Dear Dr. Roach: I hope you will be able to help me with my problem. I am 67 years old and have been sweating profusely from my head for about six years. I believe it is secondary hyperhidrosis.
No one in my family has this problem. The sweating seems to happen at various times of day, but not at night. The moisture runs in rivulets from my scalp anytime from morning to evening, but mostly in the morning.
I tried stopping my water pill, but it still happened. It happened when I stopped vitamins and took only my medications for physical problems. My doctor tested my thyroid, and it was fine.
Please help me, as it is an embarrassing ailment, and it happens no matter the season or what I have eaten. I do drink tea and coffee, but not soda.
There are people who have said I should take Botox, but I have little faith in the product, as it can cause serious health problems and death. M.E.
鈥淗yperhidrosis鈥� simply means 鈥渢oo much sweat.鈥� I think you probably have primary hyperhidrosis, meaning that the sweating is the only problem, as opposed to secondary, which means it鈥檚 due to something else.
Conditions that can lead to secondary hyperhidrosis include the thyroid disease your doctor looked for, and medications, which also seem unlikely.
Other rare causes, such as tuberculosis and lymphoma, surely would have produced other symptoms by now.
The most common sites for hyperhidrosis are the palms, armpits and soles of the feet. Nearly everybody sweats in those places, but with hyperhidrosis, the amount of sweat is much greater than normal and can have serious emotional, professional and social effects.
The first treatment I would recommend would be a prescription antiperspirant, either aluminum chloride (Xerac) or topical glycopyrrolate (available by compounding pharmacies in the U.S. and sa国际传媒).
The scalp is a harder place than most to apply it, but after applying, you can dry with a hair dryer, and use a plastic shower cap to keep the medicine on at nighttime. Occasionally, oral medications such as clonidine are used.
Botulinum toxin (Botox) is usually quite safe in expert hands. A last resort is surgery to remove the sympathetic nerves to the scalp, a procedure that鈥檚 very effective.
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Dear Dr. Roach: Some time ago, I had a lot of noise coming from my stomach, a kind of growling sound. It stopped for some time, but now it comes on again once in a while. No pain, just the noise. T.
These noises go by the imposing name of borborygmi (BOR-boh-RIG-mee), and are both common and normal most of the time. They reflect the movement of the stomach and the intestines.
Since there is no pain, you don鈥檛 have to do anything about them.
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Dear Dr. Roach: I have heard that magnesium destroys vitamin B, and vitamin B keeps you warm. I am cold all the time. I take magnesium for a delayed heartbeat. Do you think that magnesium is my problem? H.A.
I also have heard that vitamin deficiencies, including B vitamins and vitamin D, can lead to intolerance of cold. However, I couldn鈥檛 find much good scientific evidence to support that, and none at all that magnesium causes problems with vitamin absorption or activity.
Low thyroid, hypothyroidism, is the first condition that comes to mind with cold intolerance, and anemia is the second. Although it can鈥檛 hurt to try a B-vitamin supplement, I would recommend getting checked out for these conditions.
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Dr. Roach Writes: In November, I wrote about shingles, and several people wrote in to tell me about treatments I did not mention. One was a lidocaine patch, a topical anesthetic. If the area of pain is small, these can be very effective. Another told me about a 鈥渟crambler鈥� device that uses electricity on the skin to reduce pain. A topical cream, gallium maltolate, has shown early promise.
Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to [email protected]
