Back for 2024!

/ carynjoan / Leave a comment

Happy New Year! 

First off, I want to let you all know that I am alive and well. It’s been five years since I last posted on my blog. I hope you are all doing well. I’ve missed you! While I wasn’t active on this platform, I was still involved in the Hyperhidrosis community. 

Most recently, I was featured on NPR podcast, Audacious with Chion Wolf as I talked about what living with excessive sweating meant for me. I was so grateful for this opportunity. When I was first approached, I almost said no. It was my gut reaction. It’s hard to talk about Hyperhidrosis publicly. I wasn’t sure I was up for it. But after learning more about the series Chion was doing on rare conditions (although Hyperhidrosis really isn’t as rare as it was once thought to be) I gathered my courage to say yes and help bring Hyperhidrosis awareness and understanding to a larger audience. 

Chion was down to earth and personable. She really wanted to learn about my experiences and her interview questions were so thoughtful. She even stumped me when she asked, “What would you want someone to say to you if they noticed your excessive sweating?” I remember thinking about that question long after the call ended and realizing that I really just wanted my excessive sweating to be invisible. If no one saw it, no one would need to say anything. I’ll just deal with it myself, as long as no one else knows what I’m going through. But Hyperhidrosis has a way of sneaking into our daily social lives. By the way, I don’t think that question made it to the final cut in the podcast. I’d love to hear how you would answer that question. Please let me know if there’s anything someone has said to you that has helped or something you wish they would say.  

Also last year, I had the honor of counseling a branding firm that was going to help relaunch Dove Clinical antiperspirant deodorant. It was a humbling experience to teach Hyperhidrosis from my first hand experience to a group of people trying to gain a deep understanding so that they could communicate it to the world. We talked about the spectrum of Hyperhidrosis and how every person is unique. Products may work differently for each person. Discussion about the Hyperhidrosis spectrum was really interesting to me and a topic I would like to dig more into.

Over the past five years, I have also had meaningful conversations with many of you! Although I wasn’t active on my blog, I had lovely emails, phone calls, and video calls with many of my readers about Hyperhidrosis. If we haven’t met personally, I’d love to hear from you! You can reach me at justalittlesweat@gmail.com. 

So…five years. 

A lot has changed! I am basically a new person haha. I’m a mom! 

I have two boys – a 4 year old and a 1 ½ year old. My husband and I are living the family dream and we’ll be celebrating our 8 year wedding anniversary in April!

You may be wondering – do my kids have Hyperhidrosis? What is taking care of babies/kids like with excessive sweating? Have you told them you have Hyperhidrosis? Do they even notice you have it? How do you feel about all this? 

Well, so far I am happy to report that I do not notice excessive sweating in my kids’ hands or feet. First of all – yay!!! You may have read about Hyperhidrosis and heredity. It can be hereditary. My aunt on my mom’s side has Hyperhidrosis. Her two boys have it. 

Hyperhidrosis can appear at birth/shortly after birth, or even later in life like during puberty. My parents noticed that I had excessive sweating at least by my first birthday. So, I guess this is to say that I’m not ruling anything out. I’m keeping an attentive, but not obsessive, eye on my kids for excessive sweating. I will say that although not confirmed, my older son does express some cranial excessive sweating symptoms. This is brought on with exercise. He’s an active and athletic kid, so this is all probably normal, but I do notice he’ll be sweating more than the other kids along his hairline, and pretty noticeably too. The good thing is that it has not bothered him once and besides me, I don’t think anyone has said anything about it. The other kids haven’t commented to him about it. 

What’s it like taking care of my kids with sweaty hands? It hasn’t been too much of an issue. Sometimes their clothes will get a little wet from me changing them or holding them, especially when they were babies. Most notably, their little hands can easily escape mine when we’re holding hands to walk across the street. If I’m able to, I ask my oldest to hold on to the stroller instead or hold my husband’s hand if he’s with us. 

I haven’t told my kids that I have Hyperhidrosis or what it is. My oldest might be at a point where I can start that conversation. Where we are right now, they haven’t really noticed. I think it’s just them being young and not aware of it yet. 

