Excessive Sweating in Lagos?
Medical Causes First — Then Treatment.

Excessive Sweating — Medical Causes and Treatment

Primary hyperhidrosis

The most common form — idiopathic excessive sweating of the palms, axillae (armpits), feet, or face, without an identifiable medical cause. Affects approximately 3% of people. Treated with prescription-strength aluminium chloride antiperspirant (20% aluminium chloride hexahydrate applied at night to dry skin), iontophoresis, or — for severe cases — botulinum toxin injection or surgery (endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy).

Secondary hyperhidrosis — medical causes to exclude

• Hyperthyroidism: Overactive thyroid causes generalised sweating, weight loss, heat intolerance, and palpitations. TSH test diagnoses it.
• Diabetes and hypoglycaemia: Low blood sugar episodes cause sweating, particularly at night.
• Infections: TB and other chronic infections cause drenching night sweats — a red flag symptom requiring investigation.
• Menopause: Hot flushes with profuse sweating — a classic perimenopausal symptom related to oestrogen decline.
• Lymphoma: Drenching night sweats alongside weight loss and lymph node swelling — a serious combination requiring urgent investigation.

Night sweats — when to worry

Drenching night sweats that soak the bedclothes are not benign and require investigation — particularly if associated with weight loss, fever, or lymph node swelling. These are the 'B symptoms' of lymphoma. TSH, FBC, HIV test, and chest X-ray are the initial investigations.