HYPERHYDROSIS

Pedal hyperhidrosis or excessive foot sweating is usually accompanied by excessive hand sweating. This could be a part of a general excessive sweating syndrome consisting of a combination of hand, feet, face or armpit sweating.

Although foot sweating is not as obvious as hand sweating, it can still cause serious problems. Solitary foot sweating is relatively rare but foot sweating in combination with sweaty palms is more common. Specific complaints from the patients are:

* Slipping in shoes
* Odor problems
* Avoiding pedicures
* Infections and athlete’s foot

Foot sweating can be treated with a variety of medications and topical antiperspirants in addition to iontophoresis. Solitary pedal hyperhidrosis is relatively rare but when it is present in combination with palmar hyperhidrosis, it responds well to sympathectomy.