Hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating experienced by millions of people worldwide.
When it comes to Parkinson’s, hyperhidrosis is considered a secondary condition that often affects the entire body.
What is hyperhidrosis?
Hyperhidrosis, or excessive, uncontrollable sweating, is a serious medical condition warranting serious attention. There are two types, primary and secondary. Primary hyperhidrosis tends to be a longstanding medical condition that usually begins before age 25. Primary hyperhidrosis can affect one or more body areas, most often the palms (palmar hyperhidrosis), armpits (axillary hyperhidrosis), soles of the feet (plantar hyperhidrosis) or face (craniofacial hyperhidrosis), and sometimes the back, chest, groin, and under the breasts in men and women. Secondary hyperhidrosis is typically generalised or involves sweating from the whole body. This type of excess sweat may seem to come on for no apparent reason – although a closer look will usually reveal a root problem, like Parkinson’s.
The impacts of hyperhidrosis’ uncontrollable and unpredictable sweating range from feelings of intense discomfort due to wet clothing, dripping perspiration, slippery skin, and chilling dampness, to stigma, embarrassment and significantly increased risks of depression, anxiety and attention deficit disorder.
Hyperhidrosis & Parkinson’s
Did you know that excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis or Hh) can be an early sign of Parkinson’s as well as a lingering Parkinson’s problem that can make life with the disease even harder?
People with Parkinson’s may experience sudden, profuse sweating, especially in the upper body and face. This can be pretty uncomfortable and may require frequent changes of clothing. Managing this symptom involves adjusting medications and using strategies to stay cool.
According to a recent study in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 24% of people with Parkinson’s disease experience excessive sweating. Parkinson’s-associated sweating also often becomes more serious as the disease progresses. Meanwhile, the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA), notes that unusual sweating of the upper body or head can be an early warning sign of Parkinson’s.
But even though excessive sweating related to Parkinson’s disease affects almost one in four people with the disease, it’s not studied very much. This is a problem on multiple levels because, as the new research shows, excessive sweating is associated with greater depression, anxiety and sexual dysfunction in people with Parkinson’s (Henning, et al. 2022; Lin et al. 2022). To the International Hyperhidrosis Society community, this not surprising because we already know that depression and anxiety risks are increased with hyperhidrosis. For example, research in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology shows that the prevalence of anxiety and depression is significantly higher in those with Hh than those without Hh (21.3% vs 7.5% and 27.2% vs 9.7%, respectively).
We want to help everyone learn more about excessive sweating in Parkinson’s and reiterate that excessive sweating can occur as “secondary Hh” due to another medical condition (like Parkinson’s) or as a side effect of medications (like those used to treat Parkinson’s). Either way, the problem should be given care and attention.
Excessive sweating is one of several skin changes associated with Parkinson’s. With Parkinson’s, when certain nerve cells (neurons) in the brain gradually break down or die, it can cause difficulties with body functions that are usually automatic – like temperature regulation. Dopamine and serotonin play a major role in central thermoregulatory dysfunctions (Brim & Struhal 2021). Changes in sleep due to sweating or thrashing movements at night may also occur and sleep disturbances can also occur after starting certain medications for Parkinson’s, which can cause night sweats.
Parkinson’s excessive sweating tends to occur on the face, head, and trunk but interestingly, hands and feet may sweat less than normal. Sleep disturbances related to poor temperature control and sweating are also common with Parkinson’s, like getting the night sweats.
Treatments for Parkinson’s sweating
Excessive sweating that is new or unusual for you should be evaluated by a healthcare professional as it can be a symptom of Parkinson’s or another medical condition, or a side effect of a medication.
To help control hyperhidrosis in Parkinson’s, the usual hyperhidrosis treatments can be tried. These include antiperspirants, anticholinergic oral medications (which are sometimes used to help Parkinson’s tremors anyway), and injections like Botox (which can be used to treat Parkinson’s tremors, dystonia, drooling and other symptoms, as well as unwanted sweating).
The skin problems associated with Parkinson’s are often overlooked in both diagnosis and treatment but should be addressed to help people with Parkinson’s maintain quality of life and social-emotional wellbeing.
Infosheet kindly reviewed by International Hyperhidrosis Society
Together with its community, the International Hyperhidrosis Society (IHhS) is working to lift hyperhidrosis out of hiding so that people experiencing the condition can find treatment and understanding. www.sweathelp.org
References
Brim, B., & Struhal, W. (2021). Thermoregulatory dysfunctions in idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. In International Review of Movement Disorders (Vol. 1, pp. 285-298). Academic Press.
Henning, M. A., Bouazzi, D., & Jemec, G. B. (2022). Treatment of hyperhidrosis: an update. American journal of clinical dermatology, 23(5), 635-646.
International Hyperhidrosis Society website (IHhS accessed March 2025). www.sweathelp.org
Lin, J., Ou, R., Wei, Q., Cao, B., Li, C., Hou, Y., … & Shang, H. (2022). Hyperhidrosis in Parkinson’s disease: a 3‐year prospective cohort study. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 36(7), 1104-1112.
