If you are suffering from hyperhidrosis, you already understand all the issues related to sweat marks, excessive sweating, and odors. This disorder is not uncommon. You are not alone because numerous individuals are looking for a treatment for this condition that actually works. Approximately two to three percent of the population of the United States have an excessive sweating condition. If the problem is in the soles of your feet or your palms, your condition is called palmoplantar hyperhidrosis. If your issue is in your underarms, your condition is called axillary hyperhidrosis. In most cases, issues with the underarms begin when the individual is late into their adolescence. Sweating of the soles of the feet and the palms generally starts earlier, usually when the individual is about thirteen. The solution is miraDry®.

Excessive sweating is often extremely embarrassing. This condition can destroy romance, completely ruin your clothes and make social and business interactions very difficult. Individuals with an extremely severe case may experience practical complications as well. There are individuals with a condition so severe they are unable to shake hands, hold onto the steering wheel of their car or even hold onto a pencil. Sometimes hyperhidrosis is the result of an endocrine or a neurologic infection. Generally, this condition is usually found in individuals who are in good health. In certain people, hyperhidrosis is caused by their emotions. Others are sweating all day long no matter what they are doing, the current weather, or the mood they are experiencing.

This condition causes you to sweat whether it is cold or hot, when you are giving an important presentation at work or taking a casual stroll. It doesn’t matter what type of clothing you are wearing or where you are. The chances are good you have already tried the most common solutions for excessive sweating such as a powerful antiperspirant. There are a lot of options available, but there is a difference with miraDry®. The treatment actually works. The miraDry® procedure is a fairly new, non-invasive treatment for hyperhidrosis. The procedure uses microwave technology to target your sweat glands. Once this has been accomplished, the odor and sweat glands in your armpits can be completely eliminated. In 2015, the FDA cleared miraDry® for the treatment of axillary hyperhidrosis.

There are two different kinds of sweat glands. The first are your eccrine sweat glands. You have eccrine sweat distributed throughout your entire body. The second type are called apocrine sweat glands. These glands are located in your armpits, on your scalp and in your genital region. Even though a lot of people are not happy with the process of sweating, there are benefits for both your health and your aesthetics. The biggest organ in your entire body is your skin. Your skin is just as important as any of the other organs in your body. There are a lot of benefits to sweating including:

• Sweating helps maintain the correct temperature of you body to help prevent you from overheating.
• Sweating expels the toxins from your body. This provides essential support for your immune function to help your fight fight off disease linked to an overload of toxins including cancer and fibromyalgia.
• Sweating kills the bacteria and viruses in your body because they are unable to survive if your temperature reaches 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit or above.
• Sweating is an important tool for helping to eliminate acne and blackheads because it cleans your pores.

An interesting fact is body odor can actually be decreased by profuse sweating. When your body is releasing an unpleasant odor, the reason may be that you are expelling toxins. In most instances, sweat does not have an odor. This depends on your lifestyle. If you are leading a clean lifestyle, consuming a healthy diet and are not being exposed to a higher level of environmental and dietary toxins, your toxic burden will be low. This means your sweat will be virtually odorless.

Under normal circumstances, body sweat is a normal reaction to a rise in the internal temperature of the body. This can be triggered by spending time under the sun when the weather is hot or when you are exercising. In some instances, the sweating has been linked to an incorrect neurological response.

Excessive sweating can be triggered by emotional or mental stress as opposed to keeping your temperature under control. One of the more common causes of neurological symptoms is anxiety. Not only can this result in sweating, it can cause other symptoms including dizziness, hyperventilation, headaches, and sweating. Until miraDry®, there were not a lot of options. Most individuals tried prescription strength antiperspirants, oral medications, and even surgery when the condition was severe. Unfortunately, not only did these procedures often fail to work, some of them had fairly serious risks. The treatment options currently available were created to temporarily disable your sweat glands. It is important to understand many of the older treatments have been proven not to provide lasting results.

Before miraDry® was introduced, numerous individuals had no choice other than relying on an invasive surgical procedure for their condition. In some instances an excision was performed to cut the sweat glands out of the body. Curettage is when the sweat glands are scraped out. The glands were also suctioned out through liposuction. When the nerves responsible for the stimulation of the sweat glands are completely destroyed, this is referred to as (ETS) endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy. ETS and excision are not recommended anymore. The effectiveness of miraDry® has made the majority of the procedure from both the past and present appear out of date. Even though lasers are considered to be the cutting edge of technology for numerous procedures, they do not have nearly as much supportive evidence regarding excessive sweating.

Nearly every individual suffering from axillary hyperhidrosis is a good candidate for the miraDry® procedure. It is important to note this procedure is not recommended for individuals with any implanted electronic device such as a pacemaker necessary for a heart condition. If the individual has a history of issues with anesthesia including epinephrine and lidocaine, they should not have this procedure. Finally, if the individual relies on the use of supplemental oxygen, the procedure is also not recommended.

The miraDry® Preparation and Procedure

The underarm areas should be shaved 4-5 days prior to treatment.

