Excessive Sweating or Hyperhidrosis
What is excessive sweating?
Hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating is a condition that results in profuse sweating to the point of soiling clothing and underwear in awkward areas such as the underarms, groin, feet and the palms of hands and even the forehead and scalp. The condition is relatively common and can be quite debilitating to self-conscious sufferers or someone that leads a high stress, pubic facing life. Meeting new people can be quite awkward and anxiety provoking to the sufferer, where shaking peoples’ hands can be quite challenging and embarrassing. Also, hyperhidrosis can make strenuous exercise difficult as well as profoundly interfere with intimate relationships.
How do you treat excessive sweating & hyperhidrosis?
Iontophoresis
An at-home treatment involving soaking the affected area in a brine solution that is then eclectically charged using a very low voltage circuit. Thus, serving to temporarily paralyse the sweat glands. Iontophoresis machines and related apparatus can be bought online or rented. The treatments are time consuming and require recurrent and frequent sessions to achieve dryness, plus a maintenance schedule that must be strictly adhered to. In between sessions Aluminium Chloride creams or other preparations can be used to achieve short term dryness, for a job interview for instance.
Morpheus8
Morpheus8 application for hyperhidrosis is a new and revolutionary treatment that combines very shallow micro-needling with “RF”-energy, which is also a light electrical charge but stronger than Iontophoresis. This modality of treating hyperhidrosis is a lot more focussed at the exact depth of the sweat gland in the skin. This, therefore, means Morpheus 8 can be an instant and very long-lasting treatment and can possibly represent a permanent cure for some milder cases of hyperhidrosis.
Anti-wrinkle
Anti-wrinkle injections placed just beneath the skin at the currect dept can also represent a very effective longer term BUT not permanent treatment for hyperhidrosis. If however, maintenance treatments are not kept up, after about 4-6months, hyperhidrosis has been known to come back. The relapse is often perceived as being worse than it was prior to the treatment.
Common questions about this treatment
How long does it take and how long do the results last?
Iontophoresis – done at home – each session last about 20minues – done several times a week for a few weeks initially and then a strict maintenance schedule.
Anti-wrinkle – each treatment area can take upto 30-40minutes to treat including preparation of the large dose of toxin required. Instant dryness is usually experienced. Treatments can last up to 6months and in some instances people experience longer periods of dryness. The toxin’s effects itself only last 3-4months, hence regular maintenance treatments are recommended.
Morpheus 8 – Each treatment area takes about 5minutes to treat with no downtime and usually instant dryness experienced. This treatment has the potential to be a permanent cure for some sufferers, but at the very least leads to significant reduction in the propensity of the treated area to produce sweat.
Is the treatment painful?
Iontophoresis is not painful but can be quite uncomfortable – kind of like being mildly electrocuted in the treatment area.
Anti-wrinkle injections – usually local anaesthetic is injected to perform either a “ring block” for hands or feet or directly onto the area of skin to be treated. The anaesthetic injections can be painful, but it’s worth it given how painless the anti-wrinkle injections are rendered.
Morpheus 8 – Topical and/or injected local anaesthetic can be used to very effectively numb the entire treatment area.