Hyperhidrosis -- abnormal excessive sweating -- causes anxiety and embarrassment, and can affect your lifestyle if you avoid certain types of clothing or constantly need to change clothes. Dr. Yetunde Sannoh at Total Wellness Healthcare Clinic has extensive experience helping patients obtain relief from hyperhidrosis, including using the cutting edge laser device, PrecisionTx™, which permanently reduces excessive sweating. Don’t continue to struggle with hyperhidrosis. Call the office in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, or book an appointment online.
Hyperhidrosis is the medical term for excessive sweating. It doesn’t refer to the type of heavy sweating you’d experience on a hot, humid day that’s normal and serves to regulate your body temperature.
The type of abnormal sweating caused by hyperhidrosis occurs even when you’re not hot or active. If you have hyperhidrosis, sweat often soaks through your clothing or drips off your face and hands.
There are two types of hyperhidrosis that develop from different causes:
Primary hyperhidrosis occurs when the nerves that regulate your sweat glands become overactive, triggering sweat even when you don’t need to sweat to cool down. The excessive sweating occurs at any time, or all the time, although feeling stressed or nervous often makes it worse.
You may inherit a tendency to develop primary hyperhidrosis, but it’s not caused by an underlying health condition. It commonly affects your armpits, palms, feet, and face.
This type of hyperhidrosis causes sweating all over your body. It develops due to an underlying health condition such as:
If you have secondary hyperhidrosis, the underlying medical condition must be treated. Otherwise, treatment for primary hyperhidrosis often begins with prescription-strength antiperspirants or creams that can be used on your face.
Dr. Sannoh may recommend one of several medications such as nerve-blocking medications or antidepressants that are known to decrease sweating. Botox injections temporarily block nerve signals that cause sweating.
In extreme cases, you could have surgery to remove sweat glands in your armpits or block nerves. Dr. Sannoh offers another option: minimally-invasive treatment with PrecisionTx.
PrecisionTx is a Cynosure laser that’s specially designed to target small treatment areas. It’s FDA-cleared to treat primary axillary gland hyperhidrosis, which is excessive sweating in your underarms.
PrecisionTx is a minimally-invasive procedure, so Dr. Sannoh administers a local anesthetic, then makes a very small incision that allows a narrow tube to be inserted under your skin.
The tube contains a specialized fiber that allows laser energy to reach a precise target. When Dr. Sannoh targets your sweat glands, heat from the laser destroys the glands.
It only takes one treatment to significantly reduce sweating. Since sweat glands are destroyed, the results are considered permanent.
