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If you are looking for a hyperhidrosis treatment, you need to determine your type of hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating). Is it primary or secondary hyperhidrosis ?
Primary hyperhidrosis, also known as focal hyperhidrosis appears without a known cause and is more common than secondary hyperhidrosis. It usually starts at childhood and persists throughout life. Whilst nervousness and anxiety can elicit or aggravate excessive sweating, psychological disturbances are not always the reason.
As the name suggests, Secondary Hyperhidrosis, is secondary to another condition which is causing the excessive sweating. Conditions that cause Secondary Hyperhidrosis include Cancer, Diabetes, Gout, Glucose Control Disorders, Hyperthyroidism, Menopause, Mercury Poisoning and Pituitary Disorders. Drugs can also cause Secondary Hyperhidrosis.
Axillae Hyperhidrosis – excessive sweating of the armpits
Craniofacial Hyperhidrosis - excessive sweating of the face, neck and scalp
Palmar Hyperhidrosis – excessive sweating of the hands
Plantar Hyperhidrosis – excessive sweating of the feet
Hyperhidrosis can also affect other areas such as buttocks, back, chest etc.
We have listed below, details of various wide ranging hyperhidrosis treatments. For primary hyperhidrosis sufferers, iontophoresis treatments have an excellent track record. Not only that, but now that you can buy our machine for home use, compare its one-off cost of £299 to each botulinum treatment of around £400. Both iontophoresis and botulinum injections require periodic treatments to keep sweating normalised, therefore the cost saving over the years is considerable.
We also recommend armpit sweat pads. Most hyperhidrosis sufferers sweat more due to the worry of embarrassment - our armpit sweat pads block sweat from sight, stopping the worry which in turn can result in less sweating. Whether you believe that theory or not, thousands of people benefit from wearing armpit sweat pads.
Iontophoresis Treatment
A machine designed to stop excessive sweating (Hyperhidrosis).
The patient places their affected body parts, hands or feet, into two water-filled bowls (attachments are used for underarms). The tap-water iontophoresis device sends a safe, weak current through the water. With our device, you control the current and you should feel no more than slight tingling.There are a number of factors which affect the Iontophoretic transportation including skin PH, molecular size, current, voltage, time applied and skin resistance. It is believed that low current doses over longer periods are more effective than high current blasts over a short period.
If you are considering treating Hyperhidrosis with Drugs, Injections or Surgery, you might want to try Iontophoresis as drugs, needles and scalpels are not involved. Not only that, but with an 89% success rate, it is considered to be one of the best hyperhidrosis treatments. As periodic iontophoresis treatments are required, Iontophoresis is now available for home use. Here at Sweat Guard, we sell an easy to use Iontophoresis Machine which is a Certified Medical Device.
Botulinum Injections
Botulinum Injections have received much media attention in recent years for its use in treating wrinkles. This toxin is now being used to treat excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis).
Derived from one of the most lethal natural toxins “Clostridium Botulinum”, botulinum injections contain Clostridium Botulinum Type A Neurotoxin Complex. Back in 1988, patients being treated for facial tics found their wrinkles had reduced, leading to the cosmedics industry heralding it as a wonder drug for youthful looks.
Botulinum is not a wrinkle remover or filler, it works by blocking a chemical called acetylcholine, that is released from nerve endings in order to cause the facial muscles to move. By stopping these facial muscles from contracting, less expression lines will be visible, resulting in smoother, younger looking skin.
When used for Axillae Hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating of the armpits), injections are administered to the armpit skin. The botulinum blocks the release of the chemical acetylcholine from the nerves that stimulate the overactive sweat glands.
Results are quick, usually within a few days, but the results do diminish meaning repeated trips to the clinic and large annual costs. Costs are typically £400 for both armpits. Don’t forget, botulinum does not cure extreme heavy sweating for everyone, and for those who it does work for, you will have large annual treatments costs. People that have found excessive sweating returning between treatments have found Sweat Pads and Hyperhidrosis Clothing to be an effective solution.
It is essential to seek medical advice before receiving botulinum as your medical conditions and medications, may preclude you from its use.
Commonly, botulinum injections in the armpits can produce side effects of:
Increased sweating in other body areas other than armpits
Hot Flushes Pain in the armpit Headache Arm weakness, muscle pain, joint stiffness, swelling at injection site, nausea, difficulty or pain when swallowing, amongst others, have also been reported.
Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy (ETS)
When you truly sweat excessively, to the point of saturating your shirt, you know how it can get you down - affecting work and social situations alike. Some people have become so desperate to stop sweating, that they have undergone surgery in order to try and cure this problem.
Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy (ETS) – surgery is carried out under general anaesthetic (put to sleep). The surgeon would make 2 or 3 cuts in your armpit and place an endoscope (mini camera on a bendy tube) through one, in order to find the right part of the nerves. Cutting instruments are fed through the other holes and the nerves are cut. By turning off these nerve signals, the sweat glands will produce less sweat.
A major draw-back of sufferers of Axillae Hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating of the armpits) is that compensatory hyperhidrosis can result from this surgery. In other words, whilst the surgery may be effective at reducing the sweating within the armpits, the body still believes that sweating is required and the nervous system compensates for lack of sweating in the armpits, by making the body sweat in other places, which may include, face, chest, back, buttocks. For some patients, this problem has been tolerable, whilst for others, it has been worse than the original condition.
Unfortunately, that’s not the end of the bad news, as with all operations, there is a risk of infection or allergies to anaesthetic. Not only that, but there is a possibility of Horner’s syndrome occurring if a certain nerve is mistakenly damaged.
Even after exhausting all other methods of treatment, surgery should only be considered after discussing the potential pitfalls with a relevant medical professional.
Retrodermal Curettage
Suck out those sweat glands - similar to a liposuction technique, using similar instruments, this type of surgery uses sub-dermal curettage – scraping of the tissue under the skin.
Retrodermal Curettage – performed under local anaesthetic, the surgeon makes small incisions around the armpit area, an anaesthetic liquid is fed under the skin. A surgical tool is used along the skins under-surface to scrape out as many sweat glands as possible. In addition to the scraping, a liposuction tube is used to suck out the debris.
This procedure does not seem to be popular with UK surgeons, yet high success rates are claimed by US surgeons.
As with all surgery, side effects are possible, including loss of sensation in the armpits.
Even after exhausting all other methods of treatment, surgery should only be considered after discussing the potential pitfalls with a relevant medical professional.
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