"My hands were so sweaty that they made my life unbearable"

Ever since she reached her teens, Luana’s hands had been sweating so much that, when doctors asked her how the sweating affected her daily activities, she explained that it made her life unbearable. “When I had to write,” Luana recalls, “the pen would slip out of my hands and the paper would get wet. I do artistic gymnastics and, although I was constantly putting chalk on my hands to dry them, they’d get wet again straight away. On the parallel bars, I couldn’t grip the bars properly and would often slip.”

But perhaps the most serious impact this problem had on her life was on a social and emotional level. “I was really embarrassed about having to shake someone’s hand. I was always making sure to dry my hand before doing so. All of this affected my self-esteem and confidence,” she explains.

Her father, Àlex, recalls that at first they didn’t pay it much attention. “At the start we didn’t pay it much mind because we all sweat – it’s normal – and we didn’t think it was such a serious problem, nor did we know it could be treated.” When Luana, in desperation, looked for information and discovered that her condition could be treated, she spoke to her parents about it and they decided to take her to a specialist at Meritxell Hospital in Andorra. There, she was diagnosed with hyperhidrosis, a medical condition characterised by excessive and unpredictable sweating of the hands, feet and armpits.

The young Andorran woman was referred to the Surgery Department at SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital, where the specialists who assessed her case suggested she undergo endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy to resolve the problem. “It is a minimally invasive procedure that involves making two small incisions under the patient’s armpit to block the nerves that act as a ‘switch’ for the sweat glands,” explains the head of the Surgery Department, Xavier Tarrado.

When a person exercises, has a fever or feels hot, their blood temperature rises. The hypothalamus detects this and sends a signal to the sympathetic nerve. In people with hyperhidrosis, this ‘switch’ does not function correctly; it sends continuous signals to the sweat glands, triggering continuous and excessive sweating in the body.

In cases of mild or moderate hyperhidrosis, dermatologists prescribe topical treatment, medication, iontophoresis (the application of electrical currents) or botulinum toxin injections. Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy is reserved solely for the most severe and debilitating cases, such as Luana’s.

She underwent the operation in February 2026 and recalls that, as soon as she woke up after the procedure, she noticed a difference: “I could tell straight away that my hands weren’t sweating.” Six months on, she says her life has changed radically and she feels much more at ease. “Having dry hands has made me feel freer. Before, I was always conscious of my hands; now I don’t have to hide them,” she explains.

Collaboration agreement with Andorra for the care of children in the Principality

Luana was able to receive treatment at the SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital thanks to the collaboration agreement that the Servei Andorrà d’Atenció Sanitària (SAAS) has had in place with the hospital since 2014, with the aim of ensuring that children and adolescents in Andorra have access to highly specialised paediatric care.

Through this collaboration agreement, children from the Principality can be treated by specialists at SJD Barcelona. In some cases, they are visited in their own country by specialists who travel to Andorra on a regular basis. When they require a very specific treatment that is not available there, they come to Barcelona to receive it at the Hospital.

The collaboration agreement also facilitates the exchange of knowledge between professionals in both regions, as well as remote clinical advice and support. All of this helps to improve continuity of care and avoids unnecessary travel for families.