Sweating Treatment
Solihull Medical Cosmetic Clinic is a leading specialist clinic for treating hyperhidrosis and offers innovative new effective treatments to combat this embarrassing problem.
Sweating – Hyperhidrosis
Hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating, is a common problem that causes many patients great unhappiness and affects their daily lives. Mainly the areas affected include under the arms (called axillary hyperhidrosis), or the palms of the hands and soles of the feet (palmoplantar hyperhidrosis). Underarm hyperhidrosis often starts around puberty and can continue throughout life if not treated.
Hyperhidrosis facts
- Hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating, is a common disorder.
- Hyperhidrosis usually occurs in people who are otherwise healthy.
- The approach to treating hyperhidrosis generally proceeds from OTC antiperspirants to prescription antiperspirants, iontophoresis, microwave destruction of sweat glands, oral anticholinergic medications, muscle relaxing injections, and ultimately surgery in the most extreme cases.
Sweating is embarrassing, it stains clothes, and it complicates business and social interactions. Severe cases can have serious practical consequences as well, making it hard for people who suffer from it to hold a pen, grip a steering wheel, or shake hands.
What is the cause of hyperhidrosis?
Although neurologic, metabolic and other systemic diseases can sometimes cause excessive sweating, most occur in people who are otherwise healthy. Heat and strong emotions may trigger hyperhidrosis in some, but many who suffer from hyperhidrosis sweat nearly all of the time. In these people, the sweat glands are overactive and produce significant amounts of sweat.
The approach for treating hyperhidrosis involves:
- Over the counter antiperspirants, such as aluminium chloride which is considered more effective than general antiperspirants.
- Iontophoresis– this procedure was introduced over 50 years ago as a treatment for excessive sweating.
- Muscle relaxing injections for sweating.
Muscle relaxing injections are often used as a cosmetic treatment for wrinkles but have actually been used in many areas of medicine for some time, such as in the treatment of muscle spasms and certain types of headaches. Their latest medical use is for improving excessive underarm sweating.
The muscle relaxer is injected into the tissues of the armpit or hand. This may produce approximately six months of decreased sweating. The injections are often uncomfortable, but the use of a very small injection needle minimises discomfort.
Drawbacks of using this method for the palms and soles are pain, requiring nerve blocks to numb the hands in order to make the injections tolerable, and the potential for temporary muscle weakness.
Dr Sagoo is experienced at treating armpit and palmar hyperhidrosis with muscle relaxing injections.
The area to be treated is anaesthetised with local anaesthetic cream or injections, and then a series of small amounts of muscle relaxing injections are placed into the maximum area just under the surface of the skin over the sweat glands.
The treatment takes approximately 30 minutes to carry out with no significant downtime at all.
The areas treated may become dry over the next few days. A review appointment approximately 2 weeks later is arranged to top up or treat any remaining wet areas. Further treatment is usually recommended in 6-9 months. Results will vary from person to person.
Fractora
Solihull Medical Cosmetic Clinic is proud to be one of the first clinics in the UK to offer a new treatment breakthrough for sweating that offers a more long-term if not permanent improvement for armpit hyperhidrosis using Fractora.
What is Fractora?
Fractora is a radiofrequency device that delivers energy through specially designed tips that produce thermal (heat) damage under the skin. Typically, Fractora is used for cosmetic reasons providing outstanding improvement of skin lines/wrinkles and texture issues. Fractora is also used for the treatment of hyperhidrosis of the armpits where it can permanently destroy the majority of the armpit area sweat glands in a single treatment thereby reducing unwanted excess sweat and odour. This treatment typically only takes 1-2 sessions. The armpit areas are numbed with local anaesthetic then the Fractora treatment is performed. Treatments can take as little as 45 minutes.
This causes shrinkage of the skin pores where sweat is excreted, which subsequently reduces sweating by up to 80% without initiating any loss of the body’s natural toxic and sweat elimination process.
For best results, at least two to three sessions are recommended about 4 weeks apart. There is no downtime, no surgery, and minimal discomfort. Side effects are usually minimal but may include mild discomfort, transient swelling, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.