The average high school student experiences countless stressors on a day-to-day basis. These high-pressure situations provoke a fight or flight response in which our body prepares itself to react. In order to restore the body to a natural resting state, sweat is a necessary proponent.

Everybody sweats, but the 1-3% of the population who suffer from the medical condition hyperhidrosis can produce up to four times the average amount of sweat everyday.

The three most common areas to experience excessive sweating are in the underarms, palms, and feet.

Lea Alcantara (10) and Gabriella MacAdam (11) both experience extreme sweating in their hands only.

“My hands get a lot more sweaty when I am anxious, especially at dance auditions or volleyball games” says MacAdam.

Usually the condition concentrates itself in one key area; however, Kaylee Bashor (11) experiences a severe case of hyperhidrosis in which she experiences the condition in all three target areas.

“Of course people are going to think it is gross––it’s different, but for someone who has the disease, it is so normal. People make fun of me because they don’t realize how difficult it is to live with it” said Bashor.

Daily tasks, such as writing and eating are more difficult for those with hyperhidrosis.

“Sometimes it is hard to hold pencils” says MacAdam.

“Last year I had such a hard time trying to write that I had to start using a computer in all of my classes. I still use it sometimes when I need to, but now I resort to cotton cloths and things to absorb the sweat” says Bashor.

Getting ready in the morning is a constant battle for Bashor to ensure that her clothes stay dry throughout her morning routine.

“Different people try different things to stop the sweating. For a lot of people, pills don’t work. There are also creams that can be used at night, but the problem with those is that the area can get so dry that it starts cracking” says Acantara.

While there are treatments for hyperhidrosis, there are no cures. Bashor has gone through a number of advanced treatments from iontophoresis (shock therapy) to Botox in order to calm her extreme condition; however, the results have been unsuccessful and in some cases, life-threatening.

During her sophomore year, Bashor had an especially negative experience when she received Botox under her underarms. All treatments come with a number of extensive side effects and Bashor knew that she was a victim to these when she had trouble breathing, swallowing, and talking after her treatment.

As it turned out, the Botox traveled to her lymph-nodes, up to her throat, and and froze muscles in her face. Despite her intense complications, the treatment was not a complete success.

The Botox was supposed to last for four to six months, but within one month after treatment, Bashor’s symptoms returned to her underarms. In the long run, the Botox moderately helped the sweating under her arms, but now her condition is more concentrated in her hands and feet.

“If the sweat disappears from one place, it exerts itself more heavily in other places” explains Bashor.

Hyperhidrosis is not a well-exposed disease and it is necessary that awareness is spread in order for a cure to be found for those who suffer from the condition.

“It is not a very common thing, so people who have it may not even know that they have it” says Alcantara.

“In my opinion, none of the treatments are great and that is why I am trying to raise more awareness. Not a lot of people are researching hyperhidrosis and discovering cures because not a lot of people know about it. It is not very publicized because it is embarrassing, but I have come to this point where I don’t get embarrassed anymore because it’s just a part of me and I am so much more than my disease” says Bashor.

While it is easy for the disease to be debilitating due to its embarrassing nature, Bashor does not let it hold her back in any facet of her life. She continues to raise awareness as an advocate for her disease.