VerySweatyBetty.com

I want to personally thank a new member for allowing us to post her story.  She knows how important this is for us all in raising awareness on this awful skin disease, that brings us all misery every day of our lives. 

This is a very moving story of inspiration, bravery and courage. 
We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts….

Anne and Beverly xxx

If you want to join in our cause on, “Raising Awareness” Join the cause, we have a section in the forum for this HAC, Hyperhidrosis Awareness Campaign, good things are happening. 

I always say lots of little voices can make one big one.  If you want to join our cause then please send your story to our very own Beverly at betty@verysweatybetty.com   She will be glad to post it on our front page and if requested all will be confidential.  Thanks for helping us here at Very Sweaty Betty, your friendly sweaty support group.

Vicki’s story,

Hello all,

I have been asking for members help to try and get the awareness out for all to see and to encourage a guest blog on a day in their lives or a certain story you can share with us that shows what it is like.

I came up with the perfect title and many have agreed with me that it is perfect…how much has treatment really changed in the last 10 years?!  Not much.  ETS is less and being banned in certain countries around the world. 

I would love to feature your story and let people see how we suffer from this awful affliction.

Think about it and get writing

Our first guest blog is our very own Denise, she is such a talented lady and an amazing friend.  Denise also invented the Wrapps,  www.coolwrapps.com which have saved many of us from embarrassing situations.   Denise is a very talented writer also, enjoy.

The Dark Ages, Living with Hyperhidrosis

For many of us, we have discovered that most health care providers are wholly unable to understand what it is to be the patient. Largely because, they are the Doctor and have spent years of their lives learning about body parts. Sadly, that is reflected in treatment of the current ailment, sprained ankle, migrain headache, or broken bone that necessitated your visit. You are simply a body part, to be attended to. The whole person insignificant. This is the American way; to treat pregnancy as a disease; while we have managed to turn our birth rate into one that rivals any third world nation in the world. How did things come to be this way? Moreover, is there anything we do to change it? It will be an uphill battle, but having lived for as long as you have with Hyperhidrosis, can you think of any better training?

A while back, Dr. Oz did another segment on hh. The advise to those of us suffering from HH was simple: “wear a little extra deoderant and don’t worry about it.”   Though I had sent Dr. Oz an email on a previous occasion, this was too much. I wrote  Dr. Oz a letter asking him to please refrain from doing any more segments on HH.   I asked Dr. Oz how many times in a day did he advise the application of deoderant on the scalp, back, back of the knees, etc.   Explained to Dr. Oz that I understood he did not believe in HH.

I had a doctor (here where I live,) who did not believe in depression, and refused to write me a prescription for antidepressants.   I understand Dr. Oz does not believe in HH, this other doctor did not believe in depression. But it is still hurtful to those of us who suffered from either, or both.   So please stop doing segments on HH, it is only hurting us as you do not have a clue.

I sent the letter to his TV show, in New York, and it was returned to me, unopened, with a big black question mark by my name on the return address.   I immediately looked up his work adress, and enclosed an other note on top of the unopened, returned letter about how he really knew how to make his viewers feel important, and put it back in the mail. No, I have not heard from him. I do not expect to. He is an important man, a Doctor, for crying out loud.   He does not have time to listen to his viewers, he has to do a surgery, a show. He is a busy man, much to busy to learn that he does not know what he is talking about.   Why should he listen to his viewers or patients? We did not go to medical school, he did. And that appears to be the prevailing attitude of most doctors, the M.D. stands for Major Diety. It does not, and I am so tired of this attitude. The medical community can not even decide if drinking coffee is good or bad for us, for crying out loud. Why do doctors have the right to decide which disease they believe in, or treat? Why? This I do not know.   I do know, that it is difficult to find a decent doctor, one that will listen. And if it takes raising our voices to be heard, or voting with our feet, each of us must decide which course of action to take.

Denise

Denise, we feel your pain and know how frustrating this is, how about you get in touch with my good friend Dr Danial Carrasco.  He was the only one who fully knew about living with HH, his brother suffers from this disease and he was patient and understanding.  He also trains other Doctors about Hyperhidrosis.  I doubt I will ever find another Dr so understanding again.

