Excessive sweating! I need advice please!

[swatch83]

Hello, I just recently dropped out of dental hygiene school and am in need of advice. I have hyperhidrosis, in which I'll sweat excessively from the forehead in certain situations. It happens only rarely during my normal everyday life though. It never dawned on me that this would lead to my dropping out of dh school though. In school, I eventually came to realize that I could not go past a half hour with my PPE (mask, googles, gloves, lab coat) without sweating profusely and fogging up my glasses! And this would happen regardless of whether I was nervous or not. You could imagine all the problems this would present - dripping sweat over a patient (God forbid their mouth!), trying to see through fogged glasses, and trying to maintain asepsis when you constantly need to wipe sweat off your face. I had all this to worry about including the fact that dental hygienists wear this equipment practically all day long.

Funny that something like this would lead me to drop, but I could not go through all that on a daily basis as a career. Now I'm back to square one. I have to decide on another career and all of the prerequisites I've taken for dental hygiene are essentially the same for nursing. My question is would a career in nursing present the same problems for me as in dental hygiene? Are nurses in situations where they must wear gloves and a mask a lot like dental hygienists? I don't really sweat that much in normal circumstances, except on a hot day or when I'm exercising. It's just those two things (gloves and mask) seem to amplify my chances of sweating because I'll get really hot after a while. I'm aware that there are different types of nursing careers and clinical settings, which is why I'm considering going into nursing - plus the fact that I've already got the prerequisites. Should I pursue this career? Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated =)

[bollweevil]

All I can think of is Botox. And I wonder what menopause will be like for you. And I hope you have good luck finding another line of work or that Botox will help you enough that you can resume dental hygienist school.

As for Nursing, well, you are still going to have to wear gloves on occasion, masks too, like in OR or when working with contagious persons. I guess you could do some area that doesn't require much use of gloves and masks.

I wish you all the best.

[ERNurse752, RN]

In addition to Botox, I have read where some patients are candidates for beta blockers and some anticholinergic drugs. There is also a surgery where they (I thnk) cut some of the sympathetic nerves to the area...sympathectomy.

There are also some underlying medical conditions that can cause hyperhidrosis that should be ruled out, if they haven't been already.

Have you seen a dermatologist who is interested in treating this? If not, do! :)

(I purposefully specify one who is really interested in hyperhidrosis and its treatment...as opposed to someone who doesn't really care about it.)

[bill4745, RN]

Does this only happen at work? I noticed that happening in myself, and the only logical explanation for me was stress, since it isn't hot where I work, and it doesn't happen when things are slow (ER). As I've learned to calm down, it is getting better.

[ERNurse752, RN]

Oh, I just remembered.

I did see an ortho surgery resident a couple times who always soaked through his gowns during surgery - would have to scrub out and change. (This was during my short stint in the OR.)

His scrubs underneath were totally, completely drenched. Hair wet and dripping, etc.

I'm not sure of the contributing circumstances (marathon surgery, nervous and freaked out, or it just happened to him all the time.) But...he made it through med school with it and was in residency. :)

[nickola]

I worked w/a nurse who had this problem. She was a great RN and was able to tolerate the mask/etc. for short periods, like to go in an isolation room or for sterile procedures. I had worked w/her for several months b/f she even mentioned it, and I had never noticed it. I don't know if her condition was as severe as yours, and she had had some kind of surgery that she said helped a lot.

[KarenGeorgeBSRN]

Hi All,

Have you had an endocrine panel run?

Hypo or hyperthyroidism?

Get a reverse T3 panel run.

Just a thought!

Karen G.

[Squaw]

I have this problem and I work as an OR Nurse. I find it easier to control because we are able to wear the hair nets that are material and I have some made with a sweat band for the forehead. It works out great and I only notice sweat in other areas when I wear the lead aprons. You should be fine but if you want to go into dental, I would consult a doctor and try the botox. Good Luck!!

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

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thank you!!

[KarenGeorgeBSRN]

Someone with medical issues should go to their

primary care provider.

Karen G.

[swatch83]

Thank you all for your help and advice! Sorry if it seemed like I was searching for medical advice. I guess I should've worded my post better since I've already done quite a bit of research on treatments for hyperhidrosis - all this before I decided to drop dental hygiene school. I looked into and inquired about ETS but didn't think it'd be a good idea. From what I was told the success rate for those with facial hyperhidrosis is much lower than those with the axillary or palmar condition. I've also tried different antiperspirants with no luck. The surgical caps with sweatbands is a really great idea and I will also look into botox as an option! I just was curious if nurses frequently wear masks and gloves as a part of their daily routine. Sorry if this seems like such a strange question. I might even just see if I can shadow someone for a day to get an idea. Not sure if that's possible though.

[ERNurse752, RN]

Thank you all for your help and advice! Sorry if it seemed like I was searching for medical advice. I guess I should've worded my post better since I've already done quite a bit of research on treatments for hyperhidrosis - all this before I decided to drop dental hygiene school. I looked into and inquired about ETS but didn't think it'd be a good idea. From what I was told the success rate for those with facial hyperhidrosis is much lower than those with the axillary or palmar condition. I've also tried different antiperspirants with no luck. The surgical caps with sweatbands is a really great idea and I will also look into botox as an option! I just was curious if nurses frequently wear masks and gloves as a part of their daily routine. Sorry if this seems like such a strange question. I might even just see if I can shadow someone for a day to get an idea. Not sure if that's possible though.

For gloves and masks specifically...gloves, all the time. Masks not as much, but sometimes, just depending on what was going on. (This is in ER.) There are also nonclinical jobs where you wouldn't have to wear either, ever. :) But those jobs usually require a few years of clinical experience first.

I think it would definitely be doable though. Maybe you could get a job in a dermatology office - perks, and you'd be able to relate to your hyperhidrosis patients!