CAUSES AND TREATMENT OF SWEATING IN HANDS, FEET AND ARMPITS
For the first time in Turkey, I started the treatment of hand, foot and armpit sweating with the iontophoresis method in water 18 years ago. I have applied the iontophoresis method, which is a very reliable method and has no side effects, to 5000 patients with excessive sweating in the hands, feet and armpits. This treatment can be applied to patients over the age of 12. It has 97% effectiveness.
Excessive sweating in the hands, feet and armpits is a condition that primarily affects social life very negatively. Mostly, there is no underlying health problem in regional sweating. However, when deciding on this, the patient should be asked about the onset date of sweating, whether it started in childhood or later, whether other members of the family have it, at what times of the day it occurs, whether it occurs during sleep, its relation to stress, seasonal changes, and other accompanying complaints. In addition, the presence of another underlying problem should be investigated with blood tests.
CAUSES OF REGIONAL SWEATING:
The cause of localized sweating is overwork of the sympathetic nerves. This system is part of the autonomic nervous system and is active during wakefulness. Therefore, patients with localized sweating do not sweat at night.
Symptoms of localized sweating (hands, feet and armpits):
- Chills due to wetness, feeling of swelling, excessive sweating in the hands and feet when they enter from cold to hot and when they are excited, in a crowd
- Image deterioration and early deformation of clothes and shoes due to excessive wetness
2- Another disturbing symptom is the easy settlement of fungal infections on wet skin, especially on the feet, which can lead to itching and bad odor.
Why is there excessive localized sweating?
The cause of excessive localized sweating is the overactive sympathetic nerves. This system is part of the autonomic nervous system and is active during wakefulness. Therefore, patients with localized sweating do not sweat at night.
Causes of General Body Sweating:
Medically, it is very important to distinguish between general body sweating and localized body sweating. Local sweating problems that start later in childhood and are not accompanied by other findings are mostly structural and may have genetic characteristics. However, especially sweating that starts later on should undergo a medical check-up.
Widespread body sweating, night sweats and high fever may suggest an underlying infectious disease or a tumoral condition.
- Obesity, diabetes, thyroid diseases, alcohol use, alcohol withdrawal period.
- Psychiatric diseases, excessive use of nicotine, caffeine
- Pregnancy, menopause, certain heart diseases, the period after sympathectomy (i.e. surgical removal of the sympathetic nerves), low blood sugar,
- Some neurological diseases, e.g. Parkinson’s, diseases related to the spinal cord
Sweating Treatment We Apply: Iontophoresis Method
Sweating of Hands and Feet:
If the patient’s history and other systemic findings are absent and there is no accompanying skin disease, the patient can start treatment with in-water iontophoresis, which is a very effective method.
Although it has been known for a long time, the production of practical machines suitable for treatment has made the treatment widespread in recent years.
This method, which is 97% effective, is applied with a machine that provides a direct current to the hand and foot area in water. The armpit apparatus of the same machine is used for application to the armpits. One session of the treatment lasts 30 minutes, there is no pain sensation and sweating starts to decrease after 15 sessions, 5 times a week for 3 weeks. Then the frequency of the sessions is gradually reduced and the treatment is continued in the hospital until once a week. The aim here is that there is no sweating on the intermediate days when you come once a week or every 10 days.
This stage is reached with approximately 15-20 sessions of treatment. In follow-up treatment, the patient should continue the treatment continuously with the device he/she will receive at home once a week or by coming and going to the hospital. The patient’s application of the treatment to himself once a week will ensure continuous control of sweating. The treatment is 97% successful. In other words, according to our experience, it is the most side-effect-free and effective solution for hands and feet.
How the treatment works:
Although it is not known exactly, it is thought that the electric current causes a slight keratosis, that is, a thickening that cannot be seen externally in the ongoing sessions in the places where the sweat glands open to the skin, or that the ion current has a temporary blocking effect on the functions of the secretory cells of the sweat glands.
Underarm Sweating:
Iontophoresis method has 60% success in the armpits. The first applications must be performed under the supervision of a doctor in terms of the risk of skin problems and adjusting the current dose. The patient can then apply the same device to the armpits with a separate and easy-to-apply apparatus while applying the sweating device he/she buys for home application to the hands and feet if there is sweating. This treatment is also done in sessions. The sessions last 20 minutes and a personalized treatment program is prepared with the doctor’s recommendation.
The other treatment method for underarm sweating is the BOTOX METHOD, which is highly effective and the first method to be preferred especially for those who only have underarm sweating. This method is applied in the form of injection and is effective for up to 9-12 months. Cosmetically, it makes patients extremely comfortable.
Conditions where treatment should not be applied:
- Pregnancy
- Presence of orthopedic metal in the body
- Having a pacemaker
