SweatSolutions.org: KNOW SWEAT Campaign Launches with a Bang!

April 2005 Edition Table of Contents:

» KNOW SWEAT Campaign Launches with a Bang!

» TV Makes Progress with "Jake in Progress"

» Book it Now: Hyperhidrosis Symposia for Medical Professionals

» You Ask, We Answer: How to Manage Foot & Body Odor

» Announcing Our Three iPod Winners!

» View Events

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KNOW SWEAT Campaign Launches with a Bang!

(April 2005) This April, the International Hyperhidrosis Society launched its Know Sweat public awareness campaign. The campaign is designed to raise awareness of hyperhidrosis and encourage people who think they sweat too much to see a dermatologist about their condition.

As part of the campaign, the International Hyperhidrosis Society commissioned Harris Interactive to survey more than 1,000 U.S.and Canadian adults about their sweatiest moments. Results showed that 62 percent find that job-related issues, such as confronting a boss, making a presentation, or going on an interview, make them sweat more than any other circumstance. The results highlight the important differences between occasional, circumstantial sweating and the plight of nearly eight million men, women, and children in the U.S. who sweat profusely no matter what the situation and suffer from ridicule, embarrassment, and even social isolation and anxiety as a result.

According to the survey, 12 percent of adults say they sweat "all the time," yet four out of five of these respondents (84 percent) have not asked their doctor about their sweating because they don�t think anything can be done about it.

"It is these people that we are trying to reach through our awareness campaign," says David M. Pariser, MD, President of the International Hyperhidrosis Society and Secretary/Treasurer of the American Academy of Dermatology. "We want people to know that if they think they sweat too much, they should locate a qualified dermatologist that can help them explore treatment options."

Also as part of the Know Sweat campaign, the International Hyperhidrosis Society conducted another survey of our own database of hyperhidrosis patients. In contrast to the 15 percent of the general U.S. adult population surveyed by Harris Interactive who feel they sweat too much, virtually all of the people who responded to the International Hyperhidrosis Society survey said that they sweat too much.

"The most disturbing thing we found," says Lisa Pieretti, Executive Director of the International Hyperhidrosis Society, "was that nearly 90 percent of people who suffer from excessive sweating have experienced cruel reactions from others, such as being ridiculed. Since hyperhidrosis usually begins in adolescence, one can imagine the damaging effects of those reactions."

This second study also found that people with hyperhidrosis are more likely than the general adult population to feel that sweating in public is more embarrassing than having gas in public, having bad breath, or finding out that your fly has been open.

Through public relations efforts, physician education, and partnership with college health programs, the International Hyperhidrosis Society hopes that the Know Sweat campaign will increase recognition of hyperhidrosis among both the general public and the medical community as a devastating but treatable medical condition. Through this increased recognition, it is hoped that people suffering from excessive sweating will realize that the condition, though serious, is not uncommon and they truly are not suffering alone.

A press briefing in New York City helped to kick-off the Know Sweat campaign and included the following speakers: Lisa Pieretti, International Hyperhidrosis Society Executive Director; David M. Pariser, MD, International Hyperhidrosis Society President and Secretary/Treasurer of the American Academy of Dermatology; Kathryn M. Connor, MD, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Research Director, Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Program, Duke University Medical Center; Sophia Parente, a patient suffering from palmar hyperhidrosis; and Frances Rivers, a teenage patient suffering from axillary hyperhidrosis.

Reporters and other media representatives attending the luncheon learned about the seriousness of excessive sweating, as well as the survey results discussed above, the psychological effects of hyperhidrosis, and the ethnic considerations of living with hyperhidrosis. They also heard touching patient testimonials. To learn more about the information and materials that the media received at this special event, download our Know Sweat media kit.

Among others, representatives from the following publications were in attendance: CosmoGirl!, Real Simple, Prevention, New York Post, New York Sun, Latina Magazine, and Hora Hispana.

Additionally, the publications Self, Good Housekeeping, Allure, Seventeen, Teen Vogue, New York Times, and Vogue En Espanol have expressed great interest in the campaign and survey results.

To further raise awareness of hyperhidrosis and Know Sweat, Dr. Pariser (International Hyperhidrosis Society President) appeared on radio interviews broadcast in Kansas City, New York, Pittsburgh, Roanoke, Cleveland, Hartford, Boston, Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Seattle. A Video News Release (VNR) featuring Dr. Pariser and hyperhidrosis sufferers will also be dispatched to television stations around the country.

"Patients do not have to suffer with this [excessive sweating]," says Dr. Pariser in the VNR, "and they can simply and easily, in most cases, be helped."

With the help of the Know Sweat campaign, this message is being disseminated more widely than ever so that, hopefully, more sufferers can find the help and treatment they need and deserve.