BOTOX For Sweat Reduction
Medical Home > Cosmetic Plastic Surgery > Aesthetic Trends > BOTOX - Sweat Reduction
By Steve R. Fallek, M.D.
Hyperhidrosis, or excessive perspiration, is a problem for millions of Americans. It presents a hindrance when exercising, in warm temperatures, or under stressful situations. Those who sweat as a result of anxiety find that the problem becomes exacerbated in stressful situations and can result in embarrassment and an attempt to avoid those situations which provoke profuse sweating.
Until recently, there was little people could do other than re-apply deodorant throughout the day or change clothes frequently. Now we can paralyze those sweat glands for up to eight months at a time with newly FDA-approved Botox injections.
Hyperhidrosis afflicts both men and women and can occur on the palms, feet, and armpits. This condition can manifest as early as adolescence. Attempted cures can be extremely costly ranging from over-the-counter products to other medications. Some doctors have attempted passing low electrical currents through the sweat glands which is short term, not very effective, and requires multiple visits to the doctor. Patients have even gone as far as major surgery, which has not proven to remedy the problem either.
Botox Injections For Sweat Reduction
Now, we have a safer, more effective therapy in the form of Botox injections into the armpits. These Botox injections can render a person sweat free for up to eight months. The injection in the armpit is painless. The injections work by paralyzing or shutting off the sweat glands. Most people are familiar with the use of Botox to eliminate wrinkles of the forehead which function by paralyzing the corrigator muscle so it cannot form a wrinkle. By paralyzing the sweat gland, the mechanism to secrete sweat is literally shut down.
Botox For Sweat Reduction - Studies
In two placebo-controlled, multi-center, randomized, double-blind clinical trials involving over 600 adults, those who received Botox injections had significantly reduced underarm sweating as compared to the placebo group. In one study, four weeks after being injected, the percentage of people showing a 50% reduction in sweating was 91% in the group receiving Botox injections, compared to 36% in the placebo group.
In another study, the average duration of response following the first treatment was 170 days. The most common adverse events following treatment (occurring in 3% to 10% of patients) included injection site pain and hemorrhage, sweating in other parts of the body, flu-like symptoms, headache, fever, itching, and anxiety.
Before being treated for primary axillary hyperhidrosis, patients should be evaluated for other potential causes of the problem, such as hyperthyroidism, to avoid symptomatic treatment of hyperhidrosis with Botox without addressing a potentially serious underlying disease which requires other forms of treatment.
Unless you or someone you know has severe hyperhidrosis, it is very difficult to imagine how devastating a problem it can be. Fortunately, plastic surgeons now have an excellent, non-surgical, minimally invasive FDA-approved treatment which can help our patients lead normal lives.
The good news is that people of virtually any age are candidates for this technique. For those who have lived with an embarrassing sweat problem and costly dry cleaning bills, Botox injections offer a safe and effective technique for remaining sweat free throughout the year.
STEVE R. FALLEK, M.D.
Cosmetic & Reconstructive Plastic Surgeon
New York, NY & Englewood, NJ
Dr. Fallek obtained his B.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania, cum laude, in 1987, and received his M.D. from Mount Sinai School of Medicine New York, NY in 1991.
After medical school, he completed a general surgery residency at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where he then received fellowship training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
For more information please visit www.fallekplasticsurgery.com or call 201-541-4181
