Hyperhidrosis Awareness Month Articles, Quizzes, Podcast, and More: Make Sure You Didn’t Miss Anything
We loved Hyperhidrosis Awareness Month so much! Thank you to everyone who helped to make November educational, inspirational and actionable for excessive sweating sufferers, the medical providers who care for them, and their loved ones (as well as the general public). We know that hyperhidrosis continues to be under-recognized, under-sympathized and under-treated, but with your continued involvement we are changing that.
Our Hyperhidrosis Awareness Month initiatives this year included working with a number of fellow organizations and their publications to provide clinicians with up-to-date and relevant excessive sweating information, along with practical tips on how to improve hyperhidrosis care. As part of this effort, we provided seven online publications with hyperhidrosis articles, quizzes and diagnostic guidelines. You can check some of them out here:
- The Dermatologist (Weekly Quiz 1, Quiz 2, Quiz 3, Quiz 4, Article)
- Next Steps in Derm (Mnemonic Monday)
- LiVDerm.org (November Partner of the Month & Blog)
- CliniSpan Health The Weekly Dose e-newsletter (Featured Non-profit)
- SDPA’s Dermcast.tv (Guest Blog)
- Next Steps in Derm (Pop Quiz)
And coming soon, an article about plantar hyperhidrosis for podiatrists (DPMs) in the DERMfoot newsletter and a hyperhidrosis article for the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology’s EADV News.
Our other 2020 Hyperhidrosis Awareness Month achievements included:
- Special hyperhidrosis awareness and care kits delivered to 550 of the most active and involved hyperhidrosis-savvy healthcare providers registered with the International Hyperhidrosis Society’s Clinician Finder.
- Practical tips for dealing with stress sweat and related body odor.
- Re-launch of our Clinician Finder making it easier to find physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants globally who are ready and able to provide care for excessive sweating.
- Money-saving ideas and up-to-the-minute information about how to use Flexible Spending Accounts and Medical Savings Accounts to make both Rx and OTC sweat-care more affordable.
- New episode of the Know Sweat Podcast (Hyperhidrosis Haiku) providing unique perspectives on the hyperhidrosis experience shared through poetry.
- Thirty-two new practice locations in Canada, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and United States joining our Clinician Finder database.
All of these efforts were amplified through our social channels
(Facebook @SweatingStopsHere, Twitter @WeKnowSweat, Instagram @WeKnowSweat, YouTube), where we hope you will continue to find, follow, and interact with us.
Thanks again for helping us honor and spread the word about Hyperhidrosis Awareness Month 2020! Your participation in Hyperhidrosis Awareness Month has been vital because, together, we amplified the message that excessive, uncontrollable sweating is a serious medical condition warranting serious attention. You also helped us make sure that everyone knows that there is hope, community, support, and treatment available.
Throughout the year we look forward to you continuing to share key facts (like the ones below) about hyperhidrosis to keep the conversation going:
Hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating or Hh):
- Affects 4.8% of the population and 8.8% of people aged 18-39 years. 1
- Is more common than autism [2], melanoma [3], psoriasis [4] and peanut allergies. [5]
And: -
55% of hyperhidrosis sufferers say their condition started at or before the age of 10 years. [6]
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Most hyperhidrosis sufferers avoid public view, handshakes and other forms of touch. [7]
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Anxiety, depression [8] and attention deficit disorder [9] are much more common among hyperhidrosis sufferers. So are skin infections. [10]
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There are two types of hyperhidrosis: primary Hh and secondary Hh. Knowing the difference is vital to sufferers' health and treatment journey.
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Unfortunately, 95% of hyperhidrosis sufferers say their Hh is not resolved. [6]
Whether it's children at play, in sports, music, or art; teens struggling to feel accepted and self-actualize; or adults at work and in relationships — the hurdles (physical, functional, social, and emotional) presented by hyperhidrosis are extremely difficult to surmount without understanding from the medical community and communities at large.Thank you for joining us as we continue to make hyperhidrosis awareness a priority and work to improve knowledge of this impactful condition in your network and community.