Dr Carrasco is our Doctor on board, if you have private questions to ask him in regards to your Hyperhidrosis PM myself, Anne, Beverly, Denise or Kimberly and we will make sure he gets your questions.
The Dark Ages is open for all comments and if you want to feature your guest blog, please let me know on the forum or our Sweaty Betty FaceBook page and we can make this happen.

Lots of little voices can make one huge voice, lets get heard and lets make a difference.

Want to thank our member and guest for this wonderful blog. You are a pure gem.

If you want to help us RAISE AWARENESS on living with Hyperhidrosis, please join in our cause.  We are one of the highest viewed sites and our Alexa ratings are high.  What could be better than trying to get our little voices out to make one big one.

My story,

I have had palmer hyperhydrosis since I can remember (I’m 25) and it has caused me no end of bullying through school with people not wanting to hold my hand etc.   I have tried all the creams available and, although they work well to an extent, they make my hands so dry and sore that I can’t use them for any length of time.

Since having my son I have also developed it in my armpits (and also a bit in my feet though not quite as bad) and now my problems have really started.

I work in a high school as a learning support assistant, and even though I wash everyday and use various deodorants etc. throughout the day, I have kids refusing to sit with with me because ‘I smell’ and now have my boss on to me trying to get occupational health involved as she has had ‘complaints from other staff’ about my condition.

I have explained many times that I am doing all I can to control my condition and that the last time I spoke to a doctor about it I seemed to know more than they did!  (So basically don’t think HE will tell me anything I don’t already know!)

Also I myself do not always notice any odor so I need the other staff support to tell me, but to no avail.   They are even telling me that if I don’t “SORT OUT THE PROBLEM” then I may not be able to CONTINUE WITH MY JOB!

I am also suffering with work related stress at the moment which is only exacerbating my condition, and now with them ‘on my back’ about it it is only getting even worse in both respects! (The only strategy they have suggested to ‘help’ is that I change my clothes at regular intervals during the day. With the amount I sweat this would be about every 2 hours or so to avoid any trace of sweat patches or smell so I would need 3 changes of clothes everyday at work! Plus I could just imagine the kids asking “Why have you changed your top Miss?”   So it is just not practical in my view!

I also have a problem with my amateur dramatics society when,  at the last minute I was given a very thick,  hot cloak to wear onstage.   I informed them of my condition and that I would be likely to faint with the heat and loss of water if I had to wear it,  (I once came VERY close to fainting onstage in the past and only just made it backstage before I literally collapsed in a chair!)   I was told to “GROW UP AND GET ON WITH IT“!                                                                             “EVERYONE SWEATS”,  and finds the cloaks hot but they just get on with it!”   Evey night of that show I used to just about make it through the scene and then have to rush to sit on a chair and drink loads of sports drink before I was fit for anything. even then if one of the older members wanted the chair I was expected to give it up as I was ‘Just being silly!’

I really think more should be done to, PROMOTE AWARENESS,  for this condition to the general public and medical staff,  as people seem to have no idea about how debilitating this condition is or how hard it is to ‘just deal with it’. They seem to think we can just stop the sweating but we can’t!

How we can all relate to this, what would you advise our kind member?  We all suffer the same.  Please join us in our battle to raise awareness on this awful affliction we all share.  Feel free to leave comment, join us in our forum www.verysweatybetty/forum

The more we help the STRONGER WE BECOME.

Tell us your story, join the forum to make this possible, help for the better cause.

I decided to split the blog from the testimonials to make everything easier to find.

