Posts Tagged ‘excessive sweating’
If you are one of the many people that are suffering from excessive sweating in the hands or feet, then you might want to know more about iontophoresis. The use of iontophoresis has increased as more people suffering from hyperhidrosis are searching for new excessive sweating treatment options. This can be particularly true when more common treatments, such as prescription antiperspirants fail to achieve results.
Basically, iontophoresis is method whereby water acts as a conductor for low-level electrical charges that are passed into the skin. It remains largely a mystery why iontophoresis functions as an excessive sweating treatment, but physicians suggest that the trace minerals found in the water and the electrical charge act together to cause a microscopic thickening of the outer skin tissue. Once the skin is thicker, the sweat cannot flow to the surface properly. Additionally, once the sweat production is interrupted, it is possible to see immediate cessation of sweating.
With hands, feet, or both sunk into shallow trays of water, the electric charge is then applied. Patients are required to stay in the water between 20 and 40 minutes while current runs through the water. Iontophoresis treatments are repeated until the sweating is lowered to comfortable levels. Once a balance is reached on sweat production, the patient will need to maintain treatment to keep dryness levels up.
You should be aware that water content can have measurable effect on the quality of iontophoresis treatment you receive. Factors like geography, mineral make-up, levels of electrolytes, or whether soft water is being used can influence the quality of this excessive sweating treatment. This means that physicians may add additional materials to the water to make it more conducive to iontophoresis. The attending physician may add baking soda or opt for using prescription strength medicines like anticholinergics.
Iontophoresis is not recommended for excessive sweating treatment for certain people. This includes women who are pregnant, those with pacemakers, cardiac conditions, sizeable metallic implants like join replacements, and those who have epilepsy. You should remember to remove metal jewelry before using this excessive sweating treatment.
The concerns of many people who have considered using iontophoresis to treat hyperhidrosis may revolve around skin irritation caused by the process or the possibility of electric shock. While understandable, these concerns are not warranted. In the case of excessive dryness, simple moisturizers should take care of the problem. You doctor may even suggest the use of Vaseline or other barrier to protect more sensitive places. With electric shock, it is enough to say that the level of current is far too low to cause any damage.
If want to use iontophoresis effectively, you should consult your dermatologist to get all the information you can about the procedure. You need to know for sure whether this procedure is the best treatment for excessive sweating for you.
Although it’s normal for us to sweat even more so in hot, countries, or when exercising, excess sweating is a genuine medical complaint called hyperhidrosis. People who have hyper-hidrosis usually have abnormal sweating of their feet, hands and armpits, although it isn’t unusual to also suffer from excessive perspiration of the scalp, back, groin and pretty much any other areas that sweat glands are found. There’s even one kind of excess sweating that only occurs at night, called sleep hyper-hidrosis. All the different types of this medical complaint cause different problems, from the unsociable aspect of armpit stains, sweaty feet leaving marks on the floor or sweaty hands resulting in embarrassing handshakes, and every type will result in body odour if the sweat isn’t often washed away.
Before seeking treatment of hyper-hidrosis, it’s necessary to know how sweat glands are controlled normally. In people with normal sweat mechanisms, the eccrine glands are regulated by the autonomic nervous system… specifically the sympathetic nervous system. People have hardly any control of this part of the nervous system . It’s the part that regulates our heart-beat, our breathing, our gut movement and many other body functions we’re unaware of.. unless something stops working properly.
Control of sweating goes wrong in those people who suffer from uncontrollable sweating. Scientists know the cause is hyper-activity of the nerves leading to the sweat glands, because anti-cholinergic drugs, injections of botox, or surgery to sever the nerve leading to the sweat glands will stop the sweating. Those three methods to stop hyperhidrosis are quite drastic. Simpler solutions for excessive sweating are strong antiperspirants (such as the prescription ones anhydrol forte, driclor, or other powerful aluminium-chloride-based anti-perspirant), avoiding stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system by avoiding caffeine, alcohol and spicy foods, and employing relaxation techniques such as yoga, deep breathing, visualization, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation. Some people believe that sage tea and zinc may reduce sweat production.
Usually most people who have excessive perspiration will try the less aggressive, natural treatments that they can do at home, and if they still sweat too much will, think about the more expensive treatments. It’s important to note that the most dramatic treatments (surgery and drugs) can have side-effects, so check with a doctor before taking any action regarding abnormal sweating.