Excessive foot sweating, also known as pedal hyperhidrosis, usually appears in a combination with excessive hand sweat. Patients suffering from this condition may also experience problems with armpit and/or face. This condition (with the feet) is is not very common and although pedal hyperhidrosis is not as obvious and emotional upsetting as hand sweat, it can still be a problem.
Foot Sweating and Odor
The odor associated with heavy foot sweating represents one of the major issues of this condition. This can prove to be an obstacle in many social situations. The patients’ anxiety levels are high whenever they have to take of their shoes in a social environment, as they fear that the odor triggered by heavy sweating will become obvious to the others. People suffering from pedal hyperhidrosis also accuse feeling their feet wet and cold most of the time. This creates and uncomfortable feeling where they feel like they are slipping in their own shoes.
Other problems refer to the difficulties in getting pedicures. Foot infections are also more frequent, as the constant humidity favors the growth of germs and bacteria. Athletes foot is also observed with many patients of pedal hyperhidrosis.
The most commonly used medication for foot sweating includes antiperspirants and a variety of medications. These can produce good result when combined with iontophoresis. Even though it is rare, solitary pedal hyperhidrosis responds well to a treatment of sympathectomy.
i am live working in bahrain ,, my own native is india ,, when i put my shoe and sleper then my feet is sweating … i tried more then anti persparent spray and powder .and drycloor , and some cream ,, good cotton socks ,,,, odor control food pad and washing gel and new shoe
regularly 6 month but no use i did’t feel good because now this problem is bigin ,, i was asked more doctor’s how can i stop this problem ,,those doctor’s said this is your nature ..it will not stop ,,i don’t trust them …. two year’s later i sure i will cure the problem ..when go to india there doctors is must clear my problem … but now any one can help me
I am Maria,I come from Kenya.I have a problem of sweating too much on my palms and feet.Whenever i apply lotion or petroleum jelly it gets really bad,and after that my feet and hands get very cold.
During the cold season at least i have a break from all that,but when summer’s up it all erupts again. it is embarrassing, considering i can’t even hold my boyfriend’s hand when we are walking together.
Please help as this is really worrying me. In my family no one sweats as excessively as me.
Apart from surgical procedure, what else can i do to get rid of it?
I have it also but it happens at night time when my five’O alarm go’s off I go back to sleep that’s when it happens, it hard to sleep after words.
I am 14 years old and whenever I go to bed my feet start to sweat, I tried to fix the problem by having my blanket not cover them which only made it worse but making my feet cold and sweaty which is extremely uncomfortable. Is there any way to fix this problem
I developed severe plantar hyperhidrosis many years ago. my feet go throughseveral distinct phases when I wear shoes of any kind. First they heat up, then sweat, then they swell, and finally peel and blister. My only options are risky surgery, drugs with side effects or electrocution therapy.
I have learned to become a hard-core barefooter and never been healthier and happier. As long as I’m barefoot or in flip-flops I am good. Anything else and I suffer greatly.
Try going barefoot more often, you’ll be surprised how this cost-free method will change your life for the better.
Hi,
i live in Coral Springs FL i suffer from foot & hand sweating .
Can you please send me some information about it.
i have found that flipflops with cloth bottems help alot ! I get them from payless , not sure the brand . i still can not wear sandals =/
Puddles of sweat in open sandals feels gross and uncomfortable when you have to stand on your feet for extended periods of time. It was recommended that I start wearing a light sock, even with my sport sandals. It’s not as clammy with the socks.
Me and my older sister just noticed that we both had this condition about a year and a half ago. She had had it for a while before then, but it got so bad that she went to the doctor. She’s had it for about 3 years and I’ve had it for 1 and a half.
I have a really hard time finding sandals that I like because of it. As I’m sitting now, my feet are starting to sweat. Mine isn’t THAT bad, as I’ve read that there are much worse. I’m in high school & all of the cute pairs of flip flops that I find for the summer don’t end up working because my feet slide around in them because they are so sweaty. Me and my sister both experience puddles of sweat forming in our sandals.
My hands sweat excessively and that’s a problem at school. My paper starts to get damp and my pencil starts to slip. A girl made a comment about it when she accidentally touched my foot while we were sitting on the floor doing a project. It was very embarrassing, and I need something to do about it!
My mom seems to think that no one can do anything about it because that’s what the doctor told my sister. She refuses to repeat the trip, because they didn’t help us at all. They just diagnosed it and set us on our way. No meds, no anti-persperant, no nothing. Sometimes underarms even have a problem with excessive sweating, and anti-persperants just don’t work. It’s becoming a major embarrassment and problem in my confidence.
PLEASE HELP!
I started to notice it during my high schools years. I started out college wearing leather boat type shoes and Teva sport sandals. On a budget, I did not give socks much thought. Leather helped out on any odor issues. I had a few pair of them. Sometimes I had to change out of them mid day. They got so damp and became clammy. The sport sandals were fine. Walking in them made sticky wet sounds when I walked around. The older type of sandal smelled badly when taken off. Running shoes need power and insoles.
