Treatments to Stop Sweating

Hyperhidrosis, or excessive perspiration, can often be effectively treated so that you can stop sweating so much.

Medications

Aluminum chloride is used in deodorants and antiperspirants you buy from the store. However, people with hyperhidrosis needs stronger doses of aluminum chloride to control their excessive sweating. There are side effects with stronger doses, however. Stronger doses can cause skin irritation, and the increased dosage is not particularly useful in the hand or foot area. For the hand or foot area, the usual dosage of alumimium chloride found in deodornats and antiperspirants are usually enough to control perspiration in those areas.

Botox injections can also be applied to disable your sweat glands. The injections are a temporary solution that can last anywhere from 5-10 months depending on where the injection is applied.

There are also several drugs can curb excessive sweating. Oxybutynin (brand name Ditropan) is one that has shown promise. But it has its own set of important side effects, which can include visual symptoms, drowsiness and dryness in the mouth and other mucus membranes. Ditropan XL is a time release version of the drug that you can also try, although with somewhat reduced effects. Glycopyrrolate (brand name Robinul) is another drug that you can try. The drug is almost as effective as Ditropan and has similar side effects. Other alternative drugs to trye include propantheline bromide (brand name Probanthine) and benzatropine (brand name Cogentin).

Surgical Procedures

If medications don't work for you, there are surgical options. Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS) is a type of surgery where nerves that control perspiration are cut, burned or clamped. Clamping allows for the option of reversing the procedure. ETS is considered to be a generally safe procedure with an 80% success rate, with 90-95% success rate in the case of excessave hand or palm sweating. It is not so successful with facial perspiration.

There are some side effects to think about when considering ETS though. First and foremost is compensatory sweating. Up to 80% of people who undergo this procedure has this side effect. ETS may correct excessive perspiration at the hands and/or underarms, but if someone is affected by compensatory sweating after surgery, they may start to perspire more in other areas, the lower back and trunk being the most common. Additionally, the original perspiration problem may come back due to regeneration of the nerve, sometimes as soon as 3 months after the surgery.

Prescription drugs are the first options to consider when you suffer from excessive perspiration. Only if the drugs don't work should you consider invasive surgical options in order to stop sweating.