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Overview Of Treatments
The main treatments of excess perspiration are:
- Use of anti-perspirants
- Botulinum Toxin
- Surgery
- Iontophoresis
- Anticholinergic drugs
Read about them in more detail below.
Anti-Perspirants:
This is the first treatment to be tried for any person with excessive perspiration. Anti-perspirants are metal salts, mainly aluminum salts that are used to block the sweat glands and block the sweat from coming on the skin surface.
Botulinum Toxin:
Botulinum toxin, popularly known as botox, paralyzes muscles. Hence, it is commonly used to treat wrinkles. Its injections also block the action of the nerves that activate sweat glands to produce sweat. The treatment may be painful wheninjecting the toxin in the palms or soles of feet, because multiple injections are given with a very fine needle near the sweat glands. If your doctor misses some glands, you will continue to sweat from there. Depending on your response, the injections may be repeated after about six months or more. Know more about Botulinum Toxin.
Surgery:
In common surgical procedures, the sweat glands are removed. In some cases, a surgery called Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy is performed in which nerves are cut so that they cannot pass on the signals to sweat glands. Surgery cannot stop sweat all over the body but only for certain parts such as armpits or hands. This kind of surgery is now done using endoscopes and is less painful compared to the surgery of earlier times. But with ETS, you may begin sweating more profusely from other parts of your body. This kind of surgery is not preferred by many surgeons and before any surgery, you must talk about all possible results and side-effects with your surgeon. Surgery is only resorted to, if other treatments fail.
Iontophoresis:
In this procedure, a low current is passed to the affected area. This procedure is mainly used for palms and feet. This is a recommended procedure for those who don't get much relief from anti-perspirants. In Iontophoresis, patients sit with their palms or feet in shallow water through which a mild current is passed for between 20 to 40 minutes. This is repeated every alternate day for five to ten days till sweating is considerably reduced. After that, a maintenance schedule is followed. It is not known how iontophoresis works, but it is thought that the water and electricity somehow thicken the skin and block the sweat pores. This procedure is not recommended for pregnant women or people with pacemakers or any metal implants in body.
Anticholinergic Drugs:
These drugs act by blocking the action of chemical messengers in the body that activate the sweat glands. As the action of these messengers is blocked, the sweat stops getting produced. These drugs may have other side-effects such as loss of taste, constipation, blurred vision, etc. You must speak to your doctor about all the side-effects of these drugs.
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