Hyperhidrosis Treatments, Treatment for Hyperhidrosis

Hyperhidrosis is a condition that causes excessive sweating to occur, either in focal points of the body such as the hands, feet and armpits, or in more severe cases the whole of the body. It can be a very unpleasant and embarrassing condition, but there are various treatments available to combat the symptoms.

Normal antiperspirants can be helpful for mild cases of hyperhidrosis, and this can be reapplied regularly throughout the day to block sweat glands and prevent them from excreting unnecessarily sweat. These often contain deodorants, which work to combat the smell of stale sweat, or you may want to purchase an additional deodorant or body spray. It is also important to wash regularly to keep sweat from sticking to your skin and going stale and smelly, and also it might be a good idea to change clothes at least twice a day to keep fresh.

If normal antiperspirants are ineffective, then you can get stronger products that contain aluminium chloride. These are more effective at blocking the sweat glands, and are applied at night to the palms, soles or armpits. You can repeat this treatment every 24 to 48 hours, but you should always wash the area first and completely dry, as moisture can react with the aluminium chloride and cause skin irritation. This treatment can be continued for as long as needed, and some stronger aluminium chloride products may need to be prescribed by your doctor.

If you suffer from severe hyperhidrosis you may want to consider some of the more involved treatments, such as Iontophoresis. This can be carried out by a doctor or physiotherapist, and involves using electrical stimulation to inactivate the sweat glands on various parts of the body. It can be an uncomfortable treatment and must be repeated 3-4 times a week in the beginning, with each session lasting up to 30 minutes. You will need to continue with treatments in the future, to prevent excess sweating from returning, but you should need less frequent sessions once the sweat glands have begun to cease activity. You may wish to purchase you own Iontophoresis machines for home-use, but these can be expensive and you will need to seek advice from a specialist before you consider treating yourself at home.

Hyperhidrosis can also be treated with Botulinum toxin injections (Botox). This involves making a serious of small injections into the affected areas, in order to numb the nerves that control the sweat glands. This may involve up to 35 small injections, and can be slightly uncomfortable especially in sensitive areas like the soles of your feet. This treatment is not permanent and will need to be repeated every 2 – 6 months to prevent sweating from reoccurring. Some people also experience a reaction to the Botulinum toxin, which causes mild 'flu like' symptoms and sometimes small muscles surrounding the treated area can become weakened or paralysed.

There are also some surgical options for severe cases of hyperhidrosis. Firstly an operation can be performed to permanently remove the area of skin that contains the sweat glands, but as this can cause significant scarring this procedure is not commonly advised. There are some new techniques being tested out that can remove the sweat glands less traumatically, but these are not widely available as yet.

Alternately a sympathectomy can be performed, which is a keyhole operation to sever some of the nerves that control the sweat glands, and is used to treat hyperhidrosis in the armpits and palms. This is never used to treat foot hyperhidrosis as severing the nerves to this part of the body can cause irreparable damage to sexual function. There is also a risk when permanently impairing any area of sweat glands in the body that excessive sweating will occur in another part of the body in compensation, (usually the trunk). Also some people have reported that following permanent procedures they found it difficult to regulate their body temperature in hot conditions.