Other Treatments

Botox injections

I’m sure you’ve heard of botox and know how it can reduce people’s wrinkles and make them look 10 years younger (or at least stop from being able to smile and show any emotions).  You may even be aware that Botox can help treat excessive sweating as the benefits have been shown on Channel 4’s “embarrassing illnesses” TV programme.  Botox, or what is medically known as botulinum toxin works well for reducing and stopping armpit sweating.  The botox is injected in small doses under the affected areas of armpit skin, but it cannot be used to treat excessive sweating in your hands or face due to some medical risks of stopping muscles from working.

Botox as a treatment for excessive sweating usually lasts for 4 to 12 months before it needs to be reapplied.  Due to the cost of botox is is not usually available on the NHS so this treatment may only be possible down a private route.  Occasionally those who have used botox to treat excessive sweating complain of mild, flu like symptoms for the day after and the area can be sore.  It is very, very uncommon for someone to have a strong allergic reaction to botulimum toxin.

Iontophoresis

This treatment is commonly used to treat sweating on your hand’s palms, the soles of your feet or sometimes armpit sweating and it involves the use of electrical stimulation.  Don’t let that scare you though, the treatment is safe but might cause a small amount of discomfort.  The treatment is carried out by putting the areas that sweat too much in a small water container.  An Iontophoresis then passes a low electrical current through the water, which can cause a pins and needles type sensation.

Iontophoresis machines are generally only available for use at hospitals, but you can buy smaller machines to use at home.  The treatment involves around 3 applications a week, which last about 30 minutes.  After 6-10 treatments most people can reduce the amount they need to anywhere from weekly to monthly.  Due to the fact you would need to buy an Iontophoresis machine, or spend a lot of time going in and out of hospital, this treatment is not suitable for everyone.

Iontophoresis does have some potential side effects.  The treatments can leave you with a sore mouth or dry throat and some people suffer from dizziness for a full day after each treatment.  Iontophoresis treatments aren’t suitable for everyone.  If you’re pregnant, have a pacemaker or have any metal implants within your body, you should not use this treatment.

Medication

There are some medicines which help stop excessive sweating.  A commonly used one is propantheline bromide.  Using drugs like this is uncommon as the side effects are quite likely.  With some people they work well and the side effects, which include dizziness and a dry mouth and throat, can be minor.

Surgery

As with most things, surgery is the last port of call!  There are a few procedures which can be used to reduce and stop excessive sweating.  Before any type of surgery you need to have a discussion with your surgeon to see if you are happy with any risks and things like that!

• Armpit Sweating Surgery

There are a few options for this, an older method involved cutting the skin from the armpit that contains the sweat glands, however this caused some people problems with unpleasant scares and reduced movement with their arms.  A newer technique, which has less risk of bad results involves scrapping the sweat glands away via key hole surgery and I have heard that this can give good results, without as high a risk of side effects.  A procedure which is currently being tested is LSA, or laser sweat ablation, this involves using a laser to remove sweat glands.

• Palm/Hand Sweating Surgery

To stop excessive palm sweating the surgeon will perform key hole surgery to cut a nerve out of your spinal cord which can cause the sweating.  However, a common side effect is that your body sweats excessively else where to compensate.  If this happens, it is usually worst that the original problem.

• Soles/Feet Sweating Surgery

This is not usually carried out as it involves cutting nerves in the lower end of your spinal cord which have a high risk of affecting sexual function.

I hope that you have found this information helpful and useful.  You should always go speak to your GP or specialise doctor and think through any ramifications before carrying out any of these procedures.  If you have had any of these treatments, it would be great if you could leave a comment with your thoughts on them!  If you are planning on having any or have any questions please also leave a comment!

*****

Complete Guide to Infertility and Adoption
Shared Journey provides quality information about infertility, miscarriage, surrogacy, pregnancy after infertility, living child-free, and adoption.