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Excessive Sweating Targeted by New Procedure

Everyone sweats but for some people the problem is so severe that they do not even want to leave their homes.

“It’s really emotional. It’s stressful,” said Briana Bernyk, who suffers from sweating so severely that she even skipped her high school prom.

“I didn’t want to go through the whole hassle of picking out a dress, so I blew it off,” she told “Good Morning America.”

Bernyk, 20, of Massachusetts, sweats so profusely under her armpits that she often has to throw shirts away after one use and wears layers to better protect herself. She also uses just one color in her wardrobe, black, in order to camouflage her ailment.

Miradry video – opens in new window

“From sweatshirts to fancy shirts, everything I have is black,” she said.

After trying topical solutions and even Botox to help lighten her sweating, Bernyk turned to what is being heralded as the latest fix for underarm sweating, a procedure known as miraDry.

“It’s not that they don’t sweat at all. They just sweat like a normal person,” said Dr. Michael Kaminer, a Boston-based cosmetic surgeon and the managing partner of SkinCare Physicians who performed the procedure on Bernyk, said of the results.

The nonsurgical procedure became available to patients in January after being approved by the Food and Drug Administration last year. While the patient’s armpit is placed under local anesthesia, microwave energy is used to melt the as many as 33,000 sweat glands in the armpits to stop the patient’s hyperhidrosis, the medical term for excessive sweating.

The company behind the procedure, Miramar Labs Inc. in Sunnyvale, Calif., says, on average, the overall volume of sweat is reduced by an average of 82 percent and lasts for nearly one year, according to its website.

Some medical experts say they are waiting for longer-term, independent data on the procedure, which can cost between $2,500 and $3,000 for two sessions and is not covered by insurance.

For Bernyk and other patients, the results speak for themselves.

“Now it’s just exciting to go out. I can wear what I want,” she said. “Before I was nervous about going out…uncomfortable and always in a cover up….[Now] I can hold them [my arms] on my hips and I can fix my hair in public.”

Clothing for Excessive Sweating

Sweating is something that the body does naturally all the time. Even when it is cold, the human body perspires to keep its temperature regulated. However, there are people who have excessive sweating or to give it its official name – hyperhidrosis.

Sometimes excessive sweating is a medical condition that a doctor can treat. This usually means the condition will improve. During this time, a person may feel embarrassed, or feel self-conscious about their appearance. They do not want people to see perspiration marks on their clothing. Being anxious about sweating and others seeing the perspiration, can lead to more incidences of heavy sweating. People often become depressed and isolate themselves from others, to hide the excessive sweating. 

If people with this issue do go out, they will often try to hide the sweating by wearing loose fitting clothing regardless of fashion trends and looks. Shopping for clothes becomes a mission to find clothes that will not make it obvious that they are sweating rather than if a person actually likes the clothing.

There are clothing fabrics and colors that will prevent others from noticing the excess sweating. A person will feel more confident if they have knowledge of the type of fabrics that will work best for them. In addition, sweating can create body odour, so choosing the proper fabric can reduce the smell of perspiring. Using anti-perspirants and frequent bathing is imperative for people with excessive sweating. The first items of clothing we put on each morning are undergarments. While generally, no one else will see them, the fabric of undergarments can help prevent, or conceal excessive perspiration. Choose cotton fabrics as these will allow perspiration to evaporate more rapidly. 

Women and men can also purchase speciality products that are made for hyperhidrosis. Dress shields, or underarm shields, can be worn in the armpit area to absorb perspiration. They are available in disposable and washable formats for men and women. Camisoles or undershirts in breathable cotton, bamboo or other natural fabrics can also absorb sweat. People must experiment with layering, and find what works the best for them. Socks are now manufactured by many companies in fabric that has wicking action. Wicking action means it carries the sweat away from the skin, allowing the perspiration to evaporate. 

There are also clothing items in athletic wear, which provide wicking. These can often be worn as undergarments, or for everyday wear. Colour choice in clothing is also important to hide perspiration. Darker colours do not show sweat marks as much as lighter colours. Patterned fabric prevents perspiration marks from being as apparent. Wearing a jacket, bolero, sweater of other layering garment can prevent others from seeing armpit stains. While shopping for clothing, bring along a water bottle. Sprinkle a tiny amount of water on the clothing item to see how the moisture reacts on the fabric. 

There is help out there so don’t let hyperhidrosis get in the way of loving and living your life.

Author Bio:
Catherine is a freelance copywriter working for websites on cosmetic dentistry and health. She has a cat called Pete and enjoys baking, reading and cinema trips.

