Axillary hyperhidrosis is the medical term used to describe excessive underarm
perspiration. Typically, a person suffering from this condition will complain
that the sweat actually forms ‘pools’ in the underarms, usually, but not always,
accompanied by an unpleasant odor. Underarm perspiration stain removal from
clothes becomes a daily routine and sufferers avoid wearing certain fabrics and
colors, but that is only part of the problem. On a more serious level, excessive
sweating causes acute social embarrassment and sends many people into depression
because their self-esteem reaches such low levels.
To explore the reasons
for excessive underarm perspiration, it is necessary to realize that, in most
cases, axillary hyperhidrosis is a primary condition, i.e., a condition that is
either genetic or inherent. So why do these people sweat so much? Under normal
circumstances, sweating is the human body’s way of regulating temperature. As
sweat evaporates from the surface of our skin, the body temperature comes
down.
The body has over 3 million sweat glands that produce sweat under
instructions from the sympathetic nervous system, which sends neural signals to
the glands via a chemical called acetylcholine. However, in the case of
excessive underarm perspiration, the glands produce far more sweat than is
required to cool the body. Sweat production may increase owing to a number of
stress factors, both physical and emotional. Other contributing factors include
eating certain kinds of food, intake of alcohol, smoking, and external
temperature changes.
At this point, the conventional methods of treating
the problem of excessive underarm sweating can successfully monitor, and in some
cases cure, the condition, but each has its negative effects, which means there
is no single recorded cure for underarm sweating. In order to understand why
none of these methods are foolproof, we need to study them in some
detail:
Topical Treatments: Both over the counter and prescription
antiperspirants have been used to treat mild to moderately severe cases of
underarm perspiration. Typically, these antiperspirants plug the pores on the
surface of the skin, thus preventing sweat from reaching the surface. Branded
antiperspirants containing chemicals like aluminum chloride hexahydrate,
formalin, glutaraldehyde, and tannic acid have been used in the treatment of
axillary hyperhidrosis.
However, all the chemicals have potentially
negative side effects. For instance, formalin not only smells bad, but may also
cause contact dermatitis in a significant number of users. Similarly,
glutaraldehyde, while a potentially viable treatment method for hyperhidrosis of
the feet and hands, is virtually useless when it comes to acute underarm
sweating because it causes brownish stains on the skin, which can cause socially
embarrassing situations. Again, tannic acid is even less effective than
glutaraldehyde and can also cause discolor the skin.
Besides, even the
strongest antiperspirants need to be applied continuously in various doses over
a long period of time because they do not represent a one-time solution. Put
simply, pores that have been clogged unclog over time, necessitating a repeat
dose.
Iontophoresis: Iontophoresis most commonly involves the
administering of mild electrical shocks to the underarm to thicken the skin and
thus reduce the flow of sweat to the skin’s surface. The patient usually
immerses the affected part of the body in tap water, through which the
electrical current then passes. However, using iontophoresis to treat severe
underarm sweating is an extremely cumbersome process, and besides, not everyone
is eligible for this treatment. Among those for whom iontophoresis is not
recommended are pregnant and nursing women, cardiac patients, and
epileptics.
Botulinum injection: Botulinum toxin is a neurotoxin produced
by the anaerobic bacterium clostridium botulinum, which commonly causes food
poisoning. Marketed under the trade name Botox by Allergan Inc., the toxin
prevents the release of acetylcholine when injected into the area that is
experiencing excessive sweating. As of now, however, the US Food and Drug
Administration has approved the use of Botox in the treatment of acute underarm
sweating or axillary hyperhidrosis only, so any medical practitioner who
advertises Botox treatment for hyperhidrosis in other areas is immediately
suspect.
How does Botox work? Well, both the underarms receive an
injection of 50-200 units of Botox, usually under local anesthesia. For those
who dread injections, I’d have to say that underarm injections are not
particularly painful, though injections in the palms and soles are definitely
so. The effects of the Botox injections in the underarms are usually felt in 2-4
days, and most patients report a high success rate. The minimizing of
perspiration also rids a patient of underarm odor, which is doubly
satisfying.
However, a huge drawback of Botox treatment is that it has
only limited effect. A repeat dose may be required as early as 4 months after
the first, though the average patient reports that the effects of the first
injection last approximately 6 months. Additionally, though higher doses of
Botox can lengthen that timeframe, it will push up what is already a very
expensive treatment, as well as leave the patient vulnerable to antibody
formation. Also, as with iontophoresis, pregnancy, lactation, and motor neuron
disease disqualify a patient from receiving Botox injections.
Surgery:
The most usual form of surgery to control excessive underarm perspiration is ETS
(Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy), but it should only be viewed as a last
resort. The two most performed versions of ETS are clipping and cutting. In the
clipping method, a titanium clip is placed across a section of the sympathetic
nerves to hamper the transmission of signals to the sweat glands. A variation of
this method is the graduated clipping, where the titanium clip is placed in a
‘graduated’ manner so that neural transmissions are affected but the nerve is
not crushed. This kind of clipping is thought to potentially leave the way open
for the nerve to reactivate itself if the clip is removed.
In the cutting
method, the sympathetic nerves are cut using sharp scissors. This technique is
easier to perform than clipping, but it can potentially damage surrounding
tissues and nervous structures, and is an irreversible process. Besides, there
is a greater risk of compensatory sweating (sweating in other, larger areas of
the body) and other side effects such as internal bleeding and neck
pain.
Copyright 2006 Mike Ramsey
--------
Mike Ramsey
is the author of "Stop Sweating and Start Living", a book describing how he
cured his underarm sweating problem in just two weeks. Learn how thousands have
cured their embarrassing sweating problems at http://www.sweatcure.com
» left by Anonymous (1 year 24 days ago.)
Is this guy..Mike Ramsey for real? Google comes up with numerous sites where he has sales guys making 50% of book through affiliate marketing. No wonder it's got so many good reviews!!! Respond to this comment
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