I have the same problem with not wearing socks and sweating. I thought I was the only one with this problem. I wish someone had an answer as to why and any way to prevent it from happening. I have been teased many of times for wearing socks with sandals but I gave up caring what other people think. I rather not be clammy and sweaty.
my hands and feet sweat alot when im not wearing any socks but when i do have socks on they dont sweat! therefore im always wearing socks so they dont sweat. what is wrong with me?
i’m 20 years old & for the last 3 years i’ve suffered from hyperhidrosis. mostly my feet is very sweaty and smells when i put socks and shoes on, bothered me for years, i wash them(my feet) twice a day and also i use some antiperspirant powders and sprays, but they still smell.
what should i do?
I’m 18 years old and whenever I don’t wear socks my feet always start to sweat. I thought it was normal and that the socks just absorbed it so I didn’t notice. Either way I always wear socks just because it feels so gross to have sweaty feet. Sometimes it keeps me up at night because I don’t sleep with socks on. I’ve never had a problem with the smell of them though. Weird.
My daughter has had this for two years now. It started on her hands and feet when she was 9. last summer her hands cleared up. The sweating on her hands and feet got so bad that the skin would shed and start to bleed. Now, it is only on her feet.
Her skin is so sensitive that we can’t even put medication on her feet. We are getting no help any where and the dermatologist, pediatrician, keep telling us that same thing. and nothing is working. she walks on her knees at home to get around because she cannot walk on her feet. We are going to try an allergist next.
they say she has no fungal infection just by looking at it. She has been to 3 different dermatologist , 1 foot doctor, and her pediatrician. She is always feeling sick to her stomach and her feet cramp up. Her pain goes up through her legs. We don’t know where to go with this. No one is helping and we keep trying and she is not getting any better. This is getting worse and her feet always have cuts, or sloughing going on. We never find any loose skin either. It seems to just melt away. Does any one have any idea (she has been diagnosed with hyperhidrosis) not too sure if her diagnosis is correct.
Since we’ve moved from down south to a cooler climate in Oregon, it has helped alot. My son doesn’t seem to have the symptoms anymore. Don’t know if it’s the cooler climate, or if he just out grew it.
I’m 20 years of age, and have spent those years hiding this condition fairly well. Both my hands and feet sweat constantly. My hands are the most obvious especially when I’m typing or writing something or just handling things through out the day. I never wore sandals before because sweat would bead on my toes and the backs of my feet. This past summer I bought a pair of sandals with a cloth like texture and let my feet air out. I too have noticed that it seems the hands and feet are connected when it comes to sweating. I also noticed that when I started wearing the sandals, the sweating calmed a bit and it was almost like I didn’t have the condition. Is there a special doctor for this condition that i can see?
i have been dealing with feet sweating for quite some time. it is very embarrassing. i can literally smell my feet threw my shoes and i work in a office setting so can you imagine what i go through. i am always spraying deodorizers so that my co workers can’t smell my feet. and i have to put paper towels in my shoe and change them 5 times a day cause my feet are so wet! someone please help me!!!!!!!!!
had very good luck w/ soaking my feet in a small tub of apple cider vinegar in the morning after my shower
i have been dealing with this problem the entire eighteen years i have been alive. I am currently on robinul, it seems to be controlling sweating a little… I have tried drysol and every chemical and even bought a $700 machine that sent electrical currents into me only to form blisters and irritated skin. I am only 18 and have to avoid many situations, cannot wear the shoes I want or even go to a nail salon. I seem to have no options please help me.
I also have a problem with my feet, they sweat, especially during work. I wear sandals and I always wipe them with a cloth; even worse, my feet sometimes smell bad because of the sweating. I don’t wear sandals in malls for I’m afraid the smell might be so overpowering that people will notice! Please Help.
Natasha, I also experience a reduction in foot sweating as well as hand sweating when i am wearing socks. It’s confusing, you would think it would be the other way around, but my feet and hands sweat 10x more without socks. It seems like the hands and feet are connected.
This is a problem in the summer because i can’t be walking around with socks and sandals, although that would be much more comfortable in comparison to developing puddles in my flip flops. I don’t understand this – does anyone know why it gets better with socks?
wow I’ve had this all my life. i didn’t know it was a diagnosed condition. it is so embarrassing! my feet, my hands, my arms – I’m currently thinking of only wearing black. i think i will go see a doctor
I’ve never heard any think like it, my 3 yr old son feet sweats when he is not wearing socks over a short period of time, i want to know if i should be concerned. my husband seems to think we should keep socks on his feet at all times, so that he would not get sick, even in the summer. what do you think.
Hi Steven,
Podiatry is branch of medicine concerned with the feet and a podiatrist is a health care practitioner who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of foot ailments, such as excessive sweating.
Jane L.
Son’s feet get red, very hot, beads of sweat, wakes him up at night. What type of doctor should I make an appointment with.