I fear the day one of my kids may recoil with disgust if I try to hold their hand in my sweaty own. This is why I need to get ahead of it. I will start speaking out loud about sweat positivity. I want it to be normal in our house. So far, I’ve hinted at it a little – like when it’s bath time after breaking a sweat at the playground. I remember doing a double take when I was talking with my son. I had said something like “we need to wash the sweat away,” but then I caught myself and said, “but sweat is normal and healthy!” Sweat will be a thoughtful topic in our house and an ongoing conversation. I’ll let you know how it goes and please feel free to send any suggestions for talking with kids about sweat. 

As for me, I’m still working from home. I have told others that it’s been my “cure” for Hyperhidrosis. It’s a place where I can manage my own temperature and environment. There are no unexpected handshakes or high fives. I still sweat, but it’s a lot more manageable when I’m in a controlled environment. Outside experiences are a different story. 

I started taking piano lessons. I’ve been taking lessons for a little over a year now. Piano – and most musical instruments – have their challenges as someone with Hyperhidrosis. I am proud of myself for having the courage to start and continue. The lessons are at my house where I can control the temperature. During lessons, I turn my heat down or AC up so I can be cold. Sometimes I am too cold, and worry that my teacher is uncomfortable, but it helps my hands from sweating too much when playing. When my hands are sweating, playing piano is incredibly uncomfortable. It’s a negative cycle physically and mentally. It’s also really not enjoyable if my hands are sweating, so I try to control the temperature and what I’m wearing so that I can get ahead of it as best I can. At times, I’ve had to stop and take a step away to get a towel or run my wrists under cold water. If I’m able to control my sweating with these techniques, which really is more than not (thankfully), I do enjoy playing and plan to continue. 

I’m still fanning my sweaty hands with anything I have on me, wiping them off and holding on to towels. I’m not currently using any treatment. My next trials may be with lotion that helps excessive sweating. Please let me know how you’re coping with Hyperhidrosis and what techniques or products you are using. 

Thank you for reading and finding my blog. I am so humbled that many of you reached out to me over the past five years even when I stopped writing here. Thank you for sharing your stories. I wish you all a happy, healthy, and dry 2024! 

Caryn

What’s Your Positive Spin?

/ carynjoan / 6 Comments

I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback I received from my video with the International Hyperhidrosis Society. Thank you for watching, sharing, and commenting! To those of you who wrote to me personally, thank you for sharing a part of your story with me.

One story really caught my attention and made me smile. A man with Hyperhidrosis wrote to me about how his Hh has helped him in his life. He used to fix fighter jets and now repairs his own vehicles. Hh has helped him because it keeps the grease and grime off his hands when working on these vehicles. The photos below are from his days on the F-111 Aardvark. In these photos, his hands were sweating and the grease and grime did not stay on his hands for long. His fellow troopers would tease by saying he did not work because his hands were usually grease free while their hands were super greasy. Thank you for sharing your story and photos, Jose!

This got me thinking about my positive spin on Hh. I was able to come up with a few examples of how Hh has come in handy:

  • I can use my hands to smooth away staticky hair
  • I can be a human lint roller of my cats’ fur on the couch, faster and more powerful than my vacuum cleaner (a photo of my sleepy cats, Sunshine and Grace, is below!)
  • I can quickly wipe away stray ink if I accidentally get it on myself or my writing surface
  • I could slip and slide out of play wrestling with my siblings growing up, claiming I had “sister slime”

This exercise made me think of Hh in a different light. I encourage you all to think about how it might be helpful in your life. What’s your positive spin? I look forward to hearing from you!

Happy New Year to you all!

Caryn

My Secret Isn’t So Secret Anymore

/ carynjoan / 1 Comment

For Hyperhidrosis Awareness Month this year, I had the amazing opportunity to share my story of living with Hh on a larger scale. The International Hyperhidrosis Society approached me earlier this year to ask if I would consider being a part of their Awareness Month campaign and tell my #HhStory. Although I am usually pretty secret about my condition, I decided to take the leap and trust that a video like this could help others living with Hh and spread awareness and understanding. It’s always important to me to portray Hh as NOT just a little sweat. The video really captures the struggles I’ve faced and the obstacles I’ve had to overcome to get through each and every day. My story is just one of many from millions of other Hh sufferers all over the world. You are not alone. We are in this together.