Hydrosal website (US)
Hydrosal website (Canada)

Hydrosal customer testimonials
Forum link blog
Forum link testimonials

“Hi, I’m from Australia and I would like to say, I would pay whatever dollar to fix up my sweaty arm pit problem, and then I came across Hydrosal!. I just would like to say there is no other product that works as good as this. and I have tried every single product out there and this is by far the best! I will keep using this product until I stop having this problem. Thanks, Jason ”

Jason
“I would like to bring to your attention, that I have tried the product that my doctor has recommended Hydrosal. For the pass thirty years I suffered in complete embarrassment, severe sweating from the forehead, and other body areas.
This sweating was triggered by nervousness on my confrontation of an individual that I met, or dealt with on first time basis.
The more I realized I was sweating, the more severe it became. It was devastating for me, and I spoke to many doctors with really no feed back from them. Meeting Dr Benohanian was for me a miracle; Life has given me a second chance. Hydrosal is amazing and very easy to apply with almost 90 to 95 % effective rate for me. Keep up the good work and create more beneficial products like Hydrosal!! Thanks again. ”

Allan
“Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I have suffered from excessive sweating as long as I can remember…..the last 10 years specifically, have been the worst. I was ready to have surgery to have my sweat glands removed in my arm pits as nothing seemed to work. My doctor called me 2 weeks ago to tell me about an article that she read in the paper about Hydrosal Professional. After the first 2 days it started to sting a little when I applied the gel, but I got over that fast when I realized that it was working. I just finished my 7 days and have not sweat at all in 5 days. I am absolutely thrilled and hope that others will try this too. I realize that sweating is an embarrassing issue and I myself didn’t talk about it much with other people, but it’s kind of obvious when you can see it through your clothing. Since I no longer have this problem I have been telling my friends and family about it because I know how difficult dealing with this issue is and how much it affects your life. I am surprised to hear how many other people have excessive sweating also. Thanks again and I will continue to spread knowledge about this great product! ”

Jennifer
“Before Hydrosal I would always have to worry about sweat stains in the shirts I used to wear. Now after using Hydrosal I can wear any color I want in any fabric. Hydrosal worked fast too; after 2 days I could already see the results – no more sweat stains. I highly recommend Hydrosal to anybody who has had it with those extremely embarrassing sweat stains and doesn’t want to worry about them anymore! ”

Julia
“My story began in high school. Whenever I had a big exam or had to do a presentation in class, I would start to perspire. I tried many different deodorants, changing deodorants almost every other day. I wore dark clothing, trying to mask my condition. I started purchasing only cotton garments as well in an attempt to hide the perspiration. When the condition was at its worst, I would place many tissues or a small towel under my shirt to contain the perspiration. I would have to change clothing once I arrived at an event due to the excessive perspiration. Ten years later, a friend of mine saw an Oprah show on “Hyperhydrosis” and how this was a known medical condition. From her information, I did some research online and found a doctor in Montreal that specialized in the treatment of Hyperhydrosis. The doctor prescribed “Hydrosal”. I put some on everyday for seven days before bed, and it worked! After that, I only need to apply the gel once a week and it continues to work. I’ve been using the gel for two months now. “Hydrosal” does not have any odor, has not caused any discomfort, and has removed my worries about public embarrassment. Thank you for helping me get over my embarrassing condition. ”

Sophia
“I am delighted to see that after 34 years of experience as a dermatologist, Valeo Pharma is bringing Hydrosal Professional to America. I have had the rare opportunity of treating over 7000 patients suffering from excessive sweating; the affected sites were the underarms, hands, feet,face and groins. Some of them were unquestionably candidates for surgery. Hydrosal, a new first line treatment for excessive sweating, consists of aluminum chloride hexahydrate in a proprietary gel base.Studies have demonstrated that a gel vehicle is better tolerated than an alcohol solution and that may be the reason why such preparations have improved efficacy and are better tolerated. I highly recommend this product as a first line treatment before considering Iontophoresis, Botox® injections or surgery. ”

