genetics

HH and Heredity

/ carynjoan / 1 Comment

Hi all,

I always knew that Hyperhidrosis ran in my mom’s side of the family. Her sister (my aunt) was born with it and so were her two boys (my cousins). I was surprised to hear earlier this year that a cousin on my dad’s side of the family was recently diagnosed with the condition.

My dad told me about my cousin’s diagnosis and I reached out to her. She told me she went to a doctor and was prescribed a product called Hypercare. I had never heard of this treatment before but looked it up to find that its active ingredient is Aluminum Chloride. She is having success with this product!

I am thankful that I can talk to my family members about Hyperhidrosis openly and recently helped out my younger cousin on my mom’s side who hadn’t tried any previous treatments. After sending him and his mom a compiled list of some mild treatment options, he decided to go with an over the counter hand lotion. He is having a lot of success with this product so far! It’s called Dry Grip and can be found on Amazon.

HH runs in my family, but so does support. We are all very willing to listen and talk about HH and help each other out.

Best of luck,

Caryn

It’s not all blue skies

/ carynjoan / 7 Comments

Hi All,

I sincerely apologize for not posting for over 2 months. Life quickly got very hectic as the semester started- both in work and in my personal life.

If I didn’t have time to post, you can only imagine the trouble I had finding time to keep up with Iontophoresis. I missed way more treatments than I am happy to admit, and so of course, my sweating has returned.

The sweating is not as bad as what it was before Iontophoresis, but it is still present. No matter what, HH is in my genes. It’s in my DNA. Without treatment, I will always sweat.

I feel so angry with myself. I finally found a tool that helps my HH, and I am not taking advantage of it. Yes, I’ve been really busy, but I know I could have found more time than I felt I had.  I’m blaming only myself.

When I think about my situation, my mood starts spiraling downwards. Mostly I am just angry with myself.

Holidays are coming up, and I will be able to take more time off from work. I’m definitely bringing the Iontophoresis device home and will be using it every other day. I’m going to start the initial treatments again.

Hope all is well with you and Happy Holidays!

Caryn

Hyperhidrosis Genetics Study

/ carynjoan / 2 Comments

This past year, I participated in a study conducted by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine on the genetics of Hyperhidrosis.

In today’s e-newsletter from the International Hyperhidrosis Society, I learned of some findings from the study. You can read the article HERE.

If you are living with HH, I encourage you to contact the College of Medicine and participate.

My experience with them was very positive. I was mailed a free kit that included a HH questionnaire and supplies for DNA samples (mouthwash samples).

After the questionnaire was complete and mouthwash samples were collected, I mailed the kit back to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, free of charge.

It is important for your family members to also participate in the study whether they have HH or not because genetics and heredity are being tested.

Thanks for reading,

Caryn

 

Oh yeah, I’m a flute player

/ carynjoan / Leave a comment

So, I have been noticing that I rarely write anything about my flute playing in here.

Let me tell you a quick story.

I am in a woodwind quintet that performs all over the city.
In March 2012, we auditioned for MUNY (Music Under New York).
MUNY participants are able to reserve the best tip spots to perform in the subways.
Well, we won the audition!

We started playing in the subways this summer.

The evening before our first performance (which was in Union Square), I realized something I should have thought about a long time ago.

The subways are HOT. I have complained about the heat in my posts before, and other readers have commented on their heat as well. I have had some of my worst HH moments in subways!

I started freaking out- What did I do!?! Why did I intentionally do this to myself?!?
I was so upset with myself for not thinking this through.

The next day, we all played, and boy was it hot! But we all survived.

I brought a very absorbent towel with me, and that worked well. I keep that towel in my flute bag now, and use it every time I play. I use my music to fan my hands if necessary, and wipe my hands on my jeans.

My quintet and I have since then performed in Grand Central, Penn Station, Herald Square, and Columbus Circle. Each has been successful, and I am able to play my flute okay.