So, without further ado, here’s my story.

So, I guess my secret isn’t so secret anymore…and that’s okay.

Thank you to the International Hyperhidrosis Society for this opportunity and to my husband and mom who joined me to share their experiences of having someone with Hh in their lives.

To all my family and friends – thank you for your never-ending love and support ❤

Caryn

November is Hyperhidrosis Awareness Month

/ carynjoan / 2 Comments

I live with Hyperhidrosis in a private way. It is my secret life. My palmar and plantar Hyperhidrosis can be invisible to others. I’ve also become so good at hiding it that there’s a chance that the people I interact with on a daily basis might never even know I have this condition.

I have lived with Hyperhidrosis for 31 years. I am used to this life. But sometimes it doesn’t seem to get any easier. As I sit and write this, I am fanning my hands and soaking the sweat up with paper towels. I am trying to breathe through my discomfort. I am alone in my room, not anxious or nervous about anything, and I’m still struggling just being me.

One of my most successful coping techniques for Hyperhidrosis has been writing about my experiences on this blog. It has helped tremendously getting my thoughts and frustrations out about living with this condition. Another way I cope with Hyperhidrosis, is to tell people in my life about it.

November is Hyperhidrosis Awareness month. It is our second annual month and I am so thankful that this condition has reached the point to have an official month. It is a very big accomplishment in the world of Hyperhidrosis and it’s an exciting time to be a part of it.

I encourage us all living with Hyperhidrosis to get out there and tell someone about this condition and what it means to have it. Not only will telling someone about Hyperhidrosis spread awareness and understanding, it could give you the relief and support you need. For me, telling certain people about my Hyperhidrosis has made my quality of life better.

One really impactful example I have for you happened just last week.

For some backstory, a few years ago, I decided to start mentioning my Hyperhidrosis in my job interviews. I was at the point in my life when I was starting to switch careers and go into Special Education. Hyperhidrosis was my biggest inspiration for my decision, and as scary as it was to talk about, I found it fitting to explain why my life experience has led me to this point.

So, my current boss has known about my Hyperhidrosis since the first day I met her. Since starting this job a year and a half ago, little by little, I explained what living with this condition means to me. I’m thankful I told her about my condition right away because it allowed me to be myself.

I work from home now, which has been a huge help in managing my own room temperature and always having a fan at the ready. But this fall, I have been traveling to the office more frequently. Last week while I was in the office, I was part of a group meeting. The room was very warm and I knew immediately that I was going to have an issue with my hands sweating. I had a paper towel with me, but I was worried it was not going to be enough. At any other job, I would have just dealt with it and melted away, not being able to focus on the meeting at all. I’ve had those meetings where all I could concentrate on was my sweat and how uncomfortable I was – and how nervous I was for my secret to be discovered.

My boss was part of this meeting and I asked if I could bring a fan in to help with my Hyperhidrosis. She didn’t question or give it a second thought. I brought the fan in and positioned it at my hands. I don’t think that anyone else in the meeting thought it was weird or different. It may seem small, but this fan helped my hands stop sweating and allowed me to focus on the meeting. It made me feel normal.

It’s funny how something so small like this can be so impactful to me. I think of it and smile even now. One person who knew about my Hyperhidrosis made me feel comfortable enough to bring in an accommodation for myself – something I knew would help me. Telling people about my Hyperhidrosis has made my life better.

That is just one example of how Hyperhidrosis awareness has helped me personally. I believe that Hyperhidrosis awareness and understanding will make the world a better place for us. We are all in this together. This month, I encourage you to tell someone about your Hyperhidrosis journey. Be strong and have courage. I know you can do it. I can’t wait to hear your stories!

Happy Hyperhidrosis Awareness Month,

Caryn

Fingerprinting Nightmares

/ carynjoan / 2 Comments

A few months ago, I was driving the winding roads of Massachusetts to get fingerprinted with the Department of Education. I was already fingerprinted in New York state, but I was starting an internship in western MA this past summer and they needed my prints as well.

