Botox For Hyperhydrosis

Using botulinum toxin injections, [business name] has been administering a treatment for hyperhydrosis (excessive sweating) since June 1. Using local anesthesia, the procedure can be done in a doctor’s office, and it’s both painless and effective. Botox for hyperhydrosis may be an option if excessive underarm perspiration is interfering with your daily life.

Dr. Thomas Smith, who received his medical education in the United States and holds a Ph.D. in neurology with a focus on hyperhydrosis, provides the service.

The new [business name] website, optimized for mobile devices and including online appointment booking and video demonstrations of available cosmetic procedures and products, went live this month as well.

Botox injections have come to be widely used in managing primary hyperhidrosis when topical treatments have failed. The treatment works by blocking the nerve signals that instruct the sweat glands to become active. It takes three to four days for the results of Botox injections for hyperhidrosis to become evident. Read on to learn more on botox for hyperhidrosis feet/underarm botox pros and cons.

Botox For Hyperhydrosis

University of Minnesota Health Dermatologist Lori Fiessinger, MD, explains how Botox can help people with hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating.

Sweating is normal. In fact, it’s essential: Humans need to sweat in order to regulate body temperature.

But some people sweat much more than is needed. We spoke with University of Minnesota Health Dermatologist Lori Fiessinger, MD, who practices both medical and cosmetic dermatology, to learn about Botox injections for excessive sweating.

Hyperhidrosis, more commonly known as excessive sweating, can significantly affect a person’s quality of life. In some cases, problematic sweating is limited to one area of the body, such as the underarms or feet, a condition called focal hyperhidrosis. Other cases are more generalized, with sweating over large areas of the body. The most common areas affected by hyperhidrosis are the scalp, underarms, hands, feet and groin area.

“Excessive sweating can significantly affect a person’s life,” Fiessinger said. “It can be embarrassing and socially isolating, and many people find the condition quite upsetting.”

Botox—often associated with cosmetic wrinkle reduction—is also a particularly effective treatment for focal hyperhidrosis. Botox injections use botulinum toxin to block the nerve signals responsible for sweating, stopping the sweat glands from producing too much sweat. Retreatment is typically needed in four to six months, as the nerves regenerate. Over time, however, patients can go longer between treatments.Our team of board-certified dermatologists provide comprehensive, coordinated care for conditions ranging from acne to skin cancer. Learn more about our dermatology services.

“The injections are generally well tolerated by patients, and the treatment is very effective,” said Fiessinger, who is well versed in using Botox for both medical and cosmetic reasons. “The underarms, in particular, respond well. Sweat glands on the hands and feet also respond well to Botox injections, but patients tend to find the injections themselves more painful on the hands and feet because there are more nerve endings there.”

University of Minnesota Health dermatologists have extensive expertise in injection techniques and use that expertise to help reduce injection-related pain for patients. In addition, our team works with insurance companies to get these treatments approved for this medical condition.

“It’s important to be evaluated by a provider for excessive sweating, because there are a few other rare, serious conditions that can also cause excessive sweating symptoms,” Fiessinger said. Patients may also want to consider other options, like clinical-strength antiperspirant, before resorting to Botox.

Botox injections are most successful when hyperhidrosis is confined to one area of the body. Experts do not recommend Botox treatment for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, or for people with a history of neuromuscular disorders. Because Botox can result in muscle weakness in the hands, dermatologists like Fiessinger will talk with patients to assess their career and lifestyle needs and determine whether Botox is the best option.

The procedure is simple. Numbing cream is applied to the treatment area up to one hour before the injections. The physician will clean the affected area and make many injections with a very tiny needle. Bruising, swelling, or tenderness is possible after the procedure, but is generally minor. Patients typically start seeing results in five days, with full results after two weeks.

“Botox has been a revolutionary treatment for hyperhidrosis: it has helped improve the quality of life for many patients,” Fiessinger said. “It’s a great treatment, it works well, and patients are really happy with the results.”

Botox For Hyperhidrosis Feet

When the nerves are blocked by Botox, they are unable to send signals to the sweat glands to become active. The result is a significant reduction in sweating in the treated areas. These treatments for the feet can benefit people with certain conditions, such as hyperhidrosis, in which the sweat glands are overactive.

You might know that Botox is often used on the face to create a more youthful appearance. It is also used as a treatment for managing excessive sweating. For example, people who experience excessive sweating of the feet can benefit from Botox treatments. Our doctors at A Step Above Foot Care in Long Beach provide this treatment for the feet. Botox treatments involve administering injections of Botox directly into the feet. When the nerves are blocked by Botox, they are unable to send signals to the sweat glands to become active. The result is a significant reduction in sweating in the treated areas.

These treatments for the feet can benefit people with certain conditions, such as hyperhidrosis, in which the sweat glands are overactive. Normally, the sweat glands become active when your body temperature rises. However, hyperhidrosis is a condition that causes sweat glands to be active even when a person’s body temperature has not risen.

This condition can be very uncomfortable, such as having feet slide out of sandals because the soles of the feet are so wet. Also, the feet may have an unpleasant odor when they sweat.