Antranik Benohanian MD, FRCPC, FAAD

Dr. Benohanian is a Dermatologist at the Montreal University Hospital Center (Saint-Luc Hospital)
“I’ve had plantar hyperhidrosis since childhood, but figured I’d have to suffer through it. This winter my sweaty feet got so wet and cold that I got 2nd degree frostbite on two toes, so I became desperate to find something to help. I found Hydrosal Gel while researching iontophoresis online. I was skeptical but am thrilled with the results! Noticeable difference after two nights and I haven’t had to re-apply for two weeks now (plus, I’m in Hawaii where it’s much warmer than Calgary). My feet are sweat-free but the skin is not dehydrated or itchy. I’m so glad to have found this terrific product! Will also add that the service from Well.ca was great, along with the best price plus free-shipping. Thank you!! ”

well.ca customer
“It’s awesome – if you take any prescription medication and the side effect is that you are sweating buckets… well, this is a true life saver. Also a great thing to put on if you want to go out all night dancing as you will not sweat. I am sure the company can improve in the area of how often to apply. Apart from that, if you don’t take medication and just have hyperhydrosis, you would have to use it a lot less after the first week. ”

well.ca customer
“This stuff really works! I’ve had excessive sweating for years and had pretty much given up on finding a solution.

I tried Hydrosal gel and after a few days the sweating was gone. Now I only use it a few nights a week. Let’s say I stop using it for a few days. All I have to do is start using it again and by the 2nd night the sweating has stopped again. ”

well.ca customer
“I read on the net about this product and thought I would give it a go. I have a little bit of a face perspire issue in tight places like bars where people may be elbow to elbow, or job interviews with stress. I bought it, LOVE it! I use it only when needed before a situation and its all win. HIGHLY recommended and supplier is good also. ”

well.ca customer
“ I have never used any product that works as well as Hydrosal Gel. ”

well.ca customer
“ This stuff is a life saver! ”

well.ca customer

Sometimes it’s easier to gauge whether a product is worth trying when you read testimonials – so we’ve been sent the below for you to get a feel of what Klima Antiperspirant has done for other people.

Sweat Guard’s website

Forum link

Hydrosal website
Hydrosal customer testimonials
Forum link blog
Forum link testimonials

I’ve recently been trying Hydrosal Antiperspirant. It’s a clear, colorless, odorless, topical gel that you apply (sparingly) to your underarm area. Hydrosal is great for treating hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating). It’s a unique formulation developed by dermatologists, Hydrosal Gel contains the highly effective ingredient aluminum chloride hexahydrate delivered in a simple gel base. It’s simple to use. Wash and thoroughly dry the area to be treated, apply Hydrosal every night for seven nights at bed time, then continue as needed or as directed by a healthcare professional.

Hydrosal Gel is specially formulated for people who suffer with hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating). The gel contains 15% aluminum chloride hexahydrate, a concentration proven to be more effective than other aluminum salts typically used in regular antiperspirants. The gel base means that Hydrosal has a low risk of irritation. Studies have shown the gel formulation is better tolerated than an alcohol solution found in many other products available for treating excessive sweating. In addition to reducing perspiration, Hydrosal Gel also helps to reduce underarm odor.

How To Use Hydrosal Gel
It is recommended that you wash and dry the area to be treated prior to application. A hair dryer set on “cool” could be used if necessary. A small quantity should be applied for seven consecutive nights at bedtime, then continued as needed. If you have sensitive skin, two to three treatments per week at bedtime are initially recommended. For minor irritations, a hydrocortisone cream could be applied an hour before the application of the gel and 15 minutes later if needed. If irritation persists, stop the medication and contact your doctor. Hydrosal Gel should not be applied to irritated, freshly shaved, or broken skin.

Side Effects
Hydrosal Gel is generally well tolerated by most people. However, along with most products, it does have the ability to irritate skin. If irritation persists, stop using Hydrosal Gel and contact your doctor.

The first time I tried Hydrosal was a bit hit and miss. Learning to use any new product and getting to know how to get the best out of it can take a while. The first night I used it, I went overboard on the amount I used. I had enough for four underarms but since I couldn’t get it back into the bottle, I slathered it on. Not surprisingly, the next morning my armpits were burning. I’d been trialling another product that had burned my skin so I decided to leave Hydrosal for a few weeks. Once my skin had healed, I used less of the gel. The next morning, my skin was still itchy so I left it another couple of weeks before trying again. Having done some research on products in general, I decided to use it within the hairline only, and sparingly at that. Tip: if you can’t get your skin bone dry prior to using a product, use a hairdryer on cool setting or dust lightly with some talc. This helped a great deal because my skin was slightly damp when I applied it. That was possibly one of the reasons my delicate skin became sore and itchy. Anyway. My trial eventually worked! I had to experiment with where to place the gel, if I used it outside of the ‘hair line’, or used too much, or used after shaving, it set me back a few days. Now I’ve fine tuned it, I’m very happy with the results! The bottle lasts for ages too.

