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Hyperhidrosis - Management
How should I manage someone with suspected secondary focal or generalized hyperhidrosis?
- Direct the history, examination, and investigations to look for an underlying cause, and manage appropriately. This will often require a referral to secondary care.
- If a person has generalized hyperhidrosis, but symptoms and signs are non-specific, the following baseline investigations may be carried out in primary care in order to guide appropriate referral and management:
- Full blood count.
- Erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C-reactive protein.
- Urea and electrolytes.
- Liver function tests.
- Random blood sugar tests.
- Thyroid function tests.
- Chest radiography.
- Blood film for malarial parasites, if indicated.
- HIV testing (after counselling), if indicated.
- For people with suspected secondary focal hyperhidrosis, chest radiography may be useful to identify an intrathoracic neoplasm or a cervical rib.
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