Huge thanks also to our 24 Hyperhidrosis Awareness Month amplifiers:
- Adolescent Health Initiatve (AHI) University of Michigan Community Health Sciences
- Alliance for Patient Access (AfPA)
- British Association of Dermatologists (BAD)
- British Journal of Dermatology (BJD)
- Canadian Dermatology Association (CDA)
- CliniSpan Health (The Weekly Dose)
- Coalition of Skin Diseases (CSD)
- Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS)
- Derma Care Access Network (DCAN)
- Dermatology Nurses Association (DNA)
- The Dermatologist
- DERMfoot
- EADV (European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology)
- GlobalSkin (IADPO, International Alliance of Dermatological Patient Organizations)
- The Department of Dermatology, GW School of Medicine & Health Sciences
- MDedge Dermatology
- National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP)
- National Association of School Nurses (NASN)
- Next Steps in Derm
- Pariser Dermatology
- RNsights
- Society for Pediatric Dermatology (SPD)
- Society of Dermatology Physician Assistants (SDPA)
- South Beach Symposium (LiVDerm)
Ready to do more?
You can join the global generosity movement on December 1, 2020 by making a donation on #GivingTuesday. We know there are so many worthy causes out there that you care deeply about and we're grateful you're here with us, too. Please make a donation to the International Hyperhidrosis Society for #GivingTuesday. We appreciate, need and use every gift to its fullest for the sake of your #hyperhidrosis community.
The International Hyperhidrosis Society acknowledges the generosity of individual donors, Brickell Biotech, Duradry and Dermira Inc. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly) whose support has helped make our 2020 Hyperhidrosis Awareness Month initiatives possible.
References
1. Doolittle J, Walker P, Mills T, et al. Hyperhidrosis: an update on prevalence and severity in the United States. Arch Dermatol Res doi: 10.1007/s00403-016-1697-9. Published online October 15, 2016.
2. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Data & Statistics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html. Feb. 12, 2018. Accessed April 19, 2018.
3. Key statistics for melanoma skin cancer. American Cancer Society website. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/ melanoma-skin-cancer/about/key-statistics.html. Jan. 4, 2018. Accessed April 18, 2018.
4. How common is psoriasis worldwide? NEJM Journal Watch website. https://www.jwatch.org/ jd201211090000002/2012/11/09/how-common-psoriasis-worldwide. Nov. 9, 2012. Accessed April 18, 2018.
5. Food allergy facts and statistics. Food Allergy Research & Education website. https://www.foodallergy.org/ sites/default/files/migrated-files/file/facts-stats.pdf. Accessed April 18, 2018.
6. Hebert AA, Glaser DA, Ballard AM, Pieretti LJ, Pariser DM. Voice of the hyperhidrosis patient: symptoms, impacts and treatments. Insights from large, open, FDA-attended meeting. Poster presented at the 77th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology; March 1-5, 2019; Washington, DC.
7. Kamudoni P, Mueller B, Halford J, Schouveller A, Stacey B, Salek MS. The impact of hyperhidrosis on patients' daily life and quality of life: a qualitative investigation. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes. 2017 15:121.
8. Bahar R, Zhou P, Liu Y, Huang Y, Phillips A, Lee T, et al. The prevalence of anxiety and depression in patients with or without hyperhidrosis. J Am Acad Dermatol 75:6 (2016): 1126-1133
9. Glaser EN, Armbrecht ES, King R, Glaser DA. Prevalence of anxiety, depression and attention deficit disorder (ADD) in patients with primary hyperhidrosis. Poster presented at the 77th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology; March 1-5, 2019; Washington, DC.
10. Walling HW. Primary hyperhidrosis increases the risk of cutaneous infection: a case-control study of 387 patients. J Am Acad Dermatol doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2009.02.038