Why do I have red sweaty hands, is this a common hyperhidrosis symptom?
Patients affected with the hyperhidrosis gene can present this with excessive sweating in their hands, feet, and armpits. This may cause unpleasant and uncomfortable situations where their hands are extremely wet. Another characteristic of this is increased hyper-sympathetic activity, which is a narrowing of the blood vessels in the palms of the hands or feet. The narrowing of the blood vessels can cause clammy hands, as well as slow down the blood flow in the fingers due to the narrowed vessels. This reduced speed of blood flow (not the amount of blood flow) can cause an increase of oxygen consumption in the fingers, which makes the blood appear darker. The darker color (purple or redness) in the patient’s hands is directly caused by this physiological reaction.
With sympathectomy, one can eliminate or reduce the symptoms of hyperhidrosis (wetness of the hands). This will also dilate the blood vessels which helps blood flow to the hands, causing the hands to become warmer and return to a more normal color. This particular change of warming and returning to normal color is not a lifetime guarantee. It can be a long or short term solution, and there are currently no parameters to predict the longevity of this particular change. Patients should keep in mind that the sympathectomy procedure is not advised for clammy or red fingers alone without hyperhidrosis unless it is part of the patient’s hyperhidrosis (excessive hand sweating) condition.