It took about an hour and a half to drive to the building where they were to take my prints digitally. I traveled with my husband for support because I was still practicing my driving skills after a hiatus of not driving for almost 9 years living in NYC.

We arrived and it was pouring rain. It was pretty chilly, too, if I remember correctly. My body temperature is better regulated in the colder weather.

The man taking my prints started with my right hand. Everything went pretty smooth with that. But as we switched to my left hand, the warmer room temperature caught up with me and my hands started profusely sweating. It was incredibly uncomfortable as the man had to hold my hand and press each finger down on the glass screen.

Each time one of my fingerprints was captured by the screen, it registered immediately if it was rejected or accepted. It was all downhill from here at this point.

Reject. Reject. Reject. Reject.

On and on, each finger was rejected, tried again, and rejected again. It was terrible. Uncomfortable and embarrassing.

I desperately asked the man if I could go to the restroom to wash my hands or take a break for a minute so that I could try to get my hands to dry up even for a small amount of time. He wouldn’t let me leave. I’m not sure if that is because of security or something, but there is nothing I could have done. He kept saying it was okay, but it clearly wasn’t okay. My prints were rejecting for about 10 minutes and my hands were just getting worse.

Finally, he gave up and told me that it was likely I’d have to come back to try again another day. My heart sank. I wasn’t local and it would be challenging for me to come back again any time soon. Even if I did come back to try again, there’s a good chance I’d have the same sweaty issues.

I left the fingerprinting room to leave with my husband, but I just broke down crying in the lobby. It wasn’t fair. Why can’t I do something as easy as getting fingerprinted? If you have fingers, you should be able to have fingerprints read. Why can’t I just be normal?

I was very upset that day to say the least. It all ended up okay, I guess. I never got a call back from them, so I guess they somehow accepted my fingerprints and got enough from my right hand? I’m not sure, but I’m not in a rush to find out what happened.

This is not the first time I’ve had trouble with having my fingerprints read. I’ve also had trouble with the ink fingerprinting and the digital fingerprint entry to amusement parks. It’s not easy and more than once has ended up in me crying from embarrassment.

My plea is for people designing digital fingerprinting machines to take sweat into consideration. This is a huge issue for people with HH and even people with slightly clammy hands! Can we put our heads together to make these machines work for us?

Caryn

Don’t Let Go

/ carynjoan / 1 Comment

This morning, as I was starting my day in New York City, an older woman desperately called for my help. She used a cane and told me she felt dizzy. She needed help calling a cab and asked me to hold her hand. Even though it is October in New York City, the weather was feeling pretty warm. My hand was already very, very sweaty. Even so, I took hold of this woman’s hand and walked her down the street to call her a cab. Throughout our time together she told me not to let go of her hand even for one second. I could feel her hand shaking in mine. I wasn’t going to let my sweat interfere with helping her to a cab safely. I held her hand and didn’t let go. The universe works in mysterious ways. Of all the people on the busy NYC street, she chose me to help. It is significant to me because my hand was able to help someone today, sweat and all.

Caryn

Wedding Shoes

/ carynjoan / 2 Comments

My wedding day – April 16, 2016.

It was the best day of my life, but Hyperhidrosis almost made it a disaster.

Everything was in place. Our timeline was set and our vows were written. Our friends and family were gathered. We were ready to celebrate the start of our lives as husband and wife.

Our colors were yellow and gray and the decor was daffodil themed, my favorite flower. It was perfect for a spring wedding. We took a lot of inspiration from one of our favorite books/movies, Big Fish, where daffodils play a big role. Even in its rendition of a short lived musical on Broadway, the lyrics of one of the songs:

Let’s build a world of daffodils
That never fades and never dies
I see the answer in your eyes
You’ll be the bride
I’ll be the groom
A daffodil in every room

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My dress was everything I had dreamed of; long white lace with a low V back. I wore little blue earrings as my “something blue.” I even found the cutest yellow and white lace open toe shoes…

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Wait. Open toe shoes!? What was I thinking?

