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What are my treatment options?
A number of different treatments and products are available to help people with severe underarm sweating. Here's an overview of some you may have heard about or considered trying. If you have any questions about which treatment option may be right for you, speak with your botonics Practitioner.
Antiperspirants/Deodorants
Often considered the "first line" of treatment for severe underarm sweating, over-the-counter and prescription antiperspirants work by blocking sweat ducts, thereby reducing the amount of perspiration that reaches the skin. The most widely used ingredients in antiperspirants are metallic salts, including aluminium chloride hexahydrate. Antiperspirants can cause skin irritation, and higher concentrations of aluminium chloride can be destructive to fabrics. Deodorants help control body odour, which is caused by a reaction between bacteria and sweat. The deodorants work by making the skin more acidic, and hence less attractive to bacteria. They are often used in combination with antiperspirants to help control sweating in addition to odour.
botonics Treatment
Your botonics Practitioner can assess your suitability for treatment using prescription injections for severe underarm sweating that is inadequately managed with topical agents. Our treatment helps control this condition by temporarily blocking the chemical signals from the nerves that stimulate the sweat glands. When the sweat glands don't receive chemical signals, the severe sweating stops.
Iontophoresis
This procedure involves sending a small electrical current to the surface of the affected area while it is submerged in water. In general, treatments must be repeated 3-4 times per week. The procedure can be done at home using a home device. Although this procedure can be used for treating severe underarm sweating, it is usually more useful for controlling sweating in other areas of the body, such as the hands and feet.
Surgery
A variety of surgical approaches have been used to treat severe sweating, but they are usually reserved for the most severe cases that do not respond to other treatments. One of the most common types of surgery used today for this condition is called endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS). With ETS, the patient is put to sleep with general anaesthesia and then the surgeon attempts to interrupt the transmission of nerve signals between the spinal column and sweat glands in the affected area. This procedure requires special training, and may result in unwanted increased sweating from other areas of the body called "compensatory sweating." Other types of surgery sometimes used for severe underarm sweating include liposuction and removal of the sweat glands under the armpits.
Alternative therapy
Herbal remedies such as sage tea or sage tablets, chamomile, valerian root, and St. John's wort, as well as biofeedback, acupuncture, hypnosis, and relaxation techniques, are sometimes suggested as treatments for excessive sweating. However, there is little research at this time to indicate the effectiveness of such treatments.
How effective are botonics excessive sweating treatments?
Treatment is very effective. One clinical study involved 322 patients with severe underarm sweating.*
57 out of 104 treated patients (55%) achieved an effective response compared to only 6 out of 108 untreated patients (6%).
84 out of 104 treated patients (81%) achieved a greater than 50% reduction in sweating compared to only 44 out of 108 untreated patients (41%).
* Results were based on patients' responses to a questionnaire (The Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale [HDSS]) that assessed the extent to which underarm sweating affected their daily activities. Patients were defined as "responders" if they showed improvement greater than or equal to 2 grades on the HDSS from the start of the study to 4 weeks after their first 2 treatment sessions, or if they had a sustained response after treatment 1 and did not receive re-treatment during the study. In this clinical study, half of the patients had a treatment duration of at least 201 days or 6.7 months.
How long will hyperhidrosis treatment last?
In a key clinical study, half of the patients had a treatment duration of at least 201 days or 6.7 months. It is not a cure; your symptoms will return gradually, and you will know when the time is right for another treatment. Your botonics Practitioner will recommend a strategy to ensure that you receive the best possible treatment results.
When will I see results?
You should notice a significant reduction in underarm sweating within 4 weeks of your first botonics treatment. There is a possibility that some sweat glands may be missed, and you may continue to experience some sweating from the untreated areas. If you do not see a significant reduction in sweating you should have a follow-up consultation with your botonics Practitioner.
What will happen during treatment?
The procedure is relatively straightforward. A small volume of prescription medicine is injected into the affected underarm area through a very fine needle. The needle is placed just under the skin, so you may experience some injection-related discomfort. You will receive multiple injections based on your botonics Practitioner's assessment of the area that needs to be treated.
What are the most common side effects?
In clinical studies of patients with hyperhidrosis, the most frequently reported side effects (3% to 10% of patients) following treatment included injection-site pain and bleeding, non-underarm sweating, infection, inflammation of the throat, flu syndrome, headache, fever, neck or back pain, itching, and anxiety.
What if I decide to stop treatment?
If you decide not to have further treatment, there will be no lasting change in the treated areas. The treatment effects will gradually wear off, and your underarm sweating will resume.
Why is hyperhidrosis treatment more expensive than Wrinkle relaxing injections, which use the same prescription product?
A much larger volume of prescription product is necessary to effectively treat hyperhidrosis than is needed for treating facial wrinkles.
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