PITTSBURGH -- Not long ago, 22-year-old Melissa Saxton considered the mere thought of shaking hands impossible.

“Especially with a boy holding hands, anything like that, you're embarrassed,” said Saxton.

Saxton’s hands have dripped sweat since pre-school, and she finally decided to get help four months ago.

“She had her hands on her tights and she left palm prints on her she was sweating so much,” said Dr. Manisha Shende, a thoracic surgeon.

Known as hyperhidrosis, it happens when hair-thin nerves along the spine that control sweating go haywire.

Several fixes exist for primary hyperhidrosis, but medications can have side effects and topical gels don’t work very well.

A permanent correction is a 20-minute procedure called a sympathectomy.

Shende uses the minimally invasive technique to reach the nerves that transmit signals to the sweat glands.

Only two tiny spots are noticeable following the procedure.

A CT-guided injection also exists.

A single needle puncture through the upper back allows the injection of a Phenol-based medication to interrupt the nerves.

Either way, 60 to 75 percent of patients continue to sweat in other places.

But, Paxton is still happy with her permanently dry hands.

“I was at a wedding last weekend and they were doing a dance where you hold hands, and I said, ‘I can do this now.’ Something as simple as that -- it does make a difference,” said Saxton.

BOTOX represents another way to control sympathetic nerves.

Injections paralyze the nerves and stop the sweating, but it is only a temporary fix that last three to four months.