How to treat sweaty feet:

• There are topical treatments such as sprays and roll-on medications that help decrease sweating.
• Washing feet with an antibacterial soap can help reduce the foot odor.
• Be sure to dry feet well after showering.
• Putting powder inside socks and shoes can help reduce moisture from sweating.
• Certain acrylic or synthetic blends of socks can help wick moisture away from the skin. Avoid 100% cotton socks as they tend to keep moisture on the skin.
• Soaking in concentrated black tea can also help decrease sweating.
• Iontophoresis is a treatment people can use at home to reduce excessive sweating. People can purchase an iontophoresis machine, which uses water to conduct a mild electrical current through the skin.
• Oral medication, often anticholinergics, can be used.
• There are surgical treatments to cut nerves to stop the excessive sweating.
• Botox injections

One benefit of Botox treatment is that it is non-surgical. Another benefit is that people don’t need to apply anything daily to the feet, as Botox injections can stop excessive sweating for six to eight months. Our podiatrists can discuss how often treatments might be needed to achieve maximum results. Most patients enjoy significantly reduced sweating within two to seven days of the treatment. Complete or near-complete dryness is usually achieved within two weeks.

All of us experience sweating, and we know how uncomfortable it can be when you sweat through clothing. Sweating is the body’s natural response to help regulate its temperature. Some of us, however, experience an excessive amount of sweating. In the medical community, this is known as hyperhidrosis. It is a common disorder that can affect the face, underarms, palms, soles of the feet and groin. Hyperhidrosis is when sweating exceeds the body’s normal requirements for cooling. Primary hyperhidrosis has no obvious cause whereas secondary hyperhidrosis has an underlying cause such as an endocrine disorder, secretory tumor, sympathetic nervous system disorder or neurological/psychiatric disorder.

Luckily, there is treatment for excess underarm sweating. Botox® is FDA approved for severe primary axillary (underarm) hyperhidrosis and is typically used when topical or oral agents have provided inadequate relief of symptoms.

How Does Botox® Decrease Sweating?

As the body temperature rises the nervous system activates the sweat glands to help cool itself. In patients with hyperhidrosis the nerves that activate the sweat glands are overactive. Botox® acts locally by temporarily blocking the secretion of the chemical that is responsible for activating the sweat glands thereby shutting them “off,” preventing sweating in the local area.

Is It Safe To Stop Sweating?

Sweat glands are needed to help the body cool itself and regulate temperature. There are over 2 million sweat glands in the body and less than 2% of them are found in the underarms. By eliminating or temporarily blocking the underarm sweat glands from functioning the body still maintains the ability to cool itself thru the other sweat glands that are not treated.

How Many Units Of Botox® Are Needed To Treat Underarm Sweating (Axillary Hyperhidrosis)?

For optimal results, 50 units of Botox® are typically administered to each underarm. Individual results may vary however; at this dose results will typically last 6+ months. Using fewer than 50 units per underarm will generally result in relief of symptoms for only a few months.

Underarm Botox Pros And Cons

One of the most embarrassing problems that almost all of us face yet we are too ashamed to talk about is excessive sweating in some of the not-so-flattering parts of the body – the armpits.

We all have been there where we go out putting on our favorite dresses only for them to get drenched with our underarm sweat. Not only it is embarrassing for others to see it but it causes a severe sense of discomfort. No matter how much talcum powder you may apply to keep the area dry, it just doesn’t work.

But thankfully, advances in the medical and cosmetic field have widened the horizons of body control more than ever now. And the area of underarm sweating hasn’t been left behind. Yes, you might have heard of underarm Botox before but it is still a new concept about which many don’t have a clear vision.

This is why we are bringing before you a rational explanation of the entire process and all the pros and cons it bears for you.

Understanding Botox

To break down the concept of underarm Botox, we believe in taking a holistic approach so that you have a 360° understanding of how it functions.

Now, whenever people hear the term Botox, they, for the most part, associated it with the cosmetic industry. Well, they are not wrong to do so since it is primarily done to enhance one’s appearance. But, Botox has other less-known benefits which most people are not unaware of. But what exactly Botox is at its core?

To say in the simplest terms, it is essentially a drug that is used to either paralyze or weaken cells, tissues and muscles. As such, it can play pivotal roles in reducing wrinkles, fine lines, forehead lines, crow’s feet, glabellar lines, cobblestones, and frown lines, among others.

It is a type of protein that is made from the Botulinum toxin, which in turn, is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. It can be found in nature in forests, lakes, soil, and even in the intestinal tracts of several fish and mammals.

Although it is extremely dangerous, when used in small proportions, it can have various cosmetic and medical benefits. This is why you should always get Botox injections under the strict supervision of trained professionals and a controlled environment.

As we said before, people usually associate Botox with cosmetic implications but you would be surprised to know the reach of Botox in taking care of other noted anatomical issues.

Botox can be used to treat crossed eyes, migraine headaches, overactive bladder, upper limb spasticity, eyelid spasms, and cervical dystonia. Apart from these, research is going on because it is believed that Botox can also potentially treat sialorrhea, post-herpetic neuralgia, alopecia, psoriasis, dyshidrotic eczema, anismus, vulvodynia, achalasia, hidradenitis suppurativa, and Raynaud’s disease.

