Child Sweating – Young Age Hyperhidrosis:
Excessive hand sweating, also known as palmar hyperhidrosis, can appear at a very young age. Children as young as 6 can have problems with excessive hand sweating, which is often poorly understood by their parents, teachers, and schoolmates. This can very stressful, and creates a lot of functional and social problems in their everyday lives. The surgical solution cannot be considered at a very young age like this. Dr. Reisfeld believes that children suffering from hyperhidrosis should be supported by their families, while they try any conservative measures available.
Even though surgical treatment was offered to children as young as 10 years of age in the past, it was observed that the recurrence rate in younger age groups is higher. Dr. Reisfeld believes that within this age group (10-14 years old), the bodies regeneratives abilities are much more pronounced which would explain the higher rate of recurrence.
During these younger years and time of growth the body has more ways to change. Because of that, Dr. Reisfeld at present limits the surgical treatment to patients who reach mental and physical maturity (Over 14 to 15 years of age).
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Alternative Hyperhidrosis Treatments
The surgical approach should be reserved for only severe cases once the child enters maturity. This should be determined with your doctor or even better an experienced hyperhidrosis surgeon who understands the topic fully. The decision to perform sympathectomy in younger age groups should NOT be done on an emotional basis. The decision should only be made after careful consideration.
Since Hyperhidrosis is known to be a genetic disorder, the clinical manifestations can come at a very young age. Having hyperhidrosis will cause problems to the affected child, and to their family. Affected children can experience not only embarrassing comments from their peers, but also some misunderstanding from their parents, teachers, and other adult instructors.
This in turn can aggravate the negative impact on the child. Stories about affected children who did not want to go back to school or failed in their classes is something we’ve heard in the past.
The treatment for children affected severely by hyperhidrosis or excessive hand sweating should be discussed with both the family and the child. First, the families should understand the problem by discussing the situation with an appropriate medical care provider. They should understand this is a physiological issue, and not a mental problem with their child.
The affected children, on the other hand, should be supported as much as possible by explaining and re-enforcing the fact that there is nothing wrong with them. The most appropriate time for surgical treatment is not yet determined, but physiologically and mentally matured children could be offered a surgical solution after the age of 14. In the mean time, alternative methods are available.
Teenage Hyperhidrosis
For teenagers, the situation becomes more serious due to the social and functional pressures that are more prevalent at this age. Social interaction becomes much more involved at this age and it can cause anxiety and introversion as well. Teenagers become embarrassed of the effects from the condition, such as their sweaty hands or feet.
The use of electronic devices, which has become an imperative part of our lives, can be a serious problem. Having said that, the impact of severe hyperhidrosis is much more acute in this age group. Teenagers choices or motivation for future professions can also be affected by this condition.
Attempts should be made to treat this with conservative measures as we recommend throughout our website. Teenagers become more mature and a decision should be made with them after careful discussions with an appropriate specialist. Only after a careful discussion can a decision be made.
The vast majority of patients from this age group describe their operation as a life changing step.
Younger / Toddler Hyperhidrosis
Depending on your definition of a toddler, the age can range. Obviously even in the very young age group excessive hand sweating can bother those who suffer from it but more so the parents are very concerned. It is our opinion not to perform the ETS procedure in this very young group because the body has not reached any maturation both physical and mental. My recommendation is to wait until the age group where the patient realizes the gravity of their excessive hand sweating.
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