New Product Review: Carpe Antiperspirant Hand Lotion

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!

tube

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

 

Will my kids have HH?

I’m often asked if I’m worried about passing Hyperhidrosis on to my kids. HH runs in my family, so I know that there is a pretty good chance of passing it on.

I’ve given this a lot of thought for many years. In the past, I was concerned about passing it on because I know the difficulties of HH first hand and I don’t want my children to suffer through it. Children especially have trouble with HH in school and social activities. Years ago, a part of me thought my future children would be angry with me for passing it on.

However, after more thought and discussion with family members, I can say that although there is a high chance of passing HH on to my kids, it doesn’t deter me from wanting to have my own children. I have always wanted to be a mom.

In fact, if my children are born with HH, I will be incredibly well-equipped and be their biggest support. I will be able to share coping techniques and be knowledgeable about treatments. I will be a huge resource and am confident I will be able to help them.

 

HH and Heredity

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

Hyperhidrosis Genetics Study

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

 

Rings and HH

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

Never thought of this

I always fear that my future children will have HH because of genetics. I’ve pretty much accepted that they will have it.

I was searching around the internet and found this blog post from 2010: http://www.hyperhidrosisandme.com/2010/11/22/hyperhidrosis-and-heredity-does-my-child-have-it/

It got me thinking. What if my child is mad at me and blames me for giving him or her HH??

In my situation, my mom doesn’t have HH. I don’t really have a particular person to blame. But what if I had? This is scary to think about.

Caryn Joan