How To Handle Sweaty Hands - Healthline

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HealthlineSubscribeSkin CareHome Remedies for Sweaty Hands

Medically reviewed by Dominique Fontaine, BSN, RN, HNB-BC, HWNC-BC — Written by Valencia Higuera — Updated on March 21, 2025

Causes
Home remedies
Takeaway

Key Takeaways

Home remedies for sweaty hands may include:
- Antiperspirants that you apply daily to your hands, preferably at night.
- Baking soda mixed with water to create a paste that you rub on your hands for 5 minutes before rinsing completely.
- Sage-infused water to soak your hands in for 20 minutes. You may also use dried sage leaves to rub against your sweaty hands. Drinking sage tea may help, but you must check that it doesn’t interact with your medications.
These home remedies may help reduce sweaty hands, but it’s important to ask a healthcare professional for possible causes of excessive sweat to prevent complications.

Depending on your routine, greeting others with a handshake might be an everyday occurrence. People who don’t experience sweaty hands have no problem extending their hands. But if your hands are constantly clammy and wet, something as simple as shaking hands can bring on anxiety.

If you have frequent sweaty hands or excessive sweating in other parts of your body that are not caused by higher temperatures, you may have hyperhidrosis.

This is a condition marked by sweating for no apparent reason. Sweat may soak through your clothes and disrupt your social life. It can be a frustrating problem, but there are ways to get sweating under control.

Causes of sweaty hands

In the case of hyperhidrosis, overactive sweat glands trigger excessive perspiration.

This response has nothing to do with indoor or outdoor temperature or your level of physical activity. It doesn’t matter whether the temperature is comfortable or you’re not moving, your hands may sweat profusely.

Some people shrug off mild hand sweating as a minor concern. Although this condition doesn’t always indicate a serious problem and may run in families, excessive sweating is sometimes a symptom of an underlying condition, such as:

diabetes
menopause/hot flashes
low blood sugar
overactive thyroid
heart attack
nervous system problems
infections

When sweating is caused by an underlying problem, you may have other symptoms.

See a qualified healthcare professional if sweating is accompanied by chills, chest pain, nausea, lightheadedness, or a fever. Also make an appointment if sweating worsens or begins to interrupt your routine.

Home remedies for sweaty hands

If sweaty hands don’t merit a trip to your doctor or nurse practitioner, several tricks and home remedies can significantly reduce perspiration.

1. Antiperspirants

Antiperspirants are commonly associated with underarm sweating, but these are also effective for stopping perspiration in different areas of the body, including the hands. If you have problems with excessive sweating, apply antiperspirant to your hands to reduce wetness and clamminess.

Start with a regular-strength antiperspirant, and then switch to a clinical-strength antiperspirant if you don’t get the desired results.

Antiperspirants work best when you apply them at night because it gives your hands more time to absorb them. These products work by signaling your body to stop sweating.

If these don’t work, talk to your doctor about a prescription antiperspirant.

2. Baking soda

Baking soda is a quick and inexpensive way to reduce sweaty hands. Most people have a box of baking soda in their kitchen or bathroom. The effectiveness of baking soda on cleaning and whitening teeth is well-known, but you may not realize how baking soda functions as an antiperspirant and deodorant.

Because baking soda is alkaline, it can reduce sweating and make sweat evaporate quickly. Mix a couple teaspoons of baking soda with water to create a paste. Rub the paste over your hands for about five minutes and then wash your hands.

3. Sage leaves

Adding sage leaves to your food or sipping sage tea may provide relief from hand sweating. You can also carry dried sage in cloth wrap (sachet) in your pocket, and put your hand around it to absorb and prevent perspiration.

The astringent property of sage eliminates excess skin oils and prevents sweating. This property can also reduce odor caused by sweating. For best results, put a handful of sage leaves in water and then soak your hands in the mixture for about 20 minutes.

Another option is drinking sage tea. Since sage is an herb, talk to your healthcare professional before drinking this tea to ensure it doesn’t interact with any medications you’re currently taking.

Takeaway

You probably already have at least one item in your kitchen or bathroom that can stop sweating in its tracks! If you are experiencing excessive sweating, talk to a qualified healthcare professional. They may suggest other options if your condition doesn’t respond to home remedies.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Hamidpour R. (2015). Medicinal property of sage (saliva) for curing illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, depression, dementia, lupus, autism, heart disease and cancer: A brief review.https://www.acanceresearch.com/cancer-research/medicinal-property-of-sage-saliva-for-curing-illnesses-such-as-obesity-diabetes-depression-dementia-lupus-autism-heart-disease-and.pdf
Hyperhidrosis: Overview (n.d).https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/a-z/hyperhidrosis-overview
Sweaty hands. (n.d.).https://www.sweathelp.org/where-do-you-sweat/sweaty-hands.html

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Medically reviewed by Dominique Fontaine, BSN, RN, HNB-BC, HWNC-BC — Written by Valencia Higuera — Updated on March 21, 2025

How To Handle Sweaty Hands - Healthline

Key Takeaways

Causes of sweaty hands

Home remedies for sweaty hands

1. Antiperspirants

2. Baking soda

3. Sage leaves

Takeaway

How we reviewed this article:

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