Wet armpits are, without a doubt, very uncomfortable. Excessive underarm sweating is also known as axillary hyperhidrosis. This embarrassing condition often results in bad odor and wetness. So does sweaty feet – it’s hard to concentrate on much else when your toes are moving in muck. Handshakes aren’t as congenial with wet palms. People suffering from excessive sweating, no matter their age, prefer to avoid any form of social contact for fear of embarrassing themselves. They work alone, keep hands in their pockets, stay home on weekends – anything to keep anyone from learning of their condition.

Excessive sweating – that is, producing more perspiration than the normal amount usually secreted by the body – affects people of all ages, though it is often more often found in adolescents and young adults. At this stage, one might experience sweaty palms, feet and underarms. Whichever part of the body the condition hits, it usually stays with the individual for the rest of his life unless treated through medical or surgical means.

Most likely, an individual’s profession contributes to excessive sweating. Sufferers of such disorders are people who experience constant anxiety and tension. Those who suffer from facial and underarm sweating at night most likely work in front of an audience most of the time, such as speakers and musicians. No profession is exempted from excessive sweating, but jobs like models, TV personalities, chefs, executives, attorneys, and salesman are at highest risk.

Several surgical procedures can free individuals from such turmoil, as well as other treatments as botox injections, iontophoresis. or drysol. The downside to these treatments is that they might cause permanent physiological damage to an individual.

Individuals may seek help from dermatologists and other skin care professionals qualified to treat excessive sweating. Treatment may involve surgical procedures, such as sweating surgery, thoracic surgery procedure, and surgery for sweaty hands. These surgical procedures may leave scars and blemishes in the treated parts of the skin due to the some reaction to the medicine, but these will heal in time.

Removing the overactive sweat glands in the body may cure excessive sweating. Surgery must only be performed by a qualified doctor.

Recently, studies show that nerve nodes in the thorax are responsible for the innervations of the sweat glands in the upper limbs and the face, in turn causing the excessive sweating. To control this, a micro-invasive surgical technique has been developed as an effective surgical treatment to access the nerve nodes in the thorax. This treatment is known as Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy (ETS), a surgical technique that interrupts the sympathetic chain. This treatment aims to reduce, if not eliminate, excessive sweating in particular areas of the body such as hands, feet, and face. The procedure, supervised by a board eligible anesthesiologist, may last up to 30 minutes.

When you think you’re suffering from excessive sweating, it’s often best to consult a dermatologist as early as possible. Excessive sweating may have a tendency to worsen over time, and dermatologists are equipped with the knowledge to ascertain the severity of the medical condition, as well as the equipment needed to treat it.

Overactive sweat glands usually are an indication of hyperhidrosis. Overactive sweat glands may occur anywhere in our body. There is no definite explanation as to what causes overactive sweat glands. Profuse sweating can occasionally affect the entire body, but it commonly attacks the palms of the hands, the feet, the underarms, and the groin region. Excessive sweating is a natural bodily reaction to fever and anxiety, using water to keep the body’s rising temperature in check. It’s only when excessive sweating continues past the fever or stressful situation that it should be a cause to worry – after all, it’s not normal to sweat so much when you’re resting in comfortable temperatures. In such cases, it may be an indication of an underlying medical condition, such as thyroid problems or a nervous system disorder.

Areas affected by profuse perspiration commonly appear white, cracked, chapped, scaly, and soft, and may sport some bad odor. The unwelcome scent is caused by the buildup and action of bacteria, which is also an indication of hyperhidrosis.

Overactive sweat glands do more than just produce wetness and body odor, however – many individuals also suffer emotional and psychological stress over the condition. Kids, for instance, may suffer teasing and ridicule from their playmates, and may ultimately result to withdrawing themselves from as much social contact as possible. Adults may suffer the same stress in the workplace. And with teenagers, who are going through perhaps the toughest times of their lives, have to deal with the social backlash that sweaty palms, feet, and underarms force them to go through.

Treatment of hyperhidrosis comes in several forms, such as surgery (thoracic surgery procedure, surgery to remove overactive sweat glands, etc.) and excessive perspiration treatment. Most hyperhidrosis treatments available today are safe and effective, and many dermatologists specialize in the medical condition.