Hydrosal was recently featured in a journal article published in the July 2011 issue of Cutis by Dr. Woolery-Lloyd and Dr. Valins from the University of Miami Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery. The article highlights Hydrosal’s efficacy as cotherapy with Botox for people who obtain a suboptimal response from treatment with Botox alone. The patients included suffered from moderate to severe hyperhidrosis, on the HDSS scale a 3 or 4. All participants reached 75-100% response rate with cotherapy and no irritation was observed.

I know Botox injections can be quite painful, and this cotherapy allows for minimizing breakthrough sweating and extending the duration of treatment, both fabulous for the patient health and wallet!

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME – aka Plantar Hyperhidrosis / sweaty feet

Among the important functions of our skin is to assist in getting rid of the excess heat from our body. This is accomplished by evaporative cooling (the sweat evaporates taking with it heat extracted from the body). When there is excess sweating or it is retained on the body, the sweat accumulates; this is called hyperhidrosis. Sweat ordinarily does not produce an odor. If the sweat stays on the skin too long, it can contribute to the growth of bacteria and the breakdown of skin chemicals. This bad smelling sweat is called bromhidrosis. The first condition can be a simple annoyance to you and the second can be an annoyance to those around you, especially in a oriental food restaurant.

RISKS OF SWEATY FEET:

Sweaty feet can also have a harmful effect on other aspects of your foot health too. The excess sweat can act as a chemical vehicle and solvent extracting chemicals from the linings of your shoes. These dissolved, shoe chemicals can cause skin rashes (contact or allergic dermatitis). The sweat can also lead the more rapid deterioration of your shoes.

Most importantly, the sweat also significantly changes the environment inside your shoes to not only dark and warm, but also damp — the perfect environment for certain yeast, mold, fungal and viral infections of the skin. Sweaty feet are thus more like to develop skin rashes, yeast infections, athletes foot, fungus toenails and warts (common or plantar). If you have any of these conditions, then controlling your hyperhidrosis is very important for treating these concurrent problems.

YOU CAN DO IT!:

Here is some helpful advice which you can follow if you have a problem stemming from or worsened by excess perspiration (sweating) of your feet.

HYGIENE is the first and simplest factor which must be addressed. If the feet, toes and toe webs are not well cleansed regularly and kept dry, sweat will accumulate, and foot odor and infections can result.

The feet, toes and toe webs MUST be “cleansed” well, NOT just rinsed off. Use a surgical-grade antibacterial soap such as Betadine® Skin Cleanser (VERY drying; not to be used if allergic to iodine!) or Hibiclens®, or their generic equivalents, available at your pharmacy. “Deodorant” soaps are NOT enough to control bacteria. Cleansing means gently cleaning with a washcloth and then lathering up the feet again with one of the antiseptic soaps and allowing that lather to sit on the feet for a minute before washing it off. Then it is important to thoroughly dry the feet and webs, if necessary with a “hair” drier.

FOOT ENVIRONMENT is the second, obvious area to focus on. We usually encase our feet in closed, tight, shoes which are often made of non-absorbent materials, such as patent leather, plastics, vinyl, and rubber. Frequently shoes are glued together instead of sewn. Do NOT were cotton socks in closed shoes (compared to sandals). Cotton socks in winter, outdoors, can make your feet cold and likely to get frostbite. Cotton socks in closed shoes guarantees hotter, wetter feet!

Whenever possible, wear shoes which closely match the shape and contours of your feet and toes. Limit the use of “stylish,” “designer” shoes. Wear shoes that fit properly; be measured for them before buying; and allow plenty of room in the toe box. If you cannot easily wiggle your toes in the shoe, it is too tight. Wear shoes with uppers made of leather, not impervious. Gortex is great for venting excess perspiration. NEVER wear the same shoes two days in a row; use shoe-trees between uses. Allow your shoes to DRY out a full day before wearing that pair again.

