Botox for Sweating: How and Why it Works

If you’ve ever walked into a job interview or a date praying that the sweat under your arm pits isn’t as obvious to them as it is to you, then you might be able to sympathize with a condition know as hyperhidrosis.

While almost anyone can relate, for some individuals hyperhidrosis gets so bad that it’s a devastatingly embarrassing condition.

But physicians may have just found a miracle cure for this condition, and that miracle cure is actually… Botox.

What?! Botox?

That’s right. Botox — the neurotoxin that everyone knows for treating wrinkles. If you follow the Botox literature at all, you might know that there are more explorations of Botox and its possible uses than any other cosmetic treatment.

That’s because its mechanism of action is so flexible. Botox blocks nerve signals that would normally reach the brain. For the most part, we use it to block signals from muscles to the brain that lead to the contraction of muscles. This prevents wrinkles when we stop muscles that tend to over contract.

In the case of hyperhydrosis, what Botox actually does is stop chemical precursors that normally tell the sweat glands to turn on. That’s a pretty nifty use!

But Is It Dangerous?

Some who hear about this procedure worry that it might be dangerous. After all, sweat is how we cool down our body.

The most amazing thing about this procedure, perhaps, is that there’s no danger at all. Because it’s only applied to a localized body part, and, well, you sweat all over your body. In fact, your armpits only house 2 percent of your body’s sweat glands.

So it’s basically a procedure with no downside — and those who’ve used it report approximately 80 percent reduction in sweating.

Want to know more about Botox and hyperhidrosis? Call Cosmetic Dermatology Center in Virginia for more information.