The £1,500 gadget that could end the curse of sweaty armpits for good
A TREATMENT which claims to stop sweaty underarms by zapping glands with electromagnetic waves has been launched in the UK.
After just 90 minutes the small handheld machine is able to cut perspiration by 82 per cent, experts claim.
It was created to help those who suffer from hyperhidrosis, a medical condition which causes sufferers to sweat profusely.
In Britain, it is estimated that between one and three in every 100 people have the condition.
The treatment, which costs around £1,500 and goes by the name MiraDry, involves an electronic handpiece, which looks like a supermarket scanner, being targeted at the underarm.
Following local anaesthetic, the glands are suctioned to the surface and then eliminated after being blasted with electromagnetic waves.
Patients need one or a maximum of two sessions for sweating to be reduced almost completely for ever, experts claim.
‘The results look quite promising’
MiraDry has been approved by the American Food and Drug Administration and is estimated to have been used more than 30,000 times worldwide.
Patients suffering from extreme sweating have traditionally resorted to Botox injections, or in extreme cases an operation known as endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy, which involves cutting into both armpits and collapsing the patient’s lung in the process.
Ron Myers, 51, who owns a cosmetic clinic in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, imported MiraDry to Britain from the US after his daughter, Zoe, 20, began to realise that she was regularly drenched in sweat.
The father- of-three, who has worked in the beauty industry for more than 20 years, said: ‘Generally hyperhidrosis is sweating that’s causing a problem to your daily activity – that doesn’t respond to anti-perspirant.’
Like laser hair removal, the technology used by MiraDry is non- invasive because waves are simply beamed into the skin. Around 70 patients have undergone the procedure since Mr Myers launched the product ten months ago.
He added: ‘There are always concerns like, “It is a new concept, is it safe?” or “Am I going to overheat if I destroy the sweat glands under my underarms?” Well, everyone tries to do that and blocks those up every day with antiperspirants.
‘Other people ask, “Don’t you have to sweat to get rid of toxins?” But that’s not the case. We get rid of toxins through our liver and kid- ney, not though sweat.’ Side effects are limited but those undergoing treatment are likely to experience swelling for several days. For two days after, patients are advised to put ice packs under their arms and take ibuprofen.
Julie Halford, 52, a specialist nurse who runs the Hyperhidrosis Support Group charity, said that many GPs were unaware of the condition and potential treatments.
Referring to MiraDry, which won’t be available on the NHS, Mrs Halford said: ‘It is only suitable for the armpits. The results to date for the UK – and it is very early days – look quite promising.
‘I’m less concerned about the side effects of MiraDry than Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy. I don’t know of any major complications.’
She added that effective treatments available through the NHS include an Aloe vera-based deodorant called Sure Sweat and a machine known as Iontophoresis.
It works by sending low electronic waves through the skin passed through water or a wet pad which helps to block the sweat glands. There are two types of sweat glands: eccrine which secrete water to cool the body, and apocrine which release thicker, fatty liquid that becomes smelly as bacteria breaks it down.
Hyperhidrosis does not affect the glands producing oily sweat which cause odour.
A spokesman for the British Association of Dermatologists said that hyperhidrosis could have a ‘ big psychological impact on patients’ and often caused ‘social anxiety’.
He added: ‘Many people find sweat patches unsightly, despite them being a natural occurrence.’