VerySweatyBetty.com

Hello all, we have been talking and helping a young Gentleman who is currently making a new Iontophoresis machine.   This could mean a better future for us all, less suffering from our dreaded Hyperhidrosis.  If you can please take a few minutes out of your day to fill out the on-line survey.  

Remember….our little voices can make ONE BIG ONE and help raise the awareness on living with this skin disease.

Let me introduce you to a wonderful young man,

Hello, My Name is Mark Gamwell and I thank you for this opportunity,

I am a fourth year Product Design student at Loughborough University. As part of my final year I must undertake an in-depth design project.
After careful thought and consideration, my choice of final year project has been greatly influenced by the experience of one of my friends who has suffered for several years from hyperhidrosis. Having been present at one of their iontophoreses treatments at an NHS hospital, I thought that the equipment used could have been designed in a more user friendly manner; however the treatment was very effective and relieved their symptoms greatly.

I am going to design and develop an iontophoreses machine that would be primarily used by people at home as well as in hospitals. I am now looking to conduct in-depth user research to help me develop a comfortable and user focused product.

My main areas of development from my initial research will be:
•User comfort during use.
•User’s ability to control while treating their hands.
•How information is displayed and user interaction.
•Allow for easier storage.
•Reduce cost whilst providing a quality product.

To ensure that I can design a product that addresses real user needs and desires, I need to gain first hand research from people who own and use these machines in their everyday life.
I want to find out what you like and enjoy about the machine you use, what you dislike and what really annoys you when using it.
The more information I can gather on how everyone interacts and uses their machine, the better understanding of what it is that really needs to be addressed in my redesign.
I really hope that with lots of support I can design a product that will be able to make a real difference and possibly allow me to approach the current manufacturers with a new and innovative idea that could possibly become a manufactured product that will go on sale.

Kind regards,

Mark Gamwell

Undergraduate Industrial Designer

Loughborough university
Loughborough Design School

The Survey.

http://www.esurveyspro.com/Survey.aspx?id=cc3a1b21-c454-4c1a-af13-0f22d07d628c

The third in our series of guest blogs from our forum members.  Today it’s from Vicki.

My Hyperhidrosis Story – Vicki
I’m Vicki – 29 and USED to be a sufferer of Palmar (hands), Plantar (feet) and Axillae (underarm) Hyperhidrosis but after having ETS surgery I am now a Generalised sufferer (every part of my stupid body). Here’s a shortened down Day in The Life of a Hyperhidrosis Sufferer. I hope you enjoy or find it an interesting read.

Oh god, its only 3am and not only is my face stuck to the pillow (and no it’s not slobber), but my back has drenched the sheet from the mounds of sweat. But oh no, its bad enough that the sheet is wet, but now it’s cold due to being so wet. My feet are hanging out in the ice cold to try and calm the sweating, my body is underneath the duvet to try and keep warm my hair is stuck to my face so I reach for a bobble and some grips to tie and grip it back…. finally after an hour, I drift back to sleep..

Alarm goes off at 6am, as per usual my entire body is soaked even though the room is freezing (I can’t win). Go to bathroom, have a wash etc etc. Go back to bedroom, start to apply make up to cover up my badskin due to sweating, not without my forehead and upper lip sweating making an unwelcome appearance, just in time to run my newly applied foundation….don’t know why i bother. The stress of this then starts the back of my knees off. Just standing here wanting to apply a bit of foundation causes the waterwork choas. So it goes on, my heart rate increases as I worry about the running of the tap on the back of my knees, so as not to be left out, my feet and armpits kick off! Yeah cheers for that BODY!!!

I rush to find some cotton socks/pop socks, tights….well anything to cover my feet up which have also joined in on the party. By this time, I have 10 minutes to get changed and let my dog out!

Phew, 7am set off for work. Seat Belt got stuck for a split second, so off started the armpits just to show their frustration….why, is beyond me! Not as if they can do anything about the seatbelt! Get to work, set up the nursery but as usual the water situation doesn’t like much movement, so off it all goes! Stand in kitchen and prepare the breakfast ensuring to keep drying my hands (that knife can get quite slippery in a wet hand)!

Oh no, a child wants to hold my hand…..quick quick hands are wet, think……decide to hold out the one finger and quickly sit down so not questions can be asked why 1. i put one finger out and 2. its wet!

Finish work, go to an appointment. As usual the quick transition from workplace to car transpires in an all over sweat. Calm down on the way. Get to appointment but as always the waiting room is roasting. Seriously I’m sure I’ve walked into a Sauna! Sit by the door to be able to get some fresh cold air. Woman complains about door being left open, whilst watching me dab tissue on my head and clench it in my hands.

