BOTOX® Therapeutic for Excessive Sweating (Hyperhidrosis)

Hyperhidrosis is characterized by sweating more than is required by the body.
Primary hyperhidrosis is a disorder of unknown cause. Family history has been documented.
Primary focal hyperhidrosis typically presents in young adults, and lasts throughout adulthood.

• Average age is 37 years.
• Average onset is 22 years. 

Do you worry someone will notice your sweat stains?

Are you afraid to raise your arms in normal situations?

Do you bring extra clothes to work because of sweating?

Is excessive underarm sweating interfering with daily activities?

When excessive underarm sweating gets in the way of your daily activities and antiperspirants haven’t worked, you may be a candidate for BOTOX® Therapeutic treatment.

Diagnosis

 

A primary diagnosis of hyperhidrosis should be made only after excluding secondary causes of excessive sweating (eg, hyperthyroidism). This is critical to avoiding symptomatic treatment of hyperhidrosis without the diagnosis and/or treatment of the underlying diseases.

Hyperhidrosis may be diagnosed by focal, visible, excessive sweating of at least 6 months’ duration without apparent cause with at least 2 of the following characteristics:

• Bilateral and relatively symmetric
• Impairs daily activities
• Score of 3 or 4 on Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale (HDSS)
• Age of onset less than 25 years
• Positive family history
• Cessation of focal sweating during sleep

Treatment with BOTOX® Therapeutic

 

BOTOX® Therapeutic is approved for the treatment of severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis that is inadequately managed by topical agents. When injected intradermally, BOTOX® Therapeutic neurotoxin produces temporary chemical denervation of the sweat gland, resulting in a local reduction in sweating.In a clinical study of 322 adult patients with persistent primary axillary hyperhidrosis who scored 3 or 4 on an HDSS and who produced at least 50 mg of sweat in each axilla at rest over 5 minutes, the median duration of response following the first BOTOX® Therapeutic injection was 201 days. Repeat injections for severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis should be administered when the clinical effect of a previous injection diminishes.

Ask Dr. Crippen if BOTOX® Therapeutic treatment is right for you.

 

What Is Excessive Underarm Sweating?

 

About 1.3 million North Americans have a medical condition named severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis better known to you as excessive underarm sweating.

Excessive underarm sweating is a medical condition that involves overactive sweat glands. Sweat is your body’s temperature regulator. In severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis, sweating significantly exceeds the body’s normal requirements for cooling.

As you probably know, people with the condition do a lot to cope:

• Change clothes frequently
• Put absorbent materials under clothing
• Avoid certain fabrics and styles of clothes
• Seek medical attention and treatment

While people with excessive underarm sweating may choose many different antiperspirants, in many instances those products fail to stop the sweating.

Clothes can be a real issue, because the wrong choice can reveal your excessive underarm sweating condition rather than hide it. Your wardrobe can be very limited. And you may have to purchase new clothing frequently, an added strain on your budget on top of your purchases of extra-strength antisweating products.

When clinical strength antiperspirants fail, ask Dr. Crippen if BOTOX® Therapeutic could be right for you.

For more information about excessive underarm sweating, visit the International Hyperhidrosis Society Web site at www.sweathelp.org

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

How Is Excessive Underarm Sweating Diagnosed?

Excessive underarm sweating, or severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis, is a medical condition that involves overactive sweat glands.  Only a medical professional can diagnose excessive underarm sweating that is not being effectively managed with clinical strength antiperspirants. Be prepared to tell Dr. Crippen about your medical history, family history, and when you first noticed your excessive underarm sweating.

 

Treatment Options

 

Antiperspirants/Deodorants

Often considered the “first line” of treatment for excessive underarm sweating, over-the-counter antiperspirants work by blocking sweat ducts, thereby reducing the amount of perspiration that reaches the skin. The most widely used ingredients in antiperspirants are metallic salts, including aluminum chloride hexahydrate. Antiperspirants can cause skin irritation, and higher concentrations of aluminum chloride can be destructive to fabrics.

Deodorants help control body odor, which is caused by a reaction between bacteria and sweat. The deodorants work by making the skin more acidic, and hence less attractive to bacteria. They are often used in combination with antiperspirants to help control sweating in addition to odor.

 

Prescription Antiperspirants/Deodorants

Your doctor may prescribe a stronger antiperspirant for your excessive underarm sweating, available from your pharmacist. Like over-the-counter antiperspirants, these also work by blocking sweat ducts, thereby reducing the amount of perspiration that reaches the skin.

 

Alternative Therapies

Herbal remedies such as sage tea or sage tablets, chamomile, valerian root, and St. John’s wort, as well as biofeedback, acupuncture, hypnosis, and relaxation techniques, are sometimes suggested as treatments for excessive sweating. However, there is little research at this time to indicate the effectiveness of such treatments.

 

Iontophoresis

This procedure involves sending a small electrical current to the surface of the affected area while it is submerged in water. In general, treatments must be repeated 3-4 times per week. The procedure can be done at home using a home device. Iontophoresis can be used for treating excessive underarm sweating, but with limited success. It is usually more useful for controlling sweating in other areas of the body, such as the hands and feet.

 

Surgery

A variety of surgical approaches have been used to treat excessive sweating, but they are usually reserved for the most extreme cases that do not respond to other treatments. One of the most common types of surgery used today for this condition is called endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS). With ETS, the patient is put to sleep with general anesthesia and then the surgeon attempts to interrupt the transmission of nerve signals between the spinal column and sweat glands in the affected area. This procedure requires special training, and may result in unwanted increased sweating from other areas of the body—called “compensatory sweating.” Other types of surgery sometimes used for excessive underarm sweating include liposuction and removal of the sweat glands under the armpits.

 

BOTOX® Therapeutic Treatment

BOTOX® Therapeutic is FDA approved for excessive underarm sweating that is inadequately managed with topical agents. BOTOX® Therapeutic, a neuromodulator, helps control this condition by temporarily blocking the chemical signals from the nerves that stimulate the sweat glands. When the sweat glands don’t receive chemical signals, the excessive sweating stops.