Over activity of the sweat glands in the underarms may also be remedied by tumescent liposuction, subcutaneous curettage or a combination of these medical procedures.

Some procedures, particularly the drysol method, have been observed to cause side effects on patients who are very sensitive to drugs. However, most other popular treatments, such as Botox, have no known side effects.

Iontophoresis is another popular treatment that can curb hyperhidrosis for months after a single session. It involves passing certain drugs through the skin by passing a mild current over the affected area. Patients who have undergone iontophoresis have reported relief from excessive sweating for up to six months after the treatment.

When visiting your dermatologist regarding hyperhidrosis, the doctor will take into account the status of your health, your age, the severity of the condition, and any allergies to certain medications, procedures, and therapies. The doctor will also ask you for any family history of excessive sweating.

Other treatments for overactive sweat glands include the application of aluminum chloride solution to the affected areas. And for those who have undergone severe emotional and psychological stress due to the condition’s embarrassing symptoms, some dermatologists may recommend therapy and psychological counseling.

Iontophoresis is the procedure of passing an ionized substance through intact skin through the use of a direct electrical current. It’s a common treatment for hyperhidrosis, and a variation, tap water iontophoresis, is used by many dermatologists to treat the hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) of the palms and soles. Treating axillary hyperhidrosis through tap water iontophoresis is more difficult to administer, but still possible. Clinicians also use iontophoreiss to administer drugs such as anticholinergics to areas affected by the skin condition.

To date, there are two types of iontophoresis devices that are currently seeing use in the United States: (1) The Drionic Iontophoresis unit, and (2) the Fischer Model MD-1a Iontophoresis unit. These two iontophoresis devices have received approval for treating hyperhidrosis from the United States Food and Drug Administration.

The use of electricity to treat human diseases has been studied for more than two centuries, not long after its discovery in the 18th century. It’s been mentioned in a few studies that Pivati introduced the use of iontophoresis in the treatment of arthritis in the 1740’s. Further studies in the following two hundred years have confirmed the efficiency of the procedure in administering drugs through a patient’s skin.

The use of iontophoresis to treat hyperhidrosis gained popularity in the 20th century:

1936 – Ichikasa realized that drugs administered through iontophoresis resulted in reduced sweating activity in the affected area.
1940’s – In a study independent from Ichikasa’s, Takata and Shelley successfully obtained anhidrosis (the reverse of hyperhidrosis) through iontophoresis with tap water.
1968 – Levit published his ideas on a practical device that administered iontophoresis to patients, further boosting the procedure’s popularity.

Studies have also shown that the skin’s sweat glands provide the least amount of electrical resistance during an iontophoresis procedure, indicating that drugs mainly enter the patient’s skin through these channels. While iontophoresis have been used by dermatologists in attempts to treat other medical conditions (such as scleroderma and vitiligo), hyperhidrosis seems to be the only medical condition readily treated by the procedure, owing to its widespread popularity and high success rate.

Iontophoresis delivers a charged molecule across the skin. This is done by placing it near an electrode of the same charge as itself, while another electrode of opposite charged is placed on another part of the body. While this explains how drugs are transported across the skin, it does not explain how tap water iontophoresis reduces sweat output. Exactly how this is done is still a mystery, although several theories have been suggested.

One early theory suggested that iontophoresis plugged sweat gland ducts, since iatrogenic miliaria developed when iontophoresis was administered on the back, chest, or arms of patients. Microscopic analysis did show keratin plugs blocking sweat ducts, but light and electron microscopy found no such blockages in a patient treated for palmar hyperhidrosis.

It would seem that iontophoresis may cause an impairment in a sweat gland’s function instead of a blockage. Other theories suggest that the procedure raises the threshold for transmission of sympathetic nerve impulse, or that it changes the physiology of cellular secretory system. Neurotransmitter levels in the eccrine gland or surrounding microciruclation remain unchanged after iontophoresis, however, so the subject still remains open to debate.

Iontophoresis treatment regimens vary with the device used, the areas of the body to be treated, and whether the procedures will be done at home or at the clinic.