Get home, stroke the dog but not without coming away looking like her as her hairs have stuck to my hands!! Start getting ready for a night out. Oh here goes, as soon as I want to apply make up the taps are turned on!!! Same old cycle just a different day! Make sure I find those tights!!! Get myself out but I dont know why I bother to have a nice fringe as I only spend most of the night with tissue stuck to my forehead (and I have pics to prove it)! Oh hang on, where are those grips I put in my bag in preparation for this happening!

It could be Summer or Winter but you will always find me in socks, tights or popsocks as they seem to be the only thing that will give the sweat a run for its money (on rare occasion). I shouldn’t have to cover my poor feet all day every day, 365 days of the year but if its the one and only small thing, which helps to calm my Hyperhidrosis, then that’s what i’ll have toi live with for the rest of my life. I’ll be glad when I’m a granny and its normal to wear pop socks all the time

The second in the series of guest blogs from our forum members.

Stephanie NS

I’ve been looking through your stories and some made me laugh or wanna cry because I’ve been going through the same stuff for years. It can be so humiliating at times… the face shiny with sweat, clothes darkened with sweat patches, wet spots when you stand up, etc… I can honestly say one moment of total horror turned into something funny (though it’s hard to admit to anyone that though I’m laughing I’m super ashamed).. It happened during my wedding last summer. I was dreading being in front of people with HH making me look awful, but I just sucked it up and did my best. I can’t wear much make up because I’d just sweat it off so I just washed my face put on some eye-liner and lip balm and a little aloe vera gel that was supposed to keep my skin cool. No coffee or food before the ceremony because that can trigger a flood for me. It wasn’t super hot that morning and for that I was thankful. On the way to city hall I made sure the air-con was turned up high in the car and I took deep breaths and cleared my mind to calm down.

Everything was going great until I sat down in the wedding room next to my fiancé, within 5 minutes I could feel it starting. Slowly my nose and forehead started getting wetter and wetter, I had no hanky or anything. Just my bouquet and fiancé (neither of which wipe up sweat so good). Since I was a distance from the guests I just tried to inconspicuously use my finger tips in what I was praying looked like me fixing my hair or scratching or something of the sort. But it didn’t stop in spite of the room being air conditioned. I whispered to my fiancé asking if he had a hanky. But no, he didn’t… And then because obviously they noticed me wiping, my brother in law stood up and offered me his hanky. I could have died of shame! I took it gratefully and dabbed at my nose first and then my forehead though I really just wanted to wipe my whole face back and forth (I wonder how that would have looked in the video!). And then here is where it got weird for me, the lady officiating our wedding got me a whole box of tissues and said it was ok for me to cry and I quote “it’s ok, you can cry a river because it’s your big day”.

It took a moment to hit me then I realised that the way I was wiping the sweat off my nose looked like I was wiping tears from my eyes so everyone thought I was crying.lol I guess that’s better than them thinking what an icky sweaty bride I was. Not to mention that even if they said it I wouldn’t have understood because I got married in the Netherlands to a Dutchman and most of his family speak only Dutch. The ceremony was bilingual because my Dutch isn’t so good yet. So I worried that if they commented about the sweat it would go right over my head. And in the wedding video it really does look like I’m wiping off tears. Only my husband knew what was up. At some point during the ceremony my face didn’t sweat so much but my hands just got worse and very cold and I started worrying about standing up and having my silk ivory dress a shade darker around my behind, my husband must have seen my worry because he took my hand, sweat and all and said it would be ok. It was ok (no wet butt) after the ceremony when I shook hands with lots of people starting with the official she commented that my hands were freezing and maybe they should have turned the air-con down (I was thinking hell no, I’ll melt!).

HH has embarrassed me for most of my life and it almost ruined my wedding day (I was seriously contemplating taking a break in the middle of my vows to get cool and dry… how would that have looked?lol) but thank God for people thinking I was crying instead because now that it’s in the past I can laugh at it and not feel super bad. I’d like to say that after that day I got over the fear of being in front of people even with my HH but honestly, HH still controls a lot of stuff in my life, from where I sit in a room to if I go out to parties or talk to people or shake hands. When I was younger I used to be so confident, talking to a room full of people or being the centre of attention wasn’t a big deal, but since the HH started and has progressively gotten worse I’m too ashamed to do things that involve other people looking at me. I feel like it’s robbing me of control over my life. Do you guys feel the same sometimes?

Sorry for the super long post but I was just dying to vent for the first time in my life to people who know just how much this sucks.

This is the first in our series of guest blogs from our forum members.

My Hyperhidrosis Story – Karen

A few years ago I knew something was wrong. I was sweating all the time, even if it was cold or snowing. Later I found out that I had groin hyperhidrosis. I went to my primary doctor and I got the “deer in the headlights” look because he had no idea what to do with me. I went to my gynecologist (because I had no idea to go to a dermatologist because of the location of my sweating), he tried to help but had never deal with it before. It has gotten worse and worse since it started.