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Press Release
April 16, 2012

Online Dating Site for People with Hyperhidrosis is Launched

The creators of the website Dating Like Me are excited to announce the launch of their niche dating site this month. This site was created by two sisters and a brother who all have the condition of Hyperhidrosis. Hyperhidrosis is a physical condition which causes a person to sweat excessively; either generalized or localized to a particular part of the body. This is a condition which could potentially cause a person embarrassment and anxiety to be in certain social situations.

One of the siblings was an avid supporter of online dating sites as a way to meet other singles. However, she was always nervous to go on a date in the event her date would notice her sweating. She googled “dating other people with hyperhidrosis” numerous times in the hopes that there was a site dedicated to helping single people with hyperhidrosis to meet each other. She knew this would take away the anxiety she felt every time she went on a date or had to explain her sweating to someone she was seeing. Unfortunately, every time she looked it up, there was still no site dedicated to this. Finally, she decided that maybe she should make a site dedicated to this hersfelf! Hence, the idea for Dating Like Me was born. In the process of researching and working on the site, it became apparent there were others who were seeking a similar type of service: those with Social Phobia/Anxiety, Rosacea, or Obsessive Compulsive Disorders. Therefore, this niche dating site is dedicated to helping singles dealing with these conditions to meet other singles who understand exactly what they are going through.

The creators of this site hope to help millions of singles to meet and find love.

If you have questions about the site, you may contact the Administrators at: support@datinglikeme.com

Common Myths About Hyperhidrosis/Excessive Sweating

If someone doesn’t know anything about hyperhidrosis, they may assume a number of different things about a person who suffers from excessive sweating. In fact, there are some people who suffer from hyperhidrosis without even knowing that it is a medical condition that can be treated.

Here are some common myths about hyperhidrosis and excessive sweating.

Myth #1: The only people who suffer from excessive sweating are overweight.
Fact: It is true that people who weight more tend to sweat more, due to the fact that their bodies have to work harder to keep them cool. However, hyperhidrosis affect people of all shapes, sizes, and fitness levels.

Myth #2: Excessive sweating is caused by nervousness or embarrassment.
Fact: While many people sweat when they’re nervous or embarrassed, those with hyperhidrosis can suffer from excessive sweat in any situation. However, it’s important to realize that hyperhidrosis actually causes nervousness or embarrassment in social situations for some people.

Myth #3: Those who suffer from hyperhidrosis can stop the sweat by applying baby powder.
Fact: Baby powder is effective for mild perspiration, but it does not work for those who suffer from hyperhidrosis. In fact, it can create more of a problem, since it’s rather messy and can ruin clothing if it gets wet. Medical antiperspirants especially created for hyperhidrosis are much more effective.

Myth #4: Excessive sweating causes body odor.
Fact: This is one of the most popular myths about sweat. Sweat itself doesn’t contain an odor. However, it creates what we call “body odor” when it comes in contact with bacteria on the skin. One way to reduce body odor from sweating is to shave in the areas where you commonly perspire, as this helps reduce the bacteria on your skin.

Myth #5: Men sweat more than women because they have more sweat glands.
Fact: Believe it or not, women actually have more sweat glands than men. However, men seem to sweat more than women for two reasons: they have more active sweat glands and they have more body hair, which as mentioned above, causes body odor when sweating.

Myth #6: The underarms have more sweat glands than any other area of the body.
Fact: While the underarms have sweat glands that can be very active, the feet actually have the most sweat glands. However, we don’t notice this because our feet are covered by shoes and socks for the majority of the day.

This article was written by Erin McKinney, who is a licensed nurse practitioner. Erin also owns the site Masters of Nursing for students interested in getting an advanced degree in the nursing field.

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How Compensatory Sweating works:

The current train of thought is that our own inbuilt thermometer is faulty. This is called the Hypothalamus and it’s tucked away in the brain. This is what causes us to overheat. When the body’s temperature rises by 4 degrees C, we become disorientated and confused. By the time we reach 7 degrees C, we’d be dead. Because the body is such an amazing feat of natural engineering, we have an inbuilt sprinkler system to prevent us from overheating and to keep us alive. This is where the sweating comes from. When you block off any area of sweating, that’s all you’re doing. You’re not cooling yourself down. As you’re still hot, you’ll still be sweating until you cool down, it’s just that the sweat will appear in other areas and it’ll take longer to cool down as your sweating is limited. Blocking sweat is not the best way of dealing with it, although we all need to block in the odd area or two – ie underarms etc. It’s always a far better idea to soak up and disguise sweat than to block it.