Powder your feet, toes and webs (NOT the shoes) with a good foot powder such as ZeaSorb® (which contains micro-fine cellulose) before donning your socks or stockings. In cool or cold weathers, a thin pair of polypropylene or acrylic socks worn under more absorbent socks of acrylic-wool blend will keep the feet drier. A medium-bulk acrylic sock would be a good substitute for the preceding combination. Cotton socks should be AVOIDED, especially in closed shoes! They are absorbent BUT they hold your own sweat against your skin – there to cause problems! Wear only clean socks – daily. If you have a significant sweat problem, change you socks or stocking half-way through the day, re-powdering your feet when you do.

At the end of the day, wear sandals, zorries or flip-flops around the house. Where appropriate go shoeless with or without a pair of fresh, clean socks. (Caution: may be slippery on tile and wooden floors and stairs!) AVOID foam-filled, terry cloth (usually cotton uppers) slippers.

STRESS makes you Sweat!
Perhaps the most difficult factor to control is the stress in your life. The more “tension” you are under, the more you are likely to have sweaty feet. Modifying your behavior and your psychological environment (at home and at work) to lessen excessive stress will help you control sweating. This is an ongoing task which you must confront, hopefully with the cooperation of the people you have to deal with. Professional guidance may help.

What more can be done?

Several other tools and techniques can help to lessen the problem of sweaty (and smelly) feet.

Soaking your feet in (yes!) regular tea (which contains the astringent tannic acid) daily can be helpful (though it may “stain” your feet). Wiping you feet, toes and webs with rubbing alcohol a couple times daily (or at least before going to bed) may be helpful too; allow it to dry thoroughly. In addition to a towel, consider drying your feet carefully with a hair drier (with heat off in summer and, if safe, on in winter).

For a severe sweating problem and cracking between the toes, place a wick of gauze in each of the web spaces, extending onto the top and bottom of the feet. These can be cut from a cotton gauze pad or from a roll of soft-woven gauze.

Rx: If simpler methods are insufficient, using prescription strength antiperspirants (NOT deordorants!) may be needed. DrySol® or Xerac-AC® is applied nightly to DRY/dried feet(above) and washed off in the morning several times each week. These strong preparations work so well that professional guidance is advised. If your own efforts don’t seem to be working, then call us and come in to see me! We will do our best to help you achieve a better level of foot health. We look forward to serving you, your family and friends for this and other foot and ankle concerns.

http://wethersfield.net/html/fhs/pis/sweatyft.html

I just wanted to let everyone know that vsb (more specifically WordPress servers) have had an intermittent fault this past few days. I’m keeping an eye on it!

Due to the downtime, we’re extending this giveaway date for another 5 days – it will end on 20th September now. 23:59 to be exact – you’ll have all day to enter the competition!

Forum link

Kleinerts Sweat Shield Wipes – FREE giveaway (NEW)
These Once-a-Week wipes come in a convenient sachet and afford you safe and effective protection from sweat – and better still, you can use them just about everywhere!

- Clinically tested
- No irritation with extra aoles added
- Waterproof through showering
- Easy to apply
- Safe for underarms, face, hands, chest, back and feet (please keep this away from your eyes).

We have TEN free boxes of their Sweat Shield Wipes to give away to ten lucky recipients. Each box is enough for up to two whole months of protection against sweat. Each box is worth $16.99 so it’s a prize that’s well worth having.

HOW TO ENTER:
1. Send an email to kleinerts@verysweatybetty.com
2. You MUST include ‘kleinerts giveaway’ in the subject line
3. You MUST include your verysweatybetty forum member name in the body of the email
4. You can enter as many times as you like – although that doesn’t mean you can win more than once!
5. The winners will be chosen entirely at random and notified once the competition has closed on 15th September 2011
6. Please note, Kleinerts Sweat Shield Wipes free giveaway is open to North America residents only.