Since I have no insurance, before I really found out about what treatments there are out there, I have (and still do) gone as far as to use a long kitchen towel as sort of a “sweat diaper” so my clothes do not get soaked. I only wear black shorts (which makes my husband VERY angry) and dark colored clothing to work.

As you can imagine, this is very hard to deal with, and my severe depression has definitely gotten worse. I have had Botox treatment 4 different times and that has not helped. I am currently on Oxybutnin but cannot see a real difference.

I am using Drioff gel which is helping a little. I want to find out what the “miracle drug” is going to stop this altogether. What did I do to deserve this? I have many other pre-existing conditions, I don’t want to deal with this one too.

Karen

I posted this a week or so ago and it still stands, volunteers are needed for the below study – a new treatment for axillary hyperhidrosis. Do look into it to see if you may be eligible, it may just be an answer to your sweating. Do remember to ask questions, for example Compensatory Sweating.

If this is for you and you have the procedure done, please let us know your story, as ever, this will help other people.

Don’t forget, everything you say to us is anonymous automatically, unless you give express permission for us to use your name.

______________________________________

Research Study Using a Radiofrequency (RF) Device to Treat Excessive Underarm Sweating

Volunteers are needed to participate in a research study that utilizes a non-invasive radiofrequency (RF) device to treat excessive underarm sweating.

Eligible participants must be male or female between the ages of 20 and 65 years of age, must be in good health, and must not be pregnant.

The Study consists of one to two treatments and three additional follow-up visits and lasts approximately 7 months.

Treatment will be provided at no charge.

For more information on the Study,
please contact Dennell Krzyzanowski at (510) 780-4680

Recently there has been a spate of vicious internet trolling and all sorts of rubbish about both Very Sweaty Betty and myself.

I understand there are rumours from a hyperhidrosis society that both Anne and I are millionaires and scamming people. I’d like to know how we are supposed to have done all that, considering nobody gives us any money except our sponsors who help to keep these pages on the internet. Anne and myself (and all VSB staff) have always given our time and expertise for free and it’s only during the last 18 months that we’ve been able to gain sponsorship that means we’re no longer funding the site through our own pockets.  Even though we are now lucky enough to have sponsorship, we still give our time time and knowledge as before – for free.  Every penny of our sponsorship is 100% for raising awareness of this disease and always will be.

As a final note, I live in the tiniest house you’ve ever seen. Everything I do is as and when I can due to over 35 different and debilitating health diagnoses. I ‘do’ VSB to keep me sane and have something to focus my brain on. If I had a million pounds I would be getting someone to mow the lawn and tidy up my garden as it’s a proper mess right now!

The other trolling is to me and comes from twitter. The person who’s been doing this found out I’m linked with VSB and has thought it very funny to ‘out’ me as being a ‘self confessed stinker pmsl’ because I disagreed with him on a topic. True to troll form, he has at least a dozen accounts to troll/terrorise people on, you only have to look at VSB’s twitter account to see this vile persons disgusting rubbish. I’ve removed my account (life’s too short to consort with people like that) but apparently there’s a poster, a placard and booklet of tweets that he disagrees with, on it’s way to the media – presumably The Sun newspaper on their ‘out a troll’ vigilante campaign. No, I’m not a troll but I understand classic troll behaviour is to call everyone else a troll when they disagree.

This has been bothering me for days, I feel a bit better now I’ve got it off my chest

Troll website – what they are and what we can do about trolls.

Stay safe and don’t feed the trolls xx

Research Study Using a Radiofrequency (RF) Device to Treat Excessive Underarm Sweating

Volunteers are needed to participate in a research study that utilizes a non-invasive radiofrequency (RF) device to treat excessive underarm sweating.

Eligible participants must be male or female between the ages of 20 and 65 years of age, must be in good health, and must not be pregnant.

The Study consists of one to two treatments and three additional follow-up visits and lasts approximately 7 months.

Treatment will be provided at no charge.

For more information on the Study,
please contact Dennell Krzyzanowski at (510) 780-4680.

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.

When it comes to sweaty skin, it can become quite a nuisance if your palms or feet are sweating profusely. There are actually many reasons why the skin will sweat.
First off, there are many benefits to having sweat on the skin. Even though have sweat may seem unattractive to many, when you sweat you are releasing unwanted bacteria and toxins from your body.
If you’re an active person who likes to move around a lot or follow a exercise plan religiously, then you’re going to sweat even more, but it’s good for you to do so.

Sweat’s benefits to skin

When it comes to some of the side effects to having sweating, one of the greatest perks includes having youthful and beautiful skin.
With all of the bacteria locked and trapped in the pores of your skin, the sweat manages to wash all of the bacteria away instantly. Sweating is by far the best way to keep bacteria from getting out of control.
Some of the other great and surprising benefits of sweating is that the more you sweat, the more weight you lose, believe it or not. Many people may not realize it, but sweat also contributes to weight loss immensely.

Other benefits

Another great benefit is that