What Is Excessive Sweating?
If you just sweat more than other people when it's hot or you're exerting yourself, that's not usually a sign of trouble. Sweating is a normal reaction when your body's working harder and needs to cool itself down.
"There are natural variations in how people sweat, just as there are variations in other bodily functions," says Dee Anna Glaser, MD, vice chair of the dermatology department at St. Louis University and president of the International Hyperhidrosis Society. "Some people start sweating more easily than others."
True excessive sweating goes beyond the normal physical need to sweat. If you have hyperhidrosis, you may sweat heavily for no reason -- when it's not appropriate to the circumstances.
"Let's say that the temperature is mild, and you're not anxious, and you don't have a fever, and you're just watching a movie with your family," says Glaser. "If you're sitting there sweating profusely, that's not normal".