A note about spam – don’t worry, we keep all your information 100% PRIVATE. You have our word that you won’t receive spam because of us.

I always find it really interesting to read other people’s experiences with Hyperhidrosis and came across this blog – it’s written by a Canadian guy and tells his experiences of Japanese Summer and how harsh they can be. I’ve also added the comments left on the blog.

I really really hope the blog owner doesn’t mind us publishing this, I’ve sent him a message on Twitter with a link to where he can find us – if he does, and he wants his blog removed then that’s no problem, just email me and please accept our fervent apologies for overstepping the mark

Forum Link

Sunday, May 22, 2011
Sweating in Japan

Growing up in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, I faced a varied climate. There were some distinct seasons. We of course were faced with damp, slushy and cold winters. Those were followed by muddy and damp springs. After spring was the shortest season of them all, summer. Summer lasted from about the second week of July until the end of August. The temperatures were arm and relatively dry. We would deal with average temperatures of about 25C, comfortable and warm. After that came my favorite season, fall. The air was crisp and the fall colours throughout Cape Breton’s forests were simply breathtaking.

Fast forward many years and I find myself living in the Kansai region of Japan. The climate is far different from what I grew up with and people deal with the elements in a very different way.

How do the seasons here in Kobe compare with those I dealt with while growing up? Well, there isn’t a lot in common!

In Kobe, there are certainly distinct seasons. Winter is mild and very easy to cope with. I like to refer to winters here as “winter lite”! We basically have no snow at all and the temperatures hover around 5C. Winter in Kobe is like mid-fall back home. I like it, but I occasionally miss the “white stuff.” Spring comes along and temperatures skyrocket very quickly. By mid-May, temperatures are I the mid to high 20’s. Then comes a bonus season! Rainy Season.

Rainy Season is basically a month of wet and a whole lot of not fun. As I am writing this post, the rainy season is beginning.

This is a month of having to hang your laundry inside your house (although clothes dryers are standard in Canadian households, they don’t exist in Japan). It is a month of your clothes not drying, getting moldy and not smelling so fresh. This is a season of testing the strength and durability of a variety of umbrellas and hoping someone doesn’t steal your umbrella when you leave it in the umbrella stand outside your office. It is wet!

Rainy season passes and we are immediately thrown into the “Japanese sauna”!

Summer in this area of Japan is brutal. It is hot and very humid. Often, with the humidex, temperatures reach the high 30’s and at times the low 40’s. You sweat from the time you wake up until the time you go to bed. Then you sweat in bed!

Summer in Japan is all about having high power bills in your house because of the air conditioner (even though many Japanese people refuse to use the air conditioners they have) and pointing fans in every direction you can think of.

During my first summer here, I was often self-conscience about the amount I was sweating. I was embarrassed about the fact that the underarms of my shirt were often wet. I was embarrassed about constantly having to wipe the endless waterfall of sweat from my brow. Then I began to look around and noticed that I wasn’t alone. Most of the people around me were sharing the same misery! Most men were also soaking through their shirts and I realized most people carried “sweat towels.” Small towels used to wipe their brows, necks and faces. Both men and women would constantly use these towels. Construction workers normally just tie a white towel around their heads like a bandana to soak up the moisture (I’ve even seen a few dorky foreigners do the same).

Once the sweltering nastiness of summer passes, we have fall in Japan. Fall here is much like mid-summer where I grew up in Canada. It is still pretty warm, but at least the sweating pretty much stops.

Then we’re back to winter and the cycle continues.

Conclusion: Weather here is a lot different than what I grew up with and summer here REALLY sucks!

I thought I’d add the comments, the first one made me smile – everyone’s sweat is the same, no matter where we come from I’ve never come across a person with Hyperhidrosis who actually smells (I had to get that in!). We’re the most hygienic people you could ever come across. And if the antiperspirants in Japan are that weak then I really do feel for them, it must be their own personal hell, especially in their Summer.

jaydeejapan said…
There’s something that always amused me about sweating in Japan. The deodorant in Japan is incredibly weak. The reason? Japanese people tell me it’s because Japanese sweat has no smell.
Right…
Some of the worst smelling people I have ever smelled in my entire life are Japanese businessmen.

