Hyperhidrosis is a chronic medical condition characterized by excessive sweating. While its real cause continue to challenge medical researchers, its symptoms often manifest either during childhood or adolescence. Surprisingly, about 40% of hyperhidrosis patients share the same problem with their families. As it appears, the role of genes in this respect is far too significant for medical professionals not to explore heredity and its contribution to understanding the etiology of hyperhidrosis.

Given that a majority of hyperhidrosis patients may have been suffering from it since their early years, a few lucky ones may experience spontaneous relief from its symptoms by the time they reach adulthood. While for most of them, symptoms of hyperhidrosis is a permanent cause of social embarrassment and physical discomfort.

Excessive sweating can either affect the whole body (generalized sweating) or it can be limited to specific body areas where the active eccrine sweat glands are found (localized sweating). Some of the sweat prone areas of the body are the palms, soles, armpit, groin and chest. It can cause the affected skin to appear pink or blue-white, macerated, cracked, or scaly – more so if it involves the palms (palmar hyperhidrosis) and soles (plantar hyperhidrosis).

Sweating is a natural and involuntary body response controlled by the sympathetic nervous system to cool the body. Various stimuli such as heightened emotions (anger, fear, stress, or anxiety) and increased physical activity, make one susceptible to and experience hyperhidrosis symptoms. Likewise, exposure to certain chemicals like nicotine and caffeine (found in foods, drinks, cigarettes, etc.) triggers the production of sweat. However, hyperhidrosis symptoms occur almost spontaneously that even without these stimuli, or perhaps even with the slightest experience of any of these factors, patients sweat profusely.

Hyperactivity of either the sympathetic nerves or eccrine sweat glands is generally accepted as the physiological explanation for excessive sweat production. The reason why they become over-activated is still unknown.

Degree of sweating in hyperhidrosis cases varies from person to person. Most patients can tolerate mild to moderate symptoms.  On the other hand, severe cases are very much a cause of embarrassment and distress especially when their condition does not only bring physical discomfort, but also when it already becomes socially disabling. It is especially alarming when their condition is already taking a heavy toll on their normal daily activities. Patients, for instance, may find it extremely difficult to perform an otherwise very simple job-related task such as typing on the computer keyboard, or holding papers and documents. Some, whose palms are often damp or dripping wet, even hesitate to shake hands. It is not at all surprising if, in the long run, they begin to avoid people rather than suffer from social embarrassment.

Considering the tremendous impact of hyperhidrosis and its symptoms to the lives of a significant number of the affected population, only appropriate medical treatments and interventions should be given to those finding temporary or long-term relief from their condition.

Treatment of hyperhidrosis today has been made easy by over-the-counter medication available in the market. Individuals who would like to avoid the pain and expenses of surgery can opt to use topical medications instead. Those who have hyperhidrosis rely on doctors’ prescriptions to avoid any side effects and skin irritation, and one the most effective prescription medications available in the market today is Drysol.

Drysol is a brand name for aluminum chloride hexahydrate. This product contains about 20% of aluminum chloride. It works to reduce or even eliminate hyperhidrosis in the palms, armpits and soles. It will really penetrate into the cells that generate sweat and start altering the process to completely suppress the overflowing of perspiration to different parts of the body. It even creates physical plug in eccrine sweat ducts.

A common first-line treatment used by people suffering from hyperhidrosis, especially in the armpits, is to try using over-the-counter antiperspirants. Most often, using antiperspirants with ordinary components cannot treat this skin condition. Sufferers may use antiperspirants over and over again without success.

Doctors have now entered the scene, strongly recommending the use of Drysol. It has been proven by almost 80% of hyperhidrosis patients that Drysol is indeed a very effective medication for excessive sweating.

The best way to use this product is to apply it directly to problem areas after drying the skin. It is advised that after you apply it at bedtime, you should wash it off in the morning with plain water to avoid any irritation in the skin. Regular use will keep your sweating experience under control. Normally, Drysol is applied once or twice a week.

Drysol is easy to use, and it is also safe from any side effects or skin irritation. Safe as it may be, there are some limitations to the use of Drysol.

Here are some precautions in using Drysol for the treatment of hyperhidrosis. The patient should not directly apply Drysol to broken, irritatted, or recently shaved skin. Using it with a regular daytime deodorant or antiperspirant is also not advisable. The use of deodorant is only allowed when the excessive sweating condition is completely treated, and using Drysol has become unnecessary.

Drysol products that are available in market are Drysol Extra Strength Liquid, Drysol Liquid, and Drysol Mild. Drysol Extra Strength Liquid is the best choice in treating excessive sweating. It is very effective even against the toughest cases of hyperhidrosis. The Drysol Liquid is recommended to use for axillary hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating in the armpits, but it is also effective in treating sweaty palms and soles. Drysol Mild, on the other hand, is advised to use for sweaty face, back, toes, and for maintenance therapy.

Where else in the world can you find and use such safe and effective products for excessive sweating problems? Try Drysol products now. In Canada, Drysol products may be used without a doctor’s prescription, but it’s always best to get a professional’s opinion before using any new medication or therapy for hyperhidrosis, as well as any other bothersome skin condition.

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.