Sweating at work can be an embarrassing problem, but it’s also a misunderstood one. If you’re constantly checking your underarms at work or are retreating to the office bathroom to dry your pits with paper towels, then you may be suffering from an undiagnosed excessive sweating condition.

People suffering from excessive sweating (medical term: hyperhidrosis) usually develop it early in life and carry it with them throughout their adult years. What was once an annoying problem in high school and college follows them into the workplace. But it can also flare up later in life. Either way, it can have a significantly negative effect on your work life and career.

We recently surveyed 1,300 participants about the relationship between their hyperhidrosis, work, and overall quality of life. The findings were revealing.

93% of survey participants said they worry about hyperhidrosis at work. And almost half of the participants (47%) think their excessive sweating problem affects their work performance.

These are significant — and worrying — stats. You can’t put your best foot forward if you’re trying to hide sweat stains or rushing to the office bathroom to dry your underarms with paper towels.

The good news is there is a solution available, but before we get to it, let’s explain briefly what hyperhidrosis is, and why many of the most common remedies or treatments won’t cut it.

The Difference Between Sweating and Excessive Sweating

If you’re using antiperspirant in the morning and yet you’re still struggling with a lot of sweat throughout the workday, you may have hyperhidrosis. That can sound like a scary diagnosis, but it’s actually just the medical term for excessive sweating.

We wrote an entire post explaining why people excessively sweat, but it’s sufficient to say there are two real possibilities:

One, you have primary focal hyperhidrosis, which is a condition that will be a consistent presence or will flare up throughout your life. (Some research ties primary hyperhidrosis to having hyperactive sweat glands or an overactive nervous system, but that isn’t always the case.)

Or two, you may have secondary hyperhidrosis, where your excessive sweat is brought on by underlying conditions such as diabetes, an infection, or anxiety. Or alternatively, as a side effect of medication.

Note: If you feel unwell or you think your sweating is linked to something serious, seek medical advice from a healthcare professional. Your general practitioner or a dermatologist will be able to help.

How Do People Deal with Excessive Sweating at Work?

Excessive sweaters don’t get adequate protection by using traditional Aluminum-based antiperspirants, like over-the-counter Old Spice, Dove, and Mitchum brands. There’s simply too much sweat, so it’s like trying to stop water from coming out of a showerhead with your hands.

This leads people to change their behavior to cope with the problem, which is a huge daily burden. This much was clear in the responses to our survey asking how hyperhidrosis affects people at work.

For example, one participant wrote that she needs to “use deodorant wipes and change often” — otherwise she’ll become uncomfortable and distracted. And another told us that she “can’t feel comfortable” because she always wears a jacket to hide her hyperhidrosis while she’s at work.

Another respondent said, “I feel like I cannot work as hard or fast-paced or my underarms will be soaked.”  And many other people talk about how they avoid shaking hands, skip meetings, and bring extra sets of clothes to change into. Many workers also give their colleagues a wide berth because they’re embarrassed and self-conscious about visible sweat stains or body odor.

Does Excessive Sweating Happen More at Work?

According to our research, 9/10 hyperhidrosis sufferers think about their condition twice or more times every day. And 5/10 people think about it all the time while at work.

There are a few things that make it possible for sweating to seem like a bigger problem at work. But the tricky part here is the word “more”:

  • Work is a significant part of our lives. If you’re working a competitive, full-time job, you’re on the clock 40+ hrs a week. This means between starting work, finishing work, and preparing for the next workday, a major chunk of your week is focused on your job. In this light, it makes sense that you’d associate your excessive sweating problem with the office.
  • You associate your sweating problem with the office. You may be more anxious or on edge when you’re at work versus when you’re at home relaxing, which means you could be more hyper-focused on issues like body odor and sweat. So, it may not be true that you’re sweating more at work than at home, but it’ll seem like a bigger deal.
  • Work is a strenuous activity. Even a desk job is strenuous when you factor in that it’s not natural for the human body to be sitting hunched over a keyboard for hours at a time. Plus, mental activity counts as an activity for sweaters. Being nervous about a presentation or a weekly report can cause you to sweat, just like walking up and down a flight of stairs. This means your already sensitive problem is going to be exacerbated by your work environment.

What Won’t Help You Stop Your Excessive Sweating at Work

Sometimes, well-meaning friends or co-workers will give you advice on how to stop sweating so much at work, and this may revolve around calming your nerves or lowering your body temperature. They may suggest meditating, avoiding spicy food at lunch, or switching to more breathable fabrics.

While this advice is offered with good intentions, it’s pretty unhelpful for excessive sweaters.

