Hyperhidrosis, commonly called excessive sweating, is a disorder in which a person tends to sweat for no reason from the underarms, palms, or feet. The condition, which may start at the age of 13, can continue for life if left untreated. Hyperhidrosis becomes a cause for embarrassment and hampers social and personal life. It also leads to depression and anxiety at times.

Here are the symptoms and diagnosis of hyperhidrosis.

Symptoms
There are some very clear symptoms of hyperhidrosis.

1. Underarms sweat
Heavy sweating can be observed on the underarms or around your back. This may result in soaking your shirt to the extent that you may feel the urge to change your clothes to be comfortable.

2. Sweat on cheeks and forehead
You may experience heavy sweating, especially on the forehead. The sweating can impact daily tasks. Furthermore, one may also experience excessive sweating on the cheeks. 

3. Sweating on hands and feet
Excessive sweating that may cause dripping from the hands is a symptom of hyperhidrosis. Furthermore, there might also be sweating from the feet, resulting in the soaking of the socks. 

4. Other symptoms
Some other symptoms are a result of excessive sweating. Several painful and irritating skin infections may be caused due to hyperhidrosis. These may be bacterial infections or fungal infections. In addition, a person who has hyperhidrosis feels self-conscious, is somewhat socially withdrawn, and reluctant towards making physical contact. A person experiencing heavy sweating is also more worried about body odor as compared to other people.

Diagnosis
There are few simple ways of diagnosis of hyperhidrosis. These are discussed below.

1. Lab test
Once the doctor has asked a set of questions related to the sweating, lab tests are conducted to understand if the heavy sweating is caused by other medical conditions such as hypoglycemia or low blood sugar and hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid. In such cases, some of the lab tests that may be recommended include a blood test and urine test.

2. Sweat tests
Although excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis is fairly easy to understand and diagnose, the doctor may conduct some tests to understand specific areas of sweating and the treatment that is required. Furthermore, the severity of the condition can also be gauged with the help of sweat tests. Some of the tests that can be done for excessive sweating include the iodine-starch test, skin conductance, and a thermoregulatory sweat test. In the thermoregulatory sweat test, a powder is applied to the skin, and this is sensitive to moisture. In case there is excessive sweating, the powder changes color. The test is done at room temperature as well as in high heat and humidity conditions to understand the occurrence of sweating. This test helps the doctor understand the severity of the condition.