BENEFIT OUTWEIGHS THE RISK
There are procedures to avoid sweating but experts warn of the dangers in it, including death
Recently, a Mexican a social media influencer and bodybuilder Odalis Santos Mena, with over one lakh Instagram followers, died on 07 July this year after a botched up surgery to avoid excessive underarm sweating. Media reports suggest that the 23-year-old Odalis was recruited by the SkinPiel clinic in Mexico’s Guadalajara to promote the treatment to reduce underarm sweating, named MiraDry, which is apparently FDA approved. As per a report published in The Sun, the treatment works by using heat energy to remove sweat glands, which ultimately also leads to reduction of body odour and underarm hair, it claimed.
A report on Odalis in New York Post had claimed that she’d won the 2019 Miss and Mr. Hercules title as well as the Wellness Fitness Juvenile contest and was due to participate in a bikini contest in the US soon.
RUSSIAN ROULETTE FOR PERFECTION
It’s no secret that sweat can pose a serious problem to athletes in nearly all sports. Hyperhidrosis (or excessive sweating) and physical activity do not mesh well. From ruining workout clothing and equipment to actually decreasing a player’s performance, unchecked sweat poses a problem for nearly all athletes.
However, experts warn about the risk of developing infections when sweat glands are removed from the underarm. Among the many theories behind the death of the legendary Bruce Lee, one was that he had an operation to remove the sweat glands from his armpits.
Despite the dangers, as is with most things in the world of beauty and gloss, despite the potential dangers in the procedure, celebs, actors, models and sports personalities across the world have been getting their doctors to administer to them Botox injections for the removal of sweat glands to halt underarm sweating.
Western celebs getting the underarms procedure for excessive sweating include the feisty super-model and TV show hostess Chrissy Teigen and many others.
Back home in India, singer Shibani Dandekar posted a video of herself recently, undergoing armpits treatment for excessive sweating, she wrote, “The treatment which is completely noninvasive takes approx 60 mins and involves 3 simple steps.
1. The underarms are numbed using some local anaesthetic.
2. The area where you sweat from is identified and marked up.
3. The treatment is performed which involves the use of heat to break down your sweat glands under your arms permanently. Results are immediate. Benefits include not having to use a deodorant containing aluminium and other harmful substances [sic] And you don’t start sweating.”
NOTHING TO DIE FOR
Hyperhidrosis is a condition in which one experiences excessive sweating in multiple or single areas of the body especially armpits, hands, soles. While it can cause bad odour and discomfort, leading to embarrassment at social gatherings, sweating need not necessarily be a bad thing. “Sweating is necessary for normal thermoregulation of the body and hyperhidrosis has no risk to life if there is no underlying cancer,” says Dr Sasikanth Maddu, a senior plastic and cosmetic surgeon at Yashoda Hospitals. “When the sweating is excessive, it leads to bad odour when axillae (armpits), wet surfaces of the body or the palms and soles are involved. “However, the problem does cause much discomfort and a source of embarrassment, which may cause difficulties in social interactions and increases stress.”
Hyperhidrosis can be, localised, generalized or emotional. Emotional hyperhidrosis is aggravated in situations of emotional distress. Often, there may be no identifiable cause for hyperhidrosis, although it can be due to underlying conditions such as neurological disorder, malignancies (cancer), thyroid disorders, diabetes, psychiatric medications, antiviral medication especially anti-HIV medications or chronic alcoholism.
Dr Sasikanth explains, “Not one procedure is completely effective and both medical and surgical approaches should be used together. Patients need multiple visits to the clinic and sometimes multiple surgeries,” he explains.
Mexican bodybuilder Odalis
Santos Mena died on 7 July this year after a botched up surgery to avoid excessive underarm sweating