The first step in your treatment is the determination as to where your sweating is occurring. An iodine solution will be used to cover your armpits. Once the solution has dried, the iodine stain is covered using cornstarch. You will keep you arms above your head for a few minutes to give the powder enough time to change color. The areas with the excessive sweat will turn a dark purple. A permanent record will be created of the location of your sweat gland through a photograph taken of the dark purple powder. After the correct location has been identified, both the bottom and top of the range will be marked. The device for your procedure will only be used between the marks. The next step is wiping off the cornstarch. A grid will then be created in between the markers.

The markers are used by the medical professional holding the device to make certain your treatment is applied to the entire range. After all of these steps have been completed, the medical professional is able to begin your actual treatment. The miraDry® system targets the odor and sweat glands located in your underarm through the use of microwave energy. The destruction of your glands is permanent. Once destroyed, they will not grow back. There are five basic steps in your treatment process. These are:

• The areas for your customized treatment are marked.
• To ensure you are properly prepared for your treatment, a numbing agent is used on your underarm.
• The handpiece is placed directly on your skin by the medical professional. The handpiece is then lined up using the markings made on your underarm.
• The medical professional activates the handpiece. As your glands and skin are suctioned closer to the surface, you will feel some suction on your skin. This helps ensure you will receive the best possible results.
• The energy from the device is delivered. This is what destroys your odor and sweat glands.

The injections of lidocaine are used as a local anesthesia to help prevent you from feeling any pain during your treatment. In most cases, the individual can immediately resume their regular activities as soon as the procedure has been completed. You will be recommended against exercising for the first three days. This procedure is far less invasive than the majority of treatments currently available on the market for excessive sweating such as hyperhidrosis surgery. This procedure is effective for treating this condition in addition to being approved by the FDA. Your procedure will take place in the office of a medical professional.

One of the key concerns of the average individual is the sensitivity of the underarm area. It is important to repeat the injections of lidocaine to help prevent you from feeling any discomfort or pain during the treatment. The amount of active sweat glands located beneath you arms will be decreased through the use of microwave technology. This means the amount of odor and sweat you experience under your arms will be significantly decreased. The microwaves used for the procedure and completely different than what you most likely have sitting on your kitchen counter. These microwaves are non-ionizing, approved by the FDA and non-invasive. They are just as safe as the use of radio waves. The medical field has been using treatments based on energy both effectively and safely for many years.

The microwave energy emitted through the miraDry® device is at a controlled level for a localized area. You will notice a dramatic and immediate decrease in excessive sweating. Clinical trials have been conducted regarding this procedure. The results showed the average decrease in sweat was 82 percent. The trials also revealed in excess of 90 percent of the participants were satisfied by the decrease in both odor and sweat resulting from this treatment. This procedure is permanent. The sweat glands can be eliminated completely with just one or two treatments. Most patients with hyperhidrosis want two treatments separated by at least 3 months. Since your sweat glands are unable to grow back, your excessive sweating will not return. Other treatment options may only boost temporary results.

After treatment we recommend that ice is applied to the underarm area every 1-2 hours for 10-15 minutes for the first 24 hours other then sleeping. This can be done by freezing water bottles  and applying them to the underarms over a t-shirt so the ice doesn’t freeze the skin.

Some bruising can occur after treatment. We recommend you avoid any blood thinning medications or supplements such as Motrin, Aspirin, Advil, Ibuprofen, Alleve, Fish Oil etc. 10 days prior to treatment.

In-grown hairs can occur after treatment as the hairs start to grow back in some individuals. To help avoid this, we ask that you shave 4-5 days prior to treatment.

The Benefits of miraDry®

Most people become embarrassed, stressed or both due to the visual appearance of hyperhidrosis. This often leads to a sharp decrease in confidence levels. The treatment offers you numerous benefits including:

• The results are permanent
• Less clothing damaged because of odor and sweat
• The treatment is fast, convenient, and performed in the office
• The reduction in sweat is dramatic
• The procedure is non-invasive
• The treatment is free of toxins
• No downtime

There are other options available to disable your sweat glands on a temporary basis. In some cases this involves having surgery along with all the associated risks. The only procedure offering both a non-invasive treatment and a permanent solution is miraDry®.

Your body contains approximately four million sweat glands. Only two percent of them are located in your armpits. Even though the treatment will destroy the odor and sweat glands found beneath your armpit, there are more than enough left to ensure the temperature of your body remains in the normal range. In most cases, the entire procedure requires approximately 60 minutes. The majority of patients have stated they saw a permanent and dramatic decrease of sweat under their arms.

Although there will be variances in the results received by each individual, most people who had this procedure saw a reduction in underarm sweat of 82 percent with two treatments. Results are achieved immediately after the conclusion of the treatment. Many individuals are able to go right back to work or simply resume their regular schedule after the procedure. Whenever possible, it is always a good idea to relax for a few days. This will give your body a few days for healing and relaxation. You should not schedule your miraDry® treatment right before a special event or a big meeting at work just in case you do need a little extra time to heal. Although the majority of individuals saw their optimal results after just one or two treatments, there have been some individuals who required a third treatment.

The microwave technology used by the miraDry® treatment has been shown to be both effective and safe in all of the procedures currently performed. If you are interested in having the miraDry® Dr. Falcone has been performing the Miradry procedure for 4 years, since it was first FDA approved.  You can expect high quality, optimal treatment when visiting the Falcone Center. Contact us today to schedule your consultation!