Alcohol and caffeine increase your heart rate and widen your blood vessels, which is why they cause excessive sweating. Sweating can also be triggered by withdrawal symptoms if you are heavily reliant on alcohol or caffeine.
Hot peppers contain a chemical called capsaicin that triggers the nerves in your body that make it feel hotter.
Nicotine releases a chemical called acetylcholine, which causes sweaty episodes. [6] X Research source
If you experience a lot of head sweating at work and you don’t have control over the temperature, get a small personal fan for your desk or other workspace. If you feel like you are going to get a hot flash and start sweating, drink a cold glass of water or other healthy beverage to cool down your internal temperature.
The head is often one of the first places you start sweating from when your body is trying to cool down, so when other areas of your body are restricted by tight clothing it can lead to excessive head sweating.
Be careful not to get antiperspirant in your eyes when you are applying it to your head and scalp because it can cause irritation.
You could also try things like getting a massage, doing yoga, reading, and laughing more to reduce stress and relax your body and mind.
This can also lead to other kinds of health benefits that help stop excessive sweating, such as improved circulation and reduced stress.
Heavy sweating with no underlying medical cause is called primary hyperhidrosis. This means you just have overactive sweat glands and is a condition that can be genetic and hereditary. Heavy sweating caused by a medical condition is called secondary hyperhidrosis. [14] X Trustworthy Source Mayo Clinic Educational website from one of the world’s leading hospitals Go to source Helpful information to have on hand before you visit the doctor includes knowing whether anyone else in your family has similar sweat problems, having a list of any medications and supplements you take regularly, and knowing whether your head sweating stops while you are asleep. The doctor will likely ask you questions about when your symptoms started, where else on your body excessive sweating occurs, what makes the sweating worse, what makes the sweating better, and whether your head sweating is continuous or intermittent.
These types of tests typically come after a more general physical examination and physical tests if you have still not been able to determine the cause of the sweating. If an underlying medical condition is found, a treatment plan will focus on treating that condition first. If no underlying condition is found, your doctor will focus treatment on controlling your excessive sweating.
Prescription antiperspirants contain aluminum chloride. As with regular antiperspirants, these products can cause irritation of the skin which can sometimes be treated with hydrocortisone cream.
Keep in mind that these types of creams are meant for treating primary hyperhidrosis in adults and children who are at least 9 years old.
Anticholinergic medications are not approved by the FDA as a treatment for excessive sweating, but your doctor can prescribe them off-label for this purpose. They’re normally used to treat a variety of conditions, such as COPD, overactive bladder issues, gastrointestinal problems, and vertigo. Know that possible side effects of these types of medications are blurred vision, bladder problems, and dry mouth. They can also cause cognitive problems, such as dementia, in older patients, so discuss the risks with your doctor if you’re over 65.
Make sure you ask your doctor about any potential side effects of the specific antidepressants they recommend.
Keep in mind that this procedure can be quite painful and in some patients can cause temporary muscle weakness in the areas where they received injections.