Managing sweaty palms

By Maridadi

"Do your palms sweat regularly? Do you sometimes feel so anxious that your hands suddenly feel wet? Does this bother you often or are you now used to it?"

Recently, I saw the above notice on a classified page of a beauty magazine advertising solutions to sweaty palms.

I then remembered that my friend Paulo, a regular at Ofafa’s barbershop, sometimes complains to us about his sweaty palms. Paulo, in his late 20s, would not be so worried about the ‘problem’, had he not become conscious of it.

Now the poor young man is never without a handkerchief. He also gets more nervous when he is about to meet a date, compounding the problem.

What is worse, he has often been asked whether other parts of his body sweat as much as his hands.

Naturally, you would expect the body to sweat as it regulates its temperatures and releases body waste. But excessive sweating of the palm is caused by hyperactivity in the sympathetic chain, which is part of the nervous system.

Younger boys are not likely to notice the problem. But as we grow older and expand our social circles, we start noticing the comments people make about our palms.

Over time, the effect of this can be negative if not dealt with well. For instance, one may shy away from extending a handshake. Paulo says the situation always got worse if he felt more nervous when he was planning to meet important people or people he had been looking forward to meeting.

Some schools of thought believe that sweating palms are caused by genetic factors. Some people’s palms sweat when it is very cold. This is likely to be as a result of the body trying to generate enough warmth.

If your palms sometimes sweat, it means it is mild and you shouldn’t worry. But if they sweat all the time, then you might want to pick some beauty tips to help you cope and adjust socially.