If you’ve read some of my previous entries, you may remember that I gave up open toe shoes awhile ago. My feet would sweat, then my shoes wouldn’t fit properly, and I would risk slipping out of them.

How did I forget all about this during my wedding planning? I thought they were the perfect shoe and my mind was set.

In preparation for our big day, I was all up to date on my iontophoresis treatments for my hands. My hands were doing great and I had the extra benefit of the colder weather to stunt my excessive palmar sweating. But I didn’t do anything for my feet. I just didn’t think through what could happen.

Thankfully, I had no issues for our outdoor ceremony. It was in the middle of chilly April in upstate NY. We made it through our emotional first look and our beautiful ceremony, tears and all.

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Afterwards, at our indoor reception, we went immediately into our first dance which we choreographed ourselves. It was flawless. My body temperature was still on the cooler side from being outdoors, so I didn’t have issues with sweat when we were dancing. But as soon as we finished, that’s when my body temperature caught up with me.

My feet started to sweat. This could be a problem. 

Francis and I sat at our sweetheart table for dinner. I called a waitress over to bring me a stack of paper towels. She asked if there was a spill and was concerned. I said, “No, I just sweat a lot.”

And so throughout dinner, I had my feet under the table resting on paper towels. Thankfully, there was a long tablecloth that hid my feet from the guests. It was pretty embarrassing though, and very upsetting for me. Would I be stuck at my table the whole night? I shouldn’t have to deal with HH on my wedding day.

Right after dinner was our father/daughter dance. I went up to my Dad right before and told him that I could barely walk in my shoes and to be very gentle when dancing and twirling. We made it through beautifully, but I was so nervous. My feet barely left the ground as I slid around the floor. I’m thankful that my Dad understood the situation and he didn’t make a big deal out of it.

I was really worried about being able to enjoy the rest of our reception. I could barely walk in my shoes, let alone dance. I could never go barefoot as that would be even more dangerous and slippery. I felt like I was going to be stuck at my table all night with my feet on paper towels.

I told my sister who was also my Maid of Honor what was going on. As the problem solver that she is, she suggested, “How about putting the paper towels in your shoes?”

What a brilliant idea! I had a long enough dress that would cover my shoes, so no one would really see a paper towel sticking out of the open toe.

I put the paper towels in my shoes and it was the best thing I did. It allowed the sweat to soak up and I wasn’t slipping out of my shoes anymore. I was able to enjoy the rest of our reception and dance the night away!

I am happy that I remember our wedding day as the perfect day. I am thankful for my sister’s help in remedying my situation and making sure I had a good time. Although I’ll never forget this sweaty memory, there are happier memories that come to mind when I think of that day – marrying my soul mate and sharing the day with everyone we love. We will always have our perfect day.

Caryn

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I’ve missed you!

/ carynjoan / 1 Comment

A lot can happen in 2 ½ years.

I missed being a part of the HH community in such a big way with my blog. I am happy to say hello again and let you know what’s been going on since my last entry:

Personal life

  • I got married!
  • Visited London
  • Moved from Manhattan to Queens then again to upstate NY
  • Visited California for the first time
  • Ran my 5th half marathon

Professional achievements

  • Continued my studies for my Master’s degree in Special Education with a Vision Impairment focus
  • Learned how to read and write in 3 codes of Braille (literary braille, braille music, Nemeth code)
  • Started teaching music to students who are blind or have a vision impairment
  • Got a new full time job working for an amazing charity helping people all over the world with vision impairment
  • Completed three internships in Special Ed/Vision Impairment

Hyperhidrosis awareness

  • Told my HH story at the Patient-Focused Drug Development meeting (PFDD) on hyperhidrosis hosted by the International Hyperhidrosis Society in Washington D.C.
  • Wrote about HH for SELF
  • Contributed feedback for the development of a product to help palmar hyperhidrosis

It’s been a pretty busy couple of years for sure. Having a full time job, part time school, and part time music and teaching has kept me involved, but I am happier than ever. I feel lucky to have so many opportunities to combine both my passions for music and for helping people.