CS as a result of ETS and Generalised Hyperhidrosis:

The main places ETS people suffer is down their back, torso, groin and legs. I would suggest products like laulas undershirts and polo shirts, www.sweat-help.com and Wrapps www.coolwrapps.com. Both of these products will deal with soaking up sweat by clever use of fabrics. I use both products and they certainly make life easier for me. Wrapps are also increasingly used by sportsmen and women, musicians etc as well as HH sufferers.

Please feel free to visit the site and dive into the forum conversations – or even just keep an eye out for competitions (we get to give away lots of free products) and hints and tips on disguising and dealing with your sweating.

Thank you for your blog Lisa! It sounds very familiar to me, with friends like that, who needs enemies? **big hugs**

Me and my annoying friend hyperhidrosis i cant get rid of.

I wake up suddenly with my hair stuck to my face and my pj’s clinging to my body, I throw the duvet off and jump out of my sweaty bed. Glancing at the temperature I see 12 degrees today in my house…..yet it still feels like 30 degrees as i’m burning up. Grab a cold drink, sit down and calm myself down.

Time to get ready for the day….highs of 15 degrees today. White t-shirt, jeans and thin black cardi. I fling the bathroom window wide open, feeling the cold air on my face whilst brushing my teeth. Start applying my make up, I’m tempted to turn my mini fan on but I battle through this morning. Scrape my hair back and clip the loose hair back. I wish I could straighten my hair but this friend of mine doesn’t let me straighten it and if he does within 10 minutes of walking out the door he has made it a curly wet mess.

Grab my bag, and pull my coat on…..attempting to look normal and avoid catching a cold. I’m running late for my doctors appointment, a 10 minute brisk walk and i’m there. Now I could be wrong but I’m sure I have walked into a sauna…..I quickly strip down to my t-shirt and push open a window. Only to get moaned at by an old lady complaining its cold with the window open. I want to scream at her, she’s sitting there in her coat rosy cheeked, I’m sitting there in a t-shirt sweat pouring everywhere. I stumble into the doctors room and get through my appointment in a soggy mess. I can’t bare to put my coat on so walk come without it on.

Strip down for 10 minutes before I need to leave for my follow up dermatologists appointment. Surprise surprise Im sure the doctor made them turn the heating off and open all the windows so its cold in the waiting room. I get called in, instructed to strip and told Im not sweating. Plucking up the courage to tell her to shove her hand in my undies when a male nurse flies in and I back out. My pills didn’t work. Her response? It’s only sweating you are just going to have to live with it. Oh how much I wished something like freaky Friday would have happened right then!!

I head into town finding it unbearable. I find it ironic that the shops turn their heating on to encourage custom. Any hot shops don’t get my custom I walk straight out.

Get the phone call about my car. It’s not worth fixing…..the sweat pours just thinking of the stressful few days to follow. Arrive at the garage to pay the man just in a t-shirt, he comments about how I must be freezing. I brush it off and get out of there as quick as I can.

Finally home, I chuck on some joggers and a vest. Time to start on dinner. Fling the kitchen windows wide open, prepare my kitchen towel to dab my face and crack on. Eventually get though cooking.

Bath time, my favourite part of the day. I let the cold water run into the bath 5 minutes before i get out. Sit down in my towel drying off and get into my pyjamas.

Bed time with half my body outside of the duvet and half my body under the duvet I finally get to sleep. Another day over in what seems like a hell hole.

My name is Lisa and I’m a generalized sweater, my friend hyperhidrosis insists on introducing himself first every day.

 AWARENESS on our disease.

When you see a Doctor or specialist most do not know the impact this has on us on the daily basics. They fob us off with yet another aluminum chloride treatment which burns your skin, sometimes leaving it so sore and takes weeks to heal.

Some of us have to educate the Doctor about Hyperhidrosis as they look at you blankly!!! I honestly don’t think much has changed in the last 5-10 years!   I am in a constant argument with my  Doctors for Botox as this is the only treatment that does give me relief.   I dry out to much on oral medications and feel worse being on them.

Do you think we will ever get the awareness on this???   We see the clinical strength out on the market and I have read them all, only one says you may have Hyperhidrosis!!!! One out of lots!!!  Adverts never tell you about it or commercials, the woman whom show there pits dry and arms up have never suffered from a days sweat or constantly worrying about it.

Who is ready to write a day in a life of a sufferer? I am and I will post them on the front page of our website for all to see. It is about time. Does not have to be long, just how it really is.

