Hyperhidrosis, the cause of excessive arm pit sweat can be a severely frustrating and embarrassing problem. You’ll be loath to raise your arms or take off a jacket for fear of exposing the wet patches of sweat beneath your arms. At times, you won’t even need to raise up your arms for the patches of excessive sweating to be visible. Even if the wet excessive sweating spots are concealed beneath your clothing, it can be extremely uncomfortable to have to struggle with excessive arm pit sweat.

Surprisingly, women suffer from excessive arm pit sweat at three times the rate as men. You may think the opposite is true. Often, the evidence of excessive arm pit sweat starts at a young age, during adolescence. The problem can be exacerbated by childbirth, menopause, or other medical issues. For women, excessive arm pit sweat can make them feel extremely self-conscious and unfeminine. The worst part is that once you suffer from excessive arm pit from a young age, it is likely to stay with you for your entire life.

Excessive arm pit sweat can occur for a number of reasons. It is important to note the difference between hyperhidrosis and other form of excessive sweating. Excessive arm pit sweat can be produced due to medical problems such as carcinoid syndrome. In this case, excessive sweating is a symptom of a medical problem. Hyperhidrosis, on the other hand, is the root cause of excessive arm pit sweat, so it must be treated directly.

One of the more mysterious things about hyperhidrosis is that doctors are unclear on how it originates. Unlike a medical issue such as carcinoid syndrome, hyperhidrosis can occur in people who are otherwise completely healthy. Although there is no known cause for excessive arm pit sweat, there is a cure: ETS surgery. This ETS surgery will cut the nerves in the autonomous nervous system, so your body will not “know” when to sweat. The surgery can help excessive arm pit sweat, blushing, hand sweat, and other areas of the body.

People who have suffered from excessive arm pit sweat from a very young age tend to be very self-conscious. If it is combined with other types of excessive sweating — such as sweaty palms—it can severely affect the quality of life. ETS surgery is preferable because it is minimally invasive. Sweat gland surgery however, has a high infection rate so it is not entirely recommended.