This brings us to our main concern for today, which is underarm sweating. Let us see how Botox takes care of this situation.

What is Underarm Botox?

Sweating is a natural process that all of us undergo almost on a daily basis, to varying degrees. But, there are people who sweat way more than others and way more than it is healthy. For them, getting medical treatment is of paramount importance so that they don’t lose more water and sodium from their body than it is necessary.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States and the International Hyperhidrosis Society (IHHS) have both stated and approved that Botox can help treat excessive sweating and can lower its effect by around 82-87%.

You can witness the results within 14-15 days of the treatment and its effect can last anywhere between four months to more than a year in some cases. Although Botox injections for controlling sweating have been approved by FDA for underarms only.

However, research is still going on whether such injections can help control sweating in other parts of your body such as your hands, face, head, or feet.

The Mechanism of Underarm Botox

The neurotoxins present in a Botox injection helps in controlling the functionalities and structure of your nervous system. In other words, it can help alter the functionalities of the concerned neurotransmitters that are responsible for excessive sweating.

A Botox injection has the capacity to block the neurotransmitters that alert your sweat glands to get activated, thereby reducing and controlling the excessive sweating in the treated area.

Now, you may be wondering regarding the cost of such treatments. Well, Botox should only be done from certified places because of how precarious the whole process is. An experienced medical professional would be the best judge of the proportions and doses of Botox injections. The injections have to be repeated every 4-12 months (depending on your conditions). So, it is an ongoing process.

The entire process can be completed within 10-15 minutes. The medical professional numbs the concerned area with local anesthesia or ice to help ease any discomfort or pain. He or she then injects a small dose of Botox in a grid pattern under your skin with the injection sites being around 1-2 cm apart from one another.

Before the process, we strongly advise you to have a consultation session with the medical professional where you need to lay down your medical history so that he or she can have a better grasp of whether you can undergo this process or not. It is also recommended to not shave 3-4 days prior to the treatment.

It is also suggested to not massage or rub the treated area for at least 24 hours after the treatment. This ensures that the toxin doesn’t spread to other areas of the body. Speak in detail with your doctor regarding the dos and don’ts after this treatment.

Pros of Underarm Botox

Despite being a relatively new concept, the popularity of underarm Botox is increasing at a pretty fast rate, owing to the multiple pros this process brings with itself, primary among them being the following points.

• It is extremely effective which is evident by IHHS’s report that it can reduce excessive sweating by more than 80%.
• It is a non-invasive treatment that is always preferred over surgical treatments due to the fewer risks and short recovery time involved.
• You don’t have to allot a huge chunk of your time to the process since it can be completed within 10-15 minutes.
• It has been approved by major trusted sources such as the FDA and IHHS.

Cons of Underarm Botox

Many people experience mild side effects after a Botox injection. These may include anaphylaxis or muscle weakness. Although they are not alarming, if you continue to have them for 2-3 days, then you should definitely get back to your doctor.

However, some individuals have reported the following side-effects of underarm Botox, which are pretty severe.

• Skin hives
• Difficulty in swallowing
• Difficulty in breathing
• Difficulty in speaking
• Dizziness
• Loss of bladder control
• Vision problems
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Dry mouth
• Burning pain in underarms

• Pain or bruising at the injection site
• Flu-like symptoms

Serious side effects of Botox® injections are extremely rare and include muscle weakness in the entire body, visual difficulty, difficulty breathing and loss of bladder control. Typically these side effects occur as a result of large doses of Botox® combined with where it has been injected. It is therefore important to notify your provider if you have had Botox® for other aesthetic or medical reasons.

Does Insurance Cover Botox® for Excess Underarm Sweating?

Botox® is FDA approved for excess underarm sweating, known as primary axillary hyperhidrosis. Only select cases are covered by insurance. Please contact your insurance company to see if you are covered.

What Other Treatments Are Used For Excess Underarm Sweating?

Typically general antiperspirants are ineffective in treating excess underarm sweating. First line over the counter antiperspirants that contain aluminum chloride provide relief for some. Others find prescription strength antiperspirants that contain aluminum chloride hexahydrate (Drysol) more effective.

When topical agents have failed, oral anticholinergic medications may help reduce sweating. However, they are generally not well tolerated due to side effects which include dry mouth, blurred vision and urinary retention.

Iontophoresis uses water to conduct an electric current to the skin weakening the sweat glands. A series of treatments is required for optimal results along with maintenance treatments.

Laser treatments may also be used to treat axillary hyperhidrosis. miraDry and lasers use energy to create heat in the area of the sweat gland to permanently eliminate them.

Surgical procedures are also available for excess underarm sweating. Thoracic sympathectomy (removal of the nerve that controls the sweat gland) is a surgical procedure that is reserved as a last resort.

Can Botox® Be Used To Treat Other Forms Of Excess Sweating Elsewhere?

Botox® can be used to treat excessive sweating to other areas such as the forehead, palms of the hands and soles of the feet however injections may require a nerve block for the hands and feet due to discomfort during the treatment. Results in the above areas generally do not last as long as the underarms.