This past weekend in Columbus Circle, I became paranoid because people were looking over my shoulder (probably at the music) and my hands were dripping sweat. I hope they didn’t notice!

Also, my hands made the pads under my keys all sticky and moist. This gives an annoying sound when you move the keys. I hate feeling like I’m breaking my instrument every time I play 😦

For more info on my flute playing- www.carynfreitag.com

Stay strong out there- anything is possible, with a few alterations.

Caryn

What Would You Like to Read About?

/ carynjoan / Leave a comment

Hi All,

I want to write about things that you want to read. Please fill out this poll to let me know what you’re interested in. I have included a few options, but please, if you have suggestions about a topic, write it in the “other” box.


Thank you for reading 🙂

The weather is cooling off, so I hope you are all doing well!
Caryn

Don’t Sweat It…

/ carynjoan / Leave a comment

As a person with Hyperhidrosis, I have constantly been paranoid about where I put my hands, always wondering if people will see the sweat on my palms and fingers. When I’m playing my flute and my hands are probably gleaming  in the light, I start panicking and my performance is hindered.

Yesterday, I was at a meeting for work. I was at a conference table, taking notes with pen and paper. My hands were very sweaty and I was getting all nervous and uncomfortable.

YET, no one noticed at all. No one was looking at me strange, no one was looking at my hands.

Maybe they weren’t being observant or aware.

Think about it- how often do you look at people’s hands? I have HH and I don’t look at hands often, unless I am specifically looking out for people with the condition. I feel people look at hands and take them for granted- they don’t look to see an abnormality.

I really think this is how people with HH have lived in secret for so long.

This is something I need to tell myself now:

“Keep playing your flute- chances are they aren’t even looking at the sweat. They are listening to your music. ”

Don’t get me wrong- I think I will still be paranoid about what I do with my hands…I think it is a feeling that people with HH have all the time- the need to hide and conceal.

But, I just wanted to put my two cents in and let you know that there is a chance that people might not notice.

How many times has someone actually made a comment about your sweating? Not many people have actually commented on my sweating before I told them about my condition. Maybe we need to concentrate on this.

On the other hand, this could also mean that I’m just really good at hiding it! 🙂

Best,

Caryn

Rings and HH

/ carynjoan / 2 Comments

I wear rings every day. Usually, I wear my class ring from college- a classy one that gets a lot of comments from people.

You already know that HH causes my hands to swell to the point where I need to get a ring size larger than normal for my fingers.

What you don’t know is what happens when people want to look at my rings.

Many times, people will grab my hand and start admiring my ring.

With HH, this is highly uncomfortable. I don’t want them to notice my sweaty hands so I immediately take my ring off and hand it over to them to look at.

Anyway, I’m getting older…and one day I will hopefully be engaged and have a ring on my finger. Many women love when their engagement ring is looked at and show it off. Many friends and family don’t even ask to look at the ring, they just grab the Bride-to-Be’s hand to “ooh and ahh”.

This is going to suck for me. I don’t even know how I will handle it. I’m not going to take the ring off for the person to look at. This might be fine for other rings, but not an engagement ring.

Don’t get me wrong…I still want a ring. I’m a pretty traditional person when it comes to weddings. I am just imagining some uncomfortable situations in my future.

It’s sad that I need to think of this. Being engaged should be nothing but happy. It shouldn’t be awkward and uncomfortable.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

Caryn

Chocolate?

/ carynjoan / 2 Comments

Today as I rode the subway, I saw a girl snacking on some chocolate covered candies. My hands were a sweaty mess at this point and I imagined trying to eat what she was eating. My thoughts in order: Impossible, Disgusting, Messy.

How have I never mentioned this before? I can’t eat chocolate anything when my hands are sweaty!

M&M’s? Forget it! I will have a colorful mess left in my hand.

What’s up with their tagline, “Melts in your mouth, not in your hand?”

These candies surely have not been tested by people with HH!

Maybe the candied shell is keeping the chocolate from melting, but it is giving me an unwanted multicolored palm.