Excessive Sweating Can Limit Your Career Options

Have you ever noticed a business associate furtively wipe his hands on his pants after shaking hands with you? Are you constantly self-conscious about your armpit stains or how you smell, even when you're supposed to be out having a good time with your buddies? Have you ever had to dry your armpits by facing the vent?

If you suffer from excessive sweating, you know only too well the many ways it can disrupt your life. Excessive sweating can get in the way of your social life, sex life, relationships with loved ones, and self-confidence. Believe it or not, though, excessive sweating can be most damaging to your career --- especially when your profession is one where excessive sweating is considered a liability.

Here are some jobs where excessive sweating is a total no-no.

• Surgeon. Sweaty palms can be disastrous to a surgeon. No one wants that scalpel slipping through your gross greasy palms. Imagine the damage a cosmetic surgeon with over-slick digits can do! If you're one, your patient could come out looking like Cher or worse, like the missing link between apes and mankind.

• Stripper. Your co-workers won't appreciate the greasy palm prints you leave all over the pole, and even if you're the best exotic dancer in town, no club manager is going to want to hire you if your excessive sweating makes your feet so slimy you regularly slide off your cute platforms and sail straight into the crowd.

• Salesman. Selling a used car while you have rivers of sweat pouring down your face says one thing to the customer: "I am ripping you off." People associate excessive sweating with nervousness, dishonesty, and sheisty business dealings. So if you sweat torrents, prospective customers will most likely take one look at your sweat-drenched face and assume you're out to steal their hard-earned money.

• Gymnast. If you're a gymnast or a rock climber or an acrobat, excessive sweating won't just end your career; it could end your life! It could send you flying off the bars or tumbling down the side of a mountain. Don't think chalking up will cut it, either. All you'll accomplish is leaving a muddy white sludge behind so people can't point and whisper, "That's where it happened!"

If you're a person prone to damp palms, you're safer skipping these pursuits altogether.

• Musician. It may not be your fault that your fingers are sliding all over the keys because of your excessive sweating, but your audience doesn't know that. All they'll hear is the noise while you try to get a handle on the keys. They might clap politely after your portion is done, but know that they're most likely clapping out of relief that your performance is over.

• Business person. Few people feel confident sealing a business deal with someone whose palms are so oily they would rather skip the handshake and go for a high-five. If you must subject someone to your excessively sweaty grip, make sure to at least offer them a paper towel afterwards so they can spare their dress pants the oleaginous smear of your second-hand perspiration.

Even if you're not pursuing any of these careers, excessive sweating can still get in your way. Even if you just work at an office, chances are no one appreciates your pit stains or having to smell your gamy musk whenever you walk by. People tend to perceive excessive sweating as disgusting, as evidence of poor grooming habits or extreme nervousness-which is interpreted as a sign of a sketchy character.

While it may not be fair, most people-your boss and coworkers not excluded-include these factors into their first impressions of you. As a result, your excessive sweating could keep you from promotions and other important business opportunities. In fact, it might have cost you opportunities already, without you even having realized it.

If you suffer from excessive sweating but you're not ready to give up on any of the many careers made difficult by your condition, you should do something about it. Start out by knowing the condition in detail. Look it up online. For more specific information, you could go to the library, or you might check out online resources (one good resource, the Stop Sweating and Start Living ebook by Mike Ramsey, is written by a former sufferer of excessive sweating). You could even try calling your doctor. If you're determined to overcome your problem with excessive sweating, that's the first step. Good for you. Beating your excessive sweating problem is possible; it just might take a little effort and perseverance on your part.