ASK THE DOC: ‘I need tips for my sweating’

Dr Laura Ryan, who is NHS 24's medical director, answers readers' questions.

Q. What can I do about my excessive sweating? I have a few weddings to attend in the coming months and I am really embarrassed about it.

A. Excessive sweating can be challenging to treat and it may take a while to find a treatment right for you.

Doctors usually recommend starting with the least invasive treatment, such as powerful antiperspirants. Lifestyle changes may also help, including wearing loose and light clothes, avoiding triggers, such as alcohol and spicy foods, that could make your sweating worse, and wearing black or white clothes to help minimise the signs.

If these changes are not helping then you may be advised to try treatments such as iontophoresis (the affected area is treated with a weak electric current passed through water or a wet pad), botulinum toxin injections, and even surgery in a few cases.

Hyperhidrosis is usually a long-term condition, but some people will experience an improvement with time and the treatments available can keep it under control.

Visit www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/skin-hair-and-nails/hyperhidrosis#about-hyperhidrosis for details.

Q. I was playing football and have just knocked out my front adult tooth, it’s not broken, what can I do?

A. If you knock out a tooth, you should find it, hold it by the crown (the white bit that sticks out of the gum), lick the tooth clean if it’s dirty, or rinse it in water, put it back into position (adult teeth only, never try to re-insert a baby tooth, bite on a handkerchief to hold the tooth in place, and go to a dentist as an emergency.

If you can’t put the tooth back in position, put it in milk and see a dentist straight away. The sooner you re-implant a tooth, the more likely it will re-embed itself back into the gum. Visit www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/injuries/dental-injuries/broken-or-knocked-out-tooth

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.