Archive for dress shields
‘Tis the Season For Social Anxiety Fa la la la…
Posted by: · on November 30, 2010 | CommentsWell, it is official now that Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and the newer kid on the block Cyber Monday have all passed… Holiday Season 2010 is Here. Yay.
Bring on the Holiday parties, frenetic shopping, office parties (I hear they are making quite the Comeback this year). Not to be a Scrooge, but for many of us with hyperhidrosis, ‘Tis the Season to dread.
Parties, for other people, are opportunities for fun and something to be anticipated. Parties for us are something we pretend to get excited about. We fake a smile with our arms glued to our sides. Cold drink complete with sweating ice cubes clutched in right hand, thankyouverymuch. Cursing inwardly the stupid STUPID decision to wear red satin…
Sound familiar?
OK, well if you’re a guy, I do hope the red satin part is not a memory for you… not that there’s anything wrong with that (Jerry Seinfeld reference 
)… My point, and I do have one– wait, do I? Oh yes, the point is… I get it. Have lived it, too many times to want to count. And I would like to give you a little pep talk and a couple of pointers.
Please don’t feel like a freak standing there feeling all awkward at a holiday party. Put the stupid-ass sweating in its stupid-ass place and have fun anyways. Don’t give hyperhidrosis the power to ruin your evening.
Look around the room and if misery loves company, consider that statistically, you are probably not the only person present with hyperhidrosis. Three people in a hundred– and that number is conservative (IMO). You could even play a little game with yourself. Such as, Guess the Sweater (and I don’t mean knitwear).
Dress appropriately– wear the appropriate foundation wear. Guys, undershirts are made that will conceal the sweat and keep you comfortable! Check out my article on Men’s Undershirts. Ladies, there are dozens of options for you. So many, in fact, that my article on Women’s Undergarments is too long for my liking– but I wanted to show you just how many options you have. You can really wear any neckline, sleeve, or color. The feeling of confidence just knowing you are wearing something that will manage the sweat will actually make you sweat LESS. Unless it’s like 95 degrees in the room or something. In which case everyone else will be sweating, so who cares? See? Misery does love company.
If you find yourself sweating, say so. Yes, that’s right. Say. So. Casually. It totally takes the edge off and you get a little sympathy, to boot. I swear. The key is to be really casual about it. When you put it out there, you feel better, and often it will make the sweat production slow down.
So have fun, kiss someone under a bunch of dead leaves, clutch your sweating drink in your sweating hand, and thumb your nose at hyperhidrosis.
HyperhidrosisAndMe Weekly Spotlight: Sweat Management for Women
Posted by: · on August 23, 2010 | CommentsThis week’s spotlight will be shining brightly on how women with hyperhidrosis can dress with more FREEDOM by wearing the right foundation wear.
As I explain in great detail on my page on the subject, called, creatively, “Women’s Undergarments”, there are dozens of undergarments on the market that will enable you to wear almost any style, fabric and neckline with confidence.
Offered in several fabrics in various colors, most of the options involve one or both of these elements: dress shields and camisoles. For example, wearing a camisole can give you that extra layer to absorb any trunk sweating that occurs– and many post-ETS patients deal with Compensatory Sweating here– while at the same time allowing you to place a disposable dress shield upon the camisole in the area of your worst sweating. This shield is called a Body Guard and is sold by Kleinert’s, the leading purveyors of clothing for sweat management.
Camisoles for hyperhidrosis come in a terrific variety of necklines, sleeve lengths and body lengths, and they usually come with dress shields discreetly sewn in. The dress shields are offered with varying barrier levels of sweat protection.
If your main problem is underarm sweating and you feel that a camisole is overkill, you can find a plethora of discreet ways you can wear dress shields. My favorite is offered, again, by Kleinert’s and it is a washable dress shield that snaps firmly onto your bra strap. That way, the dress shield is snug up against your underarm and not weighting down your top and shifting around as you go about your day. This product is called “Ready Shield”– there is a great demonstration video for you to see if you click on the link.
If you check out my “Women’s Undergarments” page, you can see a description of all of these products and many more, and can be directed to a place to purchase them.
If you are sick and tired of wearing black or having to wear a blazer or cardigan over every top you put on, please check out your options.
…You know how your Hyperhidrosis controls so much of your life? Take control of this part of your life. You can wear what you want. It just requires a little thought and one extra step! So take it.
HyperhidrosisAndMe Weekly Spotlight: Men’s Undershirts
Posted by: · on July 12, 2010 | CommentsI have tried to make this website as comprehensive as possible. You can find clothing and products that can help you manage your sweating episodes, strategies for coping, and personal stories that you can identify with. I have also tried very hard to explain what your legitimate treatment options are. While I have tried to make it as easy as possible to navigate through all this information, I think that some things may be hard to find. So, I thought that it would be helpful to spotlight one category each week!
This Week: Men’s Hyperhidrosis Undershirts
The page I created for this category addresses several aspects of this topic: for example, fabrics that are available and which ones are better suited for hyperhidrosis control.
FACT: Did you know that wicking, high performance fabrics are great for working out or casual wear but absolutely the WRONG thing to wear under your clothing? Wicking fabrics grab your sweat from the underside of the garment, transferring the moisture to the outer surface of the fabric, where it can evaporate. If you have a shirt on over that, what happens? Yep, the moisture is then absorbed by your dress shirt, creating a sweat ring even more rapidly than if you didn’t have an undershirt on at all. So, keep the performance fabric to the gym!
Another topic I explain on this page is Fabric Treatments. Two of the companies that I discuss on the Men’s Hyperhidrosis Undershirts page have sweat and/or odor control properties in the fabric.
Kleinert’s uses Fabrapel, which among other things, has anti-microbial properties, and Silverback Apparel treats one style of its undershirts with silver, which is naturally microbial, and the other type is made from bamboo, which is also naturally anti-microbial.
Sweat absorption is another very important quality for a good hyperhidrosis undershirt to have. Three companies that I discuss address this a few different ways: Kleinert’s offers undershirts treated with Fabrapel, which aside from being anti-microbial, also is sweat resistant. This means that sweat that is absorbed is contained and is less likely to appear on the outer surface of the garment– preventing sweat marks on your outer shirt.
Dress shields are offered by two companies: Kleinert’s offers them as additional protection to the Fabrapel treatment, and Advantagewear by Advadri
Silverback Apparel takes a somewhat different approach: their undershirts offer a double layer of protection under the arms and also on a large area of the back. This is a very good option for the man who suffers from Compensatory Sweating (as a result of ETS).
I will be offering a review from a new Men’s Undershirt company, called Sweat Shield Undershirts. From what I know, it is a very promising product at a really good price point! They have kindly sent me samples and I will let you know how they hold up as soon as I can.
So there’s a snapshot of my page on Men’s Undershirts for Hyperhidrosis…. be sure to check it out, as there are a few more things I explain, such as cut and necklines– who offers what.
Next week, Footwear for Hyperhidrosis!