Excessive sweating is a legitimate medical condition, and it needs appropriate treatment. It’s not treatable with store-bought antiperspirant, and nor is it something you can meditate yourself out of.

But before you pack multiple shirts to change throughout the day or try to avoid your peers after lunch hour, realize there are valid hyperhidrosis treatments that are proven to help — and next, we’ll introduce our own simple 3-step system so you can stop sweating at work.

Duradry’s 3-Step System: How to Stay Dry Through the Working Day

 

I developed Duradry because I suffer from axillary hyperhidrosis (excessively sweaty underarms). I know how embarrassing it can be to sit in the office with armpits that are wet with sweat. And I know how uncomfortable it can be to shake hands or move freely between groups — as well as how difficult it is to arrive at work feeling nervous and skittish before even clocking in.

I knew I didn’t want to go through my working life changing my shirts in the bathroom, so I started looking at various different treatment options.

In the past, I’ve tried:

To find something affordable, effective, and pain-free, I knew I’d need to develop it myself.

And became Duradry’s scientifically-proven 3-step system, which has helped 97% of our customers achieve dryness after just one week of use.

Images shows still shots of the various videos of real customer testimonials from the Duradry Instagram page.
Source: Customer testimonials on the Duradry Instagram page

Step One: Apply Duradry PM Before Bed, 2-3 Times a Week

Duradry PM is an easy-to-apply unscented gel, which you apply to your underarms 2-3 times per week, at night, usually before going to bed.

The active ingredient in Duradry PM is Aluminum Chloride (15%), which is one of the most effective for fighting even the most severe cases of heavy sweating — because as a fine compound, it can get deep into your sweat ducts and plug your pores.

While some strong antiperspirants can give you dry skin, Duradry PM uses Salicylic Acid, which is used to exfoliate dead skin, reduce redness, and moisturize the affected area. Research also shows that using Salicylic Acid can help increase the effectiveness of Aluminum Chloride.

Step Two: Use Duradry Wash Daily When You Shower

Topical antiperspirant products like Duradry PM work by getting beneath the surface and plugging your sweat ducts to interrupt the flow of sweat.

They’re less effective if your skin is clogged with invisible everyday residue, bacteria, and oils. This means you might not even get halfway to lunch before you’ve started sweating again, even when using a really strong antiperspirant product.

Duradry Wash helps Durady PM and Duradry AM (which we cover next) by ensuring your skin is ready to receive antiperspirant to cut down your excess sweat. It does this better than normal bath soap because it uses a Pentafoam Concentrate that thoroughly and deeply cleans your pores.

And Duradry Wash is also packed with natural ingredients and vitamins, which help soothe your skin and make sure you don’t experience any dryness or irritation throughout your workday.

Step Three: Apply Duradry AM Daily Before Work

The third step in Duradry’s 3-step system is Duradry AM — your everyday-use antiperspirant deodorant. Duradry AM contains a light, pleasant, gender-neutral scent.

Duradry AM uses Aluminum Zirconium Trichlorohydrex GLY (20%). As with Duradry PM, we only source the purest, highest quality ingredients — meaning our treatments contain micronized particles with a low pH. This makes our ingredients safe, potent, and highly effective.

Because you’ve already applied Duradry PM in the evening and readied your skin with Duradry Wash, you just need a few swipes of Duradry AM in the morning to keep you dry for the whole day. This lets you focus on what’s important: strong daily job performance, and long-term career progression.

Our 3-step system is available from our online store, starting at just $20. All products are shipped directly to you in a discreet box, and you get a 100-day money-back guarantee.

Final Thoughts: Tackling the Problem of Heavy Sweating at Work

It’s hard to be at the top of your game when you’re distracted by sweat. If you struggle in meetings or presentations and avoid shaking people’s hands, the workplace soon becomes a difficult environment for you. And the responses to our survey tell us that excessive sweating can lead to genuine anxiety, adversely affecting people’s confidence and job performance.

These stories were echoed by Lisa Pieretti, co-founder of the International Hyperhidrosis Society (SweatHelp), in our recent interview about excessive sweating and mental health. The main conclusion: untreated hyperhidrosis can be debilitating, and this can cause a downward spiral that makes life and work very challenging for sufferers.

But there’s good news. Effective over-the-counter treatments are available. By using Duradry’s simple 3-step system, 97% of our customers have achieved full dryness within one week.

Try Duradry’s 3-step solution that actually works to stop excessive sweating and keep you dry at the office. Use Duradry PM at bedtime, Duradry AM in the morning, and Duradry Wash to deep clean and prepare your skin for total protection against hyperhidrosis. Get started for just $20.