Compensatory Sweating | The What, Why, and How

If you’re looking into the possibility of surgery to solve your excessive sweating think again, as it’s not something that should be taken lightly. Let me explain.

What is compensatory sweating?

Compensatory sweating is a side effect of ETS (Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy), which is a common surgery used to fight hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating). In this surgery small incisions are made in the small of your back, your lung is then collapsed, and then access is granted to burn away the sweat glands that are causing you to sweat. This has a 98% success rate at clearing your hands and underarms of sweat, but it is very common for people to develop excessive sweating in other areas of their body (also known as compensatory sweating).

The vast majority of patients who go in for ETS do experience some form of compensatory sweating, some mild some moderate. However, 5% of those that go in for ETS experience extreme cases of compensatory sweating, which is far worse than what they were previously suffering.

I don’t mean to scare you away from surgery here, but it’s imperative that you know the risks that come with any surgery. If you decide to go ahead with this surgery it’s important to know that the effects are irreversible, you’re going to have to deal with compensatory sweating for the rest of your life. Due to the large areas compensatory sweat is often experienced, large amounts of sweat is produced, meaning a high risk of heatstroke, dehydration, and sometimes worse. It’s also often harder to manage than on the hands, feet, or underarms.

Natural should be your first option before anything else. You shouldn’t consider anything before all the natural options have been tried. If you look at the natural options open to you first, you may never have to go down the surgery route, and you can avoid the risk of suffering from compensatory sweating for the rest of your life.

There are many products and other treatments that you can use to manage any excessive sweating. Click here to read about these hyperhidrosis treatment options now.

What if you have Compensatory Sweating?

There’s a wide range of products that can help you better manage the situation. Of course there are the usual stronger antiperspirants such as Drsyol, which can help with sweating on the back/torso. There’s also Kiehl’s Antiperspirant Cream which can be used for the more delicate areas you’re seeing CS. For the back/torso you can also use the clothing from Advadri that wicks away sweat and protects you from those awkward sweat marks.