If you are interested then PM me, or drop Beverly a line betty@verysweatybetty.com please put in topic line, GUEST BLOG A DAY IN A LIFE OF A SUFFERER.  Or what you would like to be changed for the better of us, any ideas or suggestions will not be ignored.

We are the ones who can only help make the change, tell your Doctors and Medical staff how it really is, ask them to try the awful treatments they give us….

LOTS OF LITTLE VOICES CAN MAKE ONE BIG ONE XXXXX

By our very own Denise, Following her, Help Wanted….
For the Record,

If any of you have read my last post, and thought I might be implying that Hyperhidrosis does not compare to scleroderma and we have no right to complain, that was not what I was trying to say, not at all.

My point is that Michele Mayer was a highly educated woman, her husband is in fact a physician, Moreover Michele was highly respected in the medical community, could speak the lingo, knew what she had and it still took 6 years to get a proper diagnosis. In that 6 years she was aware of what medications, procedures and protocols were available to treat the early stages of her disease.

Yet, because of her inability to get a proper diagnosis, all of these avenues were closed to her. We will never know if she could still be alive today, had she been diagnosed in a timely matter. Moreover, Michele had done her research and frequently went head to head with the doctors, who repeatedly tried to prescribe outdated medications, that had been shown to be wholly ineffective, while fighting her requests for another. Albeit, the truth is there is very little to help people suffering with Scleroderma. As her skin turned into a shell like structure, her vital and unseen organs were doing the same. This disease is a killer, very little is known how to treat it, and it is a death sentence. It may be 3 years it may be 5 years, but with the passing of each year, reduced mobility is a given as ones internal organs turn to stone.

Yet, Michele worked on her own memorial, did what she could with her children, and wrote about her life, her doctors, her friends, family, as the disease slowly turned every breath into a struggle. She had to fight the medical community every step of the way, as the disease continued to turn her internal organs into stone.

How do we proceed?   Does any of us hold a Doctorate in Public Health? How do we proceed to get the attention of the medical community? How do we proceed? I continue to write letters, and be ignored.   I sent a letter to a doctor here in town, he is mentioned in one of Suzanne Somers books as a surgeon who turned away from surgeries for excessive sweating to a more natural remedy. NOTHING, no response.

What should we do to be heard?

Help us fight to be heard, fight with us to be treated for our medical disease/disorder.  We deserve this.  Write you story on living with Hyperhidrosis, we are still in the, Dark Ages and will continue to be if we don’t stand our ground and help raise awareness.  You can send your story to Anne, Beverly, Denise, kimberly in our friendly forum, we can keep it all confidential but our little voices, can make one BIG ONE.  So please help.

Denise

If you have problems with groin sweating, please visit Denise’s website www.coolwrapps.com

Hello all,

I have been asking for members help to try and get the awareness out for all to see and to encourage a guest blog on a day in their lives or a certain story you can share with us that shows what it is like.

I came up with the perfect title and many have agreed with me that it is perfect…how much has treatment really changed in the last 10 years?!  Not much.  ETS is less and being banned in certain countries around the world. 

I would love to feature your story and let people see how we suffer from this awful affliction.

Think about it and get writing

Our first guest blog is our very own Denise, she is such a talented lady and an amazing friend.  Denise also invented the Wrapps,  www.coolwrapps.com which have saved many of us from embarrassing situations.   Denise is a very talented writer also, enjoy.

The Dark Ages, Living with Hyperhidrosis

For many of us, we have discovered that most health care providers are wholly unable to understand what it is to be the patient. Largely because, they are the Doctor and have spent years of their lives learning about body parts. Sadly, that is reflected in treatment of the current ailment, sprained ankle, migrain headache, or broken bone that necessitated your visit. You are simply a body part, to be attended to. The whole person insignificant. This is the American way; to treat pregnancy as a disease; while we have managed to turn our birth rate into one that rivals any third world nation in the world. How did things come to be this way? Moreover, is there anything we do to change it? It will be an uphill battle, but having lived for as long as you have with Hyperhidrosis, can you think of any better training?

A while back, Dr. Oz did another segment on hh. The advise to those of us suffering from HH was simple: “wear a little extra deoderant and don’t worry about it.”   Though I had sent Dr. Oz an email on a previous occasion, this was too much. I wrote  Dr. Oz a letter asking him to please refrain from doing any more segments on HH.   I asked Dr. Oz how many times in a day did he advise the application of deoderant on the scalp, back, back of the knees, etc.   Explained to Dr. Oz that I understood he did not believe in HH.