A lot has happened, but Hyperhidrosis has always been my constant. I’ve been on and off of iontophoresis treatments (currently off). Summer is coming to an end and I’m looking forward to cooler weather to dry me up a bit. I have had many issues with HH this year and still consistently feel uncomfortable in my skin.

The other day when I was in NYC for work and traveling in the hot subway system, I had a thought that kind of made me feel better. At least it made me laugh. I’m definitely a perfectionist and enjoy when I do things well. So, I thought about HH in a positive way. Maybe I can tell people that I’m just really great at sweating. I exceed the average person at it for sure.

I started a draft of this entry last week because of my increasing longing for getting back into the HH community. Little did I know, my SELF article was circulated on SnapChat last weekend. I don’t use SnapChat, so I wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for my cousin who sent me a screenshot.

SelfonSnapChat

This was very exciting and couldn’t have been better timing. It truly is time for me to start connecting with you all again and I am so sorry for my hiatus while I focused on school. I will finally graduate this December after four years of pursuing my degree in Special Education.

Thank you to everyone who sent me emails after seeing my article on SnapChat this week. I am so grateful that you reached out to share a little of your HH story with me.

Over the next few entries, I plan to elaborate on everything that’s been going on with me for the past 2 ½ years. For now, I just want to say hello again and I look forward to sharing our stories together. Is everyone gearing up for Hyperhidrosis Awareness month this November? I’d love to hear about your ideas to spread awareness. Together, we can make change.

It’s good to be back!

Caryn

 

Hello!

/ carynjoan / 5 Comments

Happy belated New Year! I apologize for the large gap in my entries. Life is as hectic as always and I’m here now to catch you up on my most recent adventures.

In December and January, I traveled to China with an orchestra to tour! It was an amazing, once-in-a-life-time experience filled with culture, excitement, and good music.

In preparation for the trip, I think everyone was stressed out. There was a lot to do in a short period of time. We needed to fill out a lot of paperwork, go to the Chinese consulate to get a Chinese Visa, and do extensive preparation of music – not to mention pack for a 3 week tour for several different climates.

I had additional stress because I felt like I needed to also prepare my body. I needed to start my iontophoresis treatments again so that my hands wouldn’t bother me playing 15 concerts in 3 weeks over in China.

I finished my initial 10 treatments just in time, right before we left. I’m happy that I did this because I barely had an issue with my hands while I was over there. I think a big reason for this though was the climate. Many cities we were in were very cold and several of the halls we played in didn’t have proper heat. Cold weather is always good for people with HH, so I wasn’t complaining.

Confucius Temple
Certified to perform in China!
Playing a Chinese flute in Shanghai
I’m on Chinese TV!

A month after returning to the states, I performed with this same group at Carnegie Hall. I hadn’t kept up the treatments, but my hands weren’t bothering me because of the winter weather. However, Carnegie was really tough for me. I’m lucky that I remembered to bring my wash cloth on stage. I thought I’d only need it intermittently, but the stage was hot and I was holding onto it for dear life in between the notes.

Playing the flute with HH is really tough. Over this past weekend, I played a concert with my quintet and during rehearsal, my hands were so bad. I had to constantly use my towel and even had to ask if we could open a window to get some colder air circulating. It’s really frustrating when I need to concentrate on playing the right notes and all I can do is make sure I don’t drop my instrument. I feel like I’m not playing to my potential because a lot of my energy is going to just making sure my hands don’t break my instrument.

I need to start treatments again really soon. Not only for musical reasons, but because my wedding is now next month! Time flies!

HH strikes again in the most unexpected places. 2 weeks ago, I had my first dress fitting. I was having my dress pinned so it could be hemmed and the tailor asked if I could hold out the front of the dress. I did until my hands got to be too much. I actually told the tailor that I have hyperhidrosis and asked my mom to take over holding the dress. I was so scared that the sweat on my hands were going to discolor my dress! I don’t know why I bluntly told the tailor about my HH. I think it is because I figured she wouldn’t know what I was talking about, but I also got the sense that she wouldn’t care.

