Botox Treatment of Excessive Sweating

Axillary (underarm) sweating is an embarrassing and sometimes debilitating condition that is so easily treated.   Once a year Botox injections can dramatically reduce sweating in most people.  The savings in dry cleaning alone make it worth while.  Fast and easy, one Botox treatment can give relief to Hyperhydrosis. Men and women are increasingly turning to Botox to solve this problem.

Nearly 3 % of the population suffers from hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating).  The toll emotionally and socially can be very great.  Although it is not known why some people have this problem, there is certainly a genetic component in nearly half of patients.  There seems to be an overactivity in the nerves that connect sweat glands to the brain.  These nerves (known as sympathetic nerves) are particularly active when you are under stress.  Everyone “sweats” when under pressure, just some more than others.

Hyperhidrosis begins in the teen years or even younger. It is confined to the armpits (it can also affect the palms and soles).  If overall sweating is a problem there may be a medical cause and a dermatologist or internist should be consulted. It does not improve with time and suffers must adjust their lifestyle of seek treatment.

Treatment options include topical prescriptions (can be irritating), oral medications (cause dry mouth), iontophoresis (a gadget that cause sweat duct blockage) or surgery (to cut the sympathetic nerves that cause the problem.  When Botox was FDA approved it offered a once a year treatment that works consistently and well.