Botox injections. In 2004, the Food and Drug Administration approved Botox for excess underarm sweating. The toxins affect the nerves that trigger sweating and work for four to eight months at a time, Pariser says. Doctors also use Botox for hands and other areas. But costs are high — typically $700 to $1,500 for both underarms and more for hands, Pariser says — and, while insurers often pay, not all doctors accept insurance for the treatments. Hand injections also can cause temporary muscle weakness in thumbs and fingers.

Hernando recently had her hands treated with Botox. The injections hurt a bit, and she had trouble opening jars for a while.

But, she says, it was worth it: At her wedding, in May — to a man who never complained about holding her sweaty hands — she shook hands with guests without embarrassment. "It was one less thing I had to worry about," she says.

SEPARATING THE SWEATING

Doctors put excess sweating in two categories: the kind caused by an underlying medical condition, from diabetes to cancer to menopause, and the kind that stands alone. You probably have the second kind if:

Excess sweating started in childhood or teen years.

It's confined to specific areas, usually underarms, hands, feet or face (alone or in combination).

You don't sweat while sleeping.

It runs in your family.

Source: International Hyperhidrosis Society (www.sweathelp.org)