time consuming and is deemed unsuitable for women who are pregnant or for patients who have a heart pacemaker.

Botox ®

To stop sweaty feet, some people may opt for Botox ® injections as a possible choice of treatment. When injected onto the soles of the feet, Botox ® (botulinum toxin type A) blocks the function of the nerves, leading to decreased sweating in the feet.

Each treatment usually involves about 20 to 36 tiny injections and can costs about $500 to $1000 dollars per treatment. Botox ® is ideal for patients with moderate to severe plantar hyperhidrosis and remains effective for up to eight months afterwhich the procedure needs to be repeated again. 

Lumber Sympathectomy

Surgery such as Lumber Sympathectomy is often a drastic last step to stop excessive foot sweating. This surgery requires the patient to be put under general anaesthesia. An endoscopy is performed in the retro-peritoneal area with three small incisions. A specific segment of the sympathetic nerve, which controls the sweat glands, is then cut or clamped (if the patient decides to reverse the procedure in the future due to possible side effects).

Overall, the surgery is a safe and effective treatment for plantar hyperhidrosis however possible side effects can include pain or compensatory hyperhidrosis (increased sweating in other areas of the body, mainly the back, lower legs and thighs).