Excessive Sweating Herbal Remedies: The Oldest and Often Best Sweating Solutions

By Natural Sweating Remedies Editor Daven Deloreon
 

Once excessive sweating starts, well, it's kinda like a plugged toilet overflowing in your bathroom: the more you fiddle around with the thingamabobbers under the cover, the more you panic and the less toilet water you are actually prepared to stop from going everywhere. The water was coming because of one problem and you panicking created another. The toilet water all over the floor...well that just adds to the mess.

Now here's why excessive sweating herbal remedies are kind of like the plumber that comes in and save you from another water-related conniption by fixing the problem and showing you a fail safe: they're unsung but water flow regulating, and emergency situation confidence instilling heroes. Below are  five of my favorite, and their most suited roles.

By the way: If you can't bring yourself to fight a daily 'war on sweat' with big pharma funding chemical warfare, I recommend you also check out the 100s of pages of natural ways to make peace with your sweat response in this audio/ebook guide, by former sweat casualty Matt Stec. Although Stec lets you have it for free if salt water doesn't stop washing away your style of life, be prepared to change your lifestyle. As he points out, and akin to everything I discuss here: it's a "lifelong solution", not a "magical instant cure."

Excessive Sweating Herbal Remedies - Emergency Body Flooding Specialists

1. Sage: A Calming and Drying Influence

This robust green herb thats Latin name, 'Sylvia,' means to heal, is nothing less than that big secret that the makers of heavy-metal leaching antiperspirants, like Secret, don't want to get out: it's the best (and healthiest) antiperspirant out there. But not only does this Mediterranean native plant, valued for its healing powers as far back as the times of ancient Greece and Egypt, promote dryness of the skin (AKA an astringent), it works beneath the pores to calm the nerves in the sweat (AKA sudoriferous) gland (what's called a anti-hydrotic action). According to a study in Germany, Sage taken in tea or extract form reduces sweating by as much as 50 percent. To achieve all of these anti-sweat effects, brew sage leaves for tea (fresh is better) for no more than five minutes so they don't lose their potency. Since it is an anti-bacterial and anti all things that help spell out body odor and it keeps the skin dry, you can dab its extract on any area you please with a cotton ball or simply soak a cloth in Sage tea and use that.

2. Burdock: Flow and Flush Fixer

Traditionally used to treat poisonings because of its blood cleansing abilities, this plant, particularly its roots and seeds, is highly nutritious. It's also a highly effective diuretic, promoting elimination through urination, effectively reducing stress on the kidney and liver and cleansing impurities from the blood.

Practically speaking, for excessive sweaters, it reduces the body's need to eliminate water and toxins through the skin and also lowers body heat, another cause of sweating. Oddly enough, it actually promotes the release of toxins through sweating (AKA a diaphoretic) but this will likely reduce your body's need to sweat excessively, if you are toxified. Oh yeah, about it being nutritious: it's full of zinc, which reduces sweat odor and b vitamins, which is a common deficiency in excessive sweaters. Also an anti-fungal-bacterial-microbial-septic-repulsive odor and so on. It's bitter and most often prescribed by herbalists and naturopaths in tincture or pill form.

3. Witch Hazel: Flooding Prevention Magic

This one may get its name from its ability to 'witch (AKA locate) a well' when placed on dowsing rods, but when it comes to the well of sweat lying beneath your skin, it works more like a dam. The entire witch hazel plant is high in tannins, which make it an astringent (like sage).

Commonly used as an anti-inflammatory, taking witch hazel internally or externally tightens, hardens and dries skin tissue, which, in turn, makes the skin's pores much smaller birthing canals for perspiration. The extract of witch hazel serves as an excellent anti-perspirant and deodorant when rubbed on dry and hair free areas, including the face. Witch hazel can be drank as a tea but this practice is not recommended to be continued for more than a month by most naturopaths, as it is quite toxic, so, as with all natural remedies discussed on this blog, consult your naturopath before you take it.

4. Astragalus: Chinese Sweat Response Tune-up

Native to China where it has been used for more than 2000 years as an immune system tonic, this green plant with purple flowers is the go-to herb of most Chinese herbalists for treating excessive sweating. In Chinese medicine Astragalus is used to repair Qi (roughly translated to 'energy') deficiency, a result of impaired lung and spleen function, which is said to cause excessive sweating among a myriad of other health problems.

You can drink it as a tea, or ingest in in capsule or extract form. You'll think the sweet Astragalus tastes a lot better than burdock, witch hazel and sage, so the tea, with maybe a little honey, is a fine idea as a regular treatment for excessive sweating. And by the way, Astragalus may just reverse some of the brain damaging effects caused by blocking sweat with aluminum filled conventional antiperspirants, as it's known to help Alzheimer's patients.

5. Hops (AKA Humululs Lupulus): Sweat Panic Prevention Specialist

This member of the Cannabis family is known mostly for its contribution to sorrow drowning brews (beer) around the world (except England where it is believed to actually cause sorrow), it is every bit as prolific of a herbal remedy for soothing the qualms of the anxious, including those who often find themselves drowning in sweat. An anxiety and insomnia elixir known for over 2000 years, it is said that elderly women who picked the remedy-used strobiles (fruit) of the hops plant in ancient times, were overcome with the appearance and feeling of youthfullness.
 
Containing chemical compounds that, when aged for two years, are similar to an active ingredient found in common sedatives such as Valium, a brew, or tablets of this herb can have an exceptional calming effect, which will have a huge effect on people that have sweat related anxiety. It is also filled with noted anti-sweat agent B vitamin complex and sweat odor killer zinc.

Choose Your Herbs Wisely, Curb Your Excessive Sweat Wisely

Although it's unlikely that all of these herbal wonders will work wonders for your sweat problem, unless maybe, you have scales instead of skin, it is pretty much scientifically impossible that an herb that is proven to close pores (witch hazel or sage), or one that has been used for thousands of years in China to stop sweat from passing through those pores (Astragalus), won't reduce your sweating to some degree.

The key is to choose those herbs, with the help of a naturopath, with benefits that most apply to your unique sweating profile, to use them daily for a time and to do so externally and internally, if possible. But if you're some kind of a freak of nature who defies science, here's your bright side: all these herbs have all kind of health benefits, all over the body.

An Important Reminder: Everybody responds differently to different health treatments. The contents of this article are provided strictly for informational purposes, on an 'AS IS' basis, and are not a substitute for professional medical prevention, diagnosis or treatment. Consult a licensed medical professional before using any excessive sweating related plan of treatment or product product. Only a licensed medical professional is qualified to determine whether the primary cause of any sweating you deem excessive is hyperhidrosis or one of the following underlying conditions: any infection that causes a fever, Hodgkins' disease, tuberculosis, overactive thyroid, heart disease, cancer, pneumonia, malaria, liver and kidney disease, blood sugar irregularities and menopause. (Note: the preceding list may not be complete.)