Hyperhidrosis - excessive sweating
Hyperhidrosis is the condition of excessive sweating. Sweating is your body's normal mechanism to cool itself, but some people produce more sweat than is needed for cooling - called hyperhidrosis. This condition affects about 2 to 3 per cent of the population.
Excessive sweating can be socially embarrassing. It may stain the clothing. Hyperhidrosis of the soles may not only result in smelly feet, but may also damage footwear. People with hyperhidrosis of the palms are often embarrassed by a cold, wet handshake. They may have trouble using keypads and other electronic equipment.
Excessive sweating can also predispose you to skin infections such as warts and tinea. Certain other skin conditions, including eczema and rashes, occur more often in people with hyperhidrosis.
Botulinum toxin type A injections have been found to be effective for hyperhidrosis of the armpits. Botulinum toxin stops the sympathetic nerves (which normally control sweating) from stimulating the sweat glands, and the effect may last between 4 and 12 months. Side effects are generally minimal but may include pain at the injection sites and compensatory sweating in other areas.
Ultherapy for hyperhidrosis is a procedure that focuses ultrasound waves into the superficial layers of the underarm skin where the sweat gland lives. By heating the gland it can be damaged and ultimately destroyed. The results to date have shown that in only 2 treatments that underarm sweating can be reduced by up to 80%, and so far these results have lasted over 3 years with the body not making new sweat glands to replace the damaged ones. This is rapidly becoming a very popular treatment worldwide for those who suffer from excess underarm sweating and those who just prefer not to sweat as much in this area. The process is simple, with minimal discomfort, no downtime and only takes a couple of hours.