HyperHidrosis

Nurses Disabilities

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I have palmar hyperhidrosis. aka sweaty palms. I would consider it mild but it can escalate to severe when I am nervous or anxious. I was wondering if this condition will make it hard for me to perform nursing duties interfere or with my patient care. I am still doing my prereqs to get into an adn program. Ive read that it can be a problem in that you have to change gloves quite often and with sweaty hands that can be time consuming. Any nurse on these boards that can shed some light on how you do it, or how I would handle my situation. Lastly I was wondering if nurses are allowed to wear gloves the entire shift ( of course changing them between patients).

Thanks!:D

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Actually, dermatologists have used Botox with great success for this. Check it out.

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From what I have read up about botox, Its effects are temporary and it costs a ton for the procedure. I would have to repeat them 3 to 4 times a year..and as a poor pre-nursing student i just cant afford them. Are we not allowed to wear gloves while handling patients?

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Specializes in med-surg, OB/GYN, pediatrics, geriatrics.
I have palmar hyperhidrosis. aka sweaty palms. I would consider it mild but it can escalate to severe when I am nervous or anxious. I was wondering if this condition will make it hard for me to perform nursing duties interfere or with my patient care. I am still doing my prereqs to get into an adn program. Ive read that it can be a problem in that you have to change gloves quite often and with sweaty hands that can be time consuming. Any nurse on these boards that can shed some light on how you do it, or how I would handle my situation. Lastly I was wondering if nurses are allowed to wear gloves the entire shift ( of course changing them between patients).

Thanks!:D

Good question!

Hopefully, you will be washing those hands so often that you may have the problem licked just by working where you touch others so often. Gloves or not, you still must wash when they are removed.

FrannyK

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From what I have read up about botox, Its effects are temporary and it costs a ton for the procedure. I would have to repeat them 3 to 4 times a year..and as a poor pre-nursing student i just cant afford them. Are we not allowed to wear gloves while handling patients?

Of course you may wear gloves.

Do you have coverage? If it is medically necessary and not cosmetic, which this isnt, it should be covered.

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Hey I suffer from the same thing and I was going to post a thread until I found this but the replies dont seem very helpful.. I think I'll post one under general discussion because it seems like you get more feedback.. Also you want to hear from a nurse who has or is experiencing this same thing to see how they manage.

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Specializes in NICU, Pediatrics/PICU.

Hello!

I have palmar hyperhidrosis as well!

At first, I was extremely worried that I might not even be able to work in healthcare at all.

It wasn't such a big deal while going through all of the textbook stuff during my first degree (BS in neuro/physio), but when got my EMT-B certification, that's when the fear started.

I always just had gloves everywhere I went. If I had to touch someone without gloves and my hands were sweating at the time, I would just apologize and explain that they get like that sometimes. Most people are understanding and don't care as much as you care yourself.

Now I'm about to start my BSN program. I'm excited, but at the same time still worried because, as you know, it's something we have to deal with every day and can be embarrassing.

The best advice I can give though is gloves, gloves, gloves! I truly believe that your other awesome skills that you'll learn and get really good at will make up for anything sweaty hands could throw at you.

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Specializes in NICU, Pediatrics/PICU.

Also Re: treatments people have suggested:

Botox can have very serious and long-lasting side effects like loss of sensation.

The surgical option, ETS, also has a high risk of negative side effects.

Some treatments work for some people, but there really is no "cure".

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hey i had hyperhydrosis which i hated and lived with utnil i was 13. I then had an operation- endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy to fix in 2000 and i worked great had it twice for each hand. They do still sweat a tiny bit in summer on 40 degree days but apart from that perfect. Would thorughly recommend it. I am now doing nursing and i am so glad i dont have it anymore dont think i could live with it if i still had it. The only problem with my hands are they alway cold and pts dont like that but its not a side affect i had that before the operation. The only side effect from the operation was i had a half red face when i played sport between the two operations but after the second operation that went away..

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hello. i have hyperhidrosis in the mild form, but you wash your hands so often that it is hardly noticeable. also, hand sanitizer (alcohol base) helps because of the alcohol. when wearing gloves, my hands tend to sweat a little more, but the patients dont notice. and when i take them off, i wash my hands and use the sanitizer, and viola! no sweaty palms....:yeah:

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Hello!

I have palmar hyperhidrosis as well!

At first, I was extremely worried that I might not even be able to work in healthcare at all.

It wasn't such a big deal while going through all of the textbook stuff during my first degree (BS in neuro/physio), but when got my EMT-B certification, that's when the fear started.

I always just had gloves everywhere I went. If I had to touch someone without gloves and my hands were sweating at the time, I would just apologize and explain that they get like that sometimes. Most people are understanding and don't care as much as you care yourself.

Now I'm about to start my BSN program. I'm excited, but at the same time still worried because, as you know, it's something we have to deal with every day and can be embarrassing.

The best advice I can give though is gloves, gloves, gloves! I truly believe that your other awesome skills that you'll learn and get really good at will make up for anything sweaty hands could throw at you.

also, you can always carry a hand towel and wipe off right before handling a patient but most patients do not even notice, it is mostly a self-conscious type-thing...:clown:

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I, too, am affected by palmar hyperhidrosis. Mine is pretty severe, and I have tried every treatment other than botox and ETS surgery. Drysol makes a little dent in the wetness but really doesn't stop it, and dri-onic (the electrical ion therapy) didn't work at all and was painful and time consuming :banghead:. I am currently taking Robinul (an anti-cholinergic) that helps but I have to take half the bottle if I want my hands dry, and then EVERYTHING else is dry too (eyes, mouth, sinuses, etc.). I really learned to live with it until I started nursing school, and now I am pretty worried about it again. I feel terrible when I am practicing assessing my lab partner and I have to touch her with my soaking wet hands :uhoh3:. I am going to be even more embarassed when we are in clinicals and I have to try to explain to patients why my hands are dripping! Sometimes it is so bad that I have a hard time getting gloves on. I have to wash my hands and dry them very well but very quickly and get my gloves on ASAP or else I can't get them on! Powdered gloves help a lot but most places don't use them anymore. I am not sure if I should tell my instructors about my problem, I am very embarassed by it so I usually try to hide it as well as I can. Maybe I would be less nervous about it if my instructors already knew and I didn't have to feel like I needed to hide it? :idea:

If anyone has any tips about how to handle this as a nurse and during school, I would REALLY appreciate it.

On a side note, I am very happy that awright had success with ETS surgery, but if any of you reading this are considering it, DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!! The success rates are NOT high...I did a LOT of research on this and more than half of the people who get it done regret it later on :redlight:. Even if you have no immediate side effects, you can develop EXTREME compensatory sweating (excessive sweating of face, scalp, thorax, legs) years later with no warning. If the surgery is successful, the hyperhidrosis can return years later after years of being dry. WORST of all, a (not common, but still possible) complication is Horner's Syndrome, which involves one or BOTH of your eyes drooping and having constricted pupils :omy:. I would take sweating over google-eyes :bugeyes: any day, and let me assure you, my sweating is not mild. PLEASE think this through THOROUGHLY and only use it as a LAST resort after trying everything else possible! If you don't believe me, google "compensatory sweating and ETS" or "Horner's Sydrome and ETS," there are LOTS of boards all over the web filled with stories of people who wish they hadn't done the surgery.

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