Excessive Sweating (Hyperhidrosis)
“Sweaty armpits are not pleasant for anyone!”
If you suffer from excessive sweating (medically known as Hyperhidrosis) it can be embarrassing. The medical term for the armpit is the axilla. Excessive axillary sweating (or axillary hyperhidrosis!) can make anyone’s life a misery.
The Ryder Clinic in Bedford, Bedfordshire offers are range of underarm treatments to help you stop sweating. We offer a FREE initial consultation to assess your sweating problem and our medically trained specialist Dr Julian Godlee will advise on suitable treatment.
There are several possible treatments to resolve excessive sweating, some more effective than others. Treatments include antiperspirant sprays, antimuscarinic drugs, iontophoresis and Botox. Botox is one of the most effective treatments for excessive underarm sweating.
An overview of each treatment is included below, however it would be better to get your medical condition assessed by Dr Julian Godlee in person so please contact him and arrange your FREE consultation.
Excessive Sweating (Hyperhidrosis)
Antiperspirant sprays
Aluminium Chloride based preparations (Anhydrol Forte, Driclor and ZeaSORB) Glycpyrroniumbromide 0.05% solution (Robinul). They are applied 2-3 times a week at night and washed off in the morning to avoid damage to clothes. Application can be very effective especially for underarm sweating. However these preparations can cause the skin to become irritated over time.
There are also treatments that can be taken by mouth…
Antimuscarinic drugs
These are tablets or capsules that reduce the activity of the nerves supplying the sweat glands. They do affect the body’s entire nervous system and can cause side effects like dry mouth, drowsiness and constipation.
In addition there are Beta-blocker drugs which act on the nervous system but their side effects are usually less troublesome. They may help if sweating is made worse by stress and feelings of anxiety. They are not suitable for everyone because some people with certain medical conditions cannot take them.
Anxiolytic drugs (tranquillisers) may be helpful if anxiety is found to be a problem but there are side effects and they are often not recommended long term.
We also can offer advice on surgical options and Iontophoresis where small electrical charges are passed through the skin.
Botox significantly reduces armpit sweating
The armpit (axilla) has a multitude of sweat glands and each gland has a tiny muscle that extrudes the sweat (sebum) onto the skin. Botox works to paralyse these tiny muscles and as a result can significantly reduce sweating for several months.
The Botox armpit treatment takes about 30 minutes:
- Firstly you need to be happy with all the information about Botox itself – its side effects and risks. The armpit (axilla) is a very forgiving place to inject and there are very few complications associated with this area. There are no cosmetic blunders that can occur here.
- Dr Julian Godlee will firstly observe the area to see where the sweating occurs. This is usually quite well linked to the hair-bearing areas. If there is any doubt, a iodine starch test can be performed which clearly stains the sweat producing areas.
- A local anaesthetic and ice are then applied to the area. It is a sensitive area and this part is, in truth, a little uncomfortable – but this procedure is so effective that it is usually well worth it.
- Each armpit will receive about 4 local anaesthetic injections and once it is all numbed up – the procedure can begin.
- Dr Julian Godlee will draw a grid of 1 cm squares over the sweaty areas and will place a small volume of Botox in each square. On average this will mean about 20 tiny injections in each armpit (a total of 50 units each side) – and that’s it.
This underarm anti-sweating treatment will not abolish sweating completely, but you should notice a dramatic reduction in sweat production. Afterwards, many patients don’t need to use deodorant at all. The effect should last about 6 months, but many report that they only ever need this treatment once per year.
We offer a FREE initial consultation to assess your sweating problem and our medically trained specialist Dr Julian Godlee will advise on suitable treatment.
Excessive Sweating (Hyperhidrosis) Treatments
Excessive Sweating treatments are available at our Bedford clinic for both men and women.