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Desensitizing Yourself, Part 2

22 August 2003

(Continued from Part 1) OK, now about the second concern, that the wetness is uncomfortable. Well, yes, it can be, especially depending on what your problem area is. I think underarm sweating is the least troublesome in this regard, compared to some of the other common areas: feet, hand and head, but I can't say for sure since my problem area is only the underarms.

I've learned that my level of comfort is very much influenced by the type of fabric I wear. I find cotton, which seems to be the fabric of choice for many people, to be dreadfully heavy and uncomfortable when wet. It feels like someone has attached weights under my arms. And when cotton gets wet, it takes forever to dry, prolonging the discomfort.

No, my choice for fabric is the much maligned polyester. Polyester acquired a bad reputation thanks to the many cheap clothes in which it has been used, as well as the early weaves which were tight and didn't breathe. But that's changed. Look at what is now used for athletic wear designed to wick the sweat away: it's polyester!

Look for microfiber polyester. It's a thin fiber that looks and feels very much like silk, breathes and dries fast. I have an array of blouses in polyester microfiber and I don't know what I'd do without them. They are a staple of my outfits for work. They are also durable, lightweight, put up with repeated sweat events, dry quickly, and perspiration stains wash out easily.

About the only negative thing is poly dries so fast, the fabric can get cold. Sometimes the first clue that I'm sweating is when I turn and my blouse shifts such that a wet part suddenly touches my skin and feels cold. There's another fabric that is better in this regard: silk. That leads into discussing the third concern people with HH most frequently had, that clothing gets stained.

Now I know you're thinking that because silk waterspots, how can a person with HH wear it? I used to think that too, but then I discovered the main problem is antiperspirant. If I use antiP while wearing silk, something about the chemicals mixes with my sweat to produce water spots that permanently stain the fabric. If I don't use antiP, I sweat more but any perspiration stains wash right out! There is no need to go the dry cleaners, I just toss my silk tops in a cold water laundry and they come out fine.

Perhaps it's just my body chemistry that lets this happen, so the first time you try it you might want to avoid your best silk blouse. I encourage you to see if it works for you too: avoid antiperspirant, wear a silk top, wash it in cold water. Let me know what happens. The discovery thrilled me because I learned I no longer had to deny myself the luxury of silk.

I received a few emails about my July 24 blog about how to desensitize yourself about HH. Here's one from Randi M.

"Janet, I love your site! I've had underarm hyperdidrosis since my teenage years and since then have been wearing lots and lots of black to hide the problem. I was jealous of women who could wear anything they wanted. When I read your site, I thought, no way, this can't work, but something made me try it. I wore a white cotton shirt and went shopping. I was so nervous that someone would notice my sweating that I was sweating even more than usual! However just like you said, no one seemed to care much less notice that my shirt was soaked under my arms. I tried it again the next week while wearing a light green blouse, and again no one seemed to notice. This time I was more relaxed and did not sweat as much. I felt so good I bought a new dress, in a lovely shade of red. Red! A month ago I would never have considered such a color. I want to thank you for sharing your experience and posting such a wonderful web site! It has helped me a bunch."

For prior stories, see the archives.