Also two weekends ago, I got a new phone. I upgraded from an iPhone 4s to the 6s. On this new phone, it takes your thumb print as a security code. In the store, the sales rep was asking me to type info and put my thumb print on the sensor. The whole time my hands were dripping and I was petrified that it wasn’t going to work. Thumb print scanning has failed in the past for me because of HH several times. I was also worried the sales rep would notice and I’d get embarrassed.

So, there’s always something with HH. I’m on  the subway right now typing this up on my new iPhone and I have to keep stopping to dry my hands. Scared I’ll break it or electrocute myself.

I’m going to start treatments tonight.  In the winter months, I need it less, but in general, I find continuous treatment challenging. Maybe I’m too busy, or maybe I’m just lazy. Does anyone else have trouble keeping up?

Until next time: Stay cool and dry!

Thanks for reading,

Caryn

New Product Review: Carpe Antiperspirant Hand Lotion

/ carynjoan / 9 Comments

Hi all,

I was recently introduced to a brand new product called Carpe. It is an antiperspirant hand lotion for sweaty hands! I received a sample of this product in the mail a few weeks ago and immediately felt results. I was recommending this product the day I tried it and I am happy to write a review for my blog!

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What’s great about this product is that it is a non-invasive solution for sweaty hands. It’s something you can take on the go and use as you need it. It can be used daily and will keep your hands sweat-free for hours (4+).

Carpe is an opaque white lotion with a pleasant scent. It smells like eucalyptus and mint. One of my first observations when opening the lotion was that it had a mild scent and didn’t smell like medicine. I feel like a lot of similar lotions don’t have as nice of smell.

Carpe should be applied to clean and dry hands.  You apply a pea-sized amount to your palms and rub together for 15 seconds. The lotion is pretty tacky when going on, but it disappears within the 15 seconds and leaves no residue. I was able to resume typing on my computer keyboard after the 15 seconds and did not need to rinse my hands. The lotion sunk in for a while and my hands were dry.

I find this product especially good for people with HH who have not yet explored other treatment options, children with HH, and people who have occasionally sweaty hands.  For people who  haven’t explored any other treatment options, a lotion is the perfect way to start. Carpe is sold over the counter and is very affordable. One tube costs $14.95 and will last for 1.5 months. For children with HH, I think a lotion is absolutely the way to go. Since HH is hereditary, I’ve given a lot of thought to how I will approach HH with my future children if they get my HH gene. I would not want to put them through Iontophoresis or give them Robinol until much later. Since the lotion is topical and can be reapplied throughout the day, it’s a great tool for kids at school and during after-school activities. Same goes for people who do not have HH, but have occasionally sweaty hands. The lotion is great for them because they won’t need the more intense treatments like Ionotphoresis or Robinol.

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking with the co-creater of Carpe, David Spratte. He started working on this product when he was a senior in high school because of his frustration with sweaty hands. Now, a junior at the University of North Carolina, his product is on sale and ready to help the HH community and more! I was quite impressed to learn how much David had accomplished at such a young age and I was inspired by his story. I love that this product was created by someone who was struggling with sweaty hands himself.  He took his experiences and knowledge of sweaty hands to create a product he knew would work. David uses Carpe every day.

Something unique and special about Carpe is that long-term sweat reduction is possible if it is used regularly. David says that based on efficacy studies, 60% sweat reduction is achieved long-term if used once a day. Carpe is FDA-certified and non-irritating, so it is safe to use daily. Additionally, I was very happy to learn from David that Carpe also works on sweaty feet and foreheads. If you use the product on your feet, wait 10-15 minutes before putting on a shoe or sock to ensure the lotion sinks in.

Last, I would like to mention how much I love the name of this product. Carpe is short for Carpe Diem – Sieze the Day. David uses ‘Sieze the Moment’ on his packaging. Having this association with the lotion completely correlates to what I mention in my blog: Don’t let HH limit you and what you want to do in life. This lotion can provide  much needed relief as you face challenging and potentially embarrassing daily situations. Whether it be a handshake or highfive, playing sports or musical instruments, or simply taking a test with paper and pencil, Carpe can be a solution for you.

Please let me know if you have any questions about Carpe and please check out their website!

Thanks for reading,

Caryn