Hiko said…
I always tell anyone who will listen not to come to Tokyo between May and September – summer in NZ sounds a lot like Canada, only we get a nice long summer. Winter is rainy and cold – Tokyo only gets nice pleasant warm weather for about 2 weeks each spring and each autumn – and I have heard that summers are worse in Kansai. Climate was apparently a big consideration in the relocation of the capital to Tokyo.

jenninjapan said…
Quite glad for the cool summers here on the north island! I actually went to Kansai last August. Stayed with my family in Osaka while day tripping Nara, Kyoto, and Kobe. I thought I was going to die. And this is after having lived six years in the very tropical climate of central Florida. At least in the States, everything (EVERYTHING) has air conditioning. Not the case in Japan, ne. Is a/c prevalent in Canada?

Forum link

As you know, school is back in swing for many children, with some just finishing their Summer break shortly. Many of our younger members are in a silent panic over this and how their HH will continue to control them during school hours. As a parent of 3 (one step daughter) 2 of my children both have HH. I am lucky that I am educated in this field and can show them how to cope and disguise their HH.

We often oversee how they are coping emotionally and physically. This is so important to address with your teen, child and young adult. They may seem OK on the outside but I know from experience and life suffering as a teen in the 80′s when HH was unheard of, it is hard to handle and with all that goes on in our daily life’s they are probably suffering in silence. Children and teens can be so cruel. I faced this a lot and was called Sweaty Betty.

If your child, teen, young adult has been diagnosed with HH or is showing signs of excessive sweating I encourage you to talk about this often and get in touch with their inner beings, how they feel, if they show signs of depression. We all suffer from this from time to time with living with HH, it emotionally drains us and the physical side of it also.

Your child, teen or young adult may feel different or even a freak! I know I did and know many others who feel the same way. Make sure they are not hiding away in their room dwelling on this…We have the tools and great people who can help you and your child.

We know which products work, can help with clothing and have many Hyperhidrosis product manufacturing companies (all of whom all suffer personally) who can give them advice on using their products effectively and many forum members who can help with hints and tricks on living with HH.

We encourage everyone to they find a good Dermatologist that knows about HH and can help them with treatment. If you are not able to do this, there are some fantastic products on the market now that really work and treat HH. We also have discount rates on some products, thanks to some very kind product manufacturers and companies.

Here at VSB we offer a safe place and friendly forum for your child, teen or young adult to get together and chat among themselves with great monitors who are teen sufferers themselves, (AmyLouise, Hannah, Milly), The adult administration are Beverly, Sally, Lisa, Kimberley and myself. We monitor who joins and what is posted. We also have a counselor, hyperhidrosis nurse, dermatologist who specialises in hyperhidrosis all on hand to help answer your questions.

We pride ourselves on this free facility and have reached our dreams as the world’s largest online (and probably offline!) privately owned Hyperhidrosis Support website. We are – and always will be – unpaid volunteers. Some things are far more important than money. Raising awareness while helping people come to terms with – and take control of their sweating – is exactly what we are all about. Thankfully, we have some fabulous sponsors who enable us to keep this website up and running and funding all sorts of projects to bring awareness of this miserable disease.

I went though many years of not being understood and hiding away under layers of clothing and battling this alone, I feel into depression and sunk inside. Please don’t let this happen to your child, we are just a click away, our Facebook page, either search for /betty.sweaty or click HERE) is active daily. We encourage parents to talk to each other for mutual support and discuss how your child is coping. We are also on Twitter @verysweatybetty and YouTube (/verysweatybetty) where we have our two tv documentaries (one in the UK for Channel 4, the other in the US for TLC channel) and even a couple of videos from one of our lovely members (Alan) who uses iontophoresis to successfully treat his hands. Alan is a multi-talented street magician and uses his hands all the time.

You have all the tools you need right here at VSB, WE are here for advice, support and most importantly friendship with others who all suffer from Hyperhidrosis.

Hugs,

Anne x