I had a doctor (here where I live,) who did not believe in depression, and refused to write me a prescription for antidepressants.   I understand Dr. Oz does not believe in HH, this other doctor did not believe in depression. But it is still hurtful to those of us who suffered from either, or both.   So please stop doing segments on HH, it is only hurting us as you do not have a clue.

I sent the letter to his TV show, in New York, and it was returned to me, unopened, with a big black question mark by my name on the return address.   I immediately looked up his work adress, and enclosed an other note on top of the unopened, returned letter about how he really knew how to make his viewers feel important, and put it back in the mail. No, I have not heard from him. I do not expect to. He is an important man, a Doctor, for crying out loud.   He does not have time to listen to his viewers, he has to do a surgery, a show. He is a busy man, much to busy to learn that he does not know what he is talking about.   Why should he listen to his viewers or patients? We did not go to medical school, he did. And that appears to be the prevailing attitude of most doctors, the M.D. stands for Major Diety. It does not, and I am so tired of this attitude. The medical community can not even decide if drinking coffee is good or bad for us, for crying out loud. Why do doctors have the right to decide which disease they believe in, or treat? Why? This I do not know.   I do know, that it is difficult to find a decent doctor, one that will listen. And if it takes raising our voices to be heard, or voting with our feet, each of us must decide which course of action to take.

Denise

Denise, we feel your pain and know how frustrating this is, how about you get in touch with my good friend Dr Danial Carrasco.  He was the only one who fully knew about living with HH, his brother suffers from this disease and he was patient and understanding.  He also trains other Doctors about Hyperhidrosis.  I doubt I will ever find another Dr so understanding again.

Dr Carrasco is our Doctor on board, if you have private questions to ask him in regards to your Hyperhidrosis PM myself, Anne, Beverly, Denise or Kimberly and we will make sure he gets your questions.
The Dark Ages is open for all comments and if you want to feature your guest blog, please let me know on the forum or our Sweaty Betty FaceBook page and we can make this happen.

Lots of little voices can make one huge voice, lets get heard and lets make a difference.

One of our members Al brought this to my attention, and we thank you for this.

However, as she said, “was my ETS in vain after reading this?”  She suffers badly from many complications from this surgery he whole life has changed since that dreadful day!  

It makes me think will this change how the world see’s excessive sweating caused by Hyperhidrosis or is it just another flash in the pan and a fashionable trend?
We are going to open up a debate about this and would love your thoughts on this.  Would you take this pill and want to smell like Roses or flowers?    I guess you can choose a sent, could it be as simple as this?  It is not the miracle we were hoping for on the Sweat Front!  Will that pill ever be available for us to remain dry without using one for a different medical problem but have the nasty side effects that go along with them??? 
We have to keep the dream alive and  here at VSB  we are on a mission to help raise awareness, join our Hyperhidrosis Awareness Campaign. 
Thoughts on this please and lets get this debate going, join us in the forum or on our FB page, Sweaty Betty.

Copied from ABC News, to read more please visit their site.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/pill-future-turn-sweat-perfume/story?id=14819832

Those sweat stains could be the equivalent to a spritz of cologne if Lucy McRae’s research pans out.

McRae, an artist based in the Netherlands, hopes to create Swallowable Parfum, a perfume that can be ingested through a capsule and emitted through perspiration.

The pill is still in the research phase with no scheduled release date as McRae works with synthetic researcher, Sheref Mansy, to develop a prototype.

“My main aim is to provoke and make people think in a completely different way about how make-up can be [used] in the future,” said McRae.

The 31-year-old was inspired to develop the line after watching a documentary on Ray Kurzweil, a computer engineer who won the National Medal of Technology and who has written numerous books about how machines will shape the future.

Swallowable Parfum

Lucy McRae is developing pill that turns… View Full Size

George Preti, a scientist at the Monell Center which specializes in taste and smell, says pills that claim to change body odor similar to Swallowable Parfum are often not effective due to the body’s digestion process.

“How much of what they do that will make it through the digestive process and [into] the blood remains to be seen,” said Preti. “A lot of things will get taken apart in the acid in the stomach.”

Since taking a daily dose of perfume isn’t yet possible, McRae is staying with her scent of choice, Mona Di Orio, applied with a traditional spritz.

McRae’s Swallowable Parfum is the latest in a trend of cosmetic companies attempting to reduce beauty regimens to pill form. In recent years companies such as Heliocare and Murad have released pills that claim to provide sun protection. However these pills do not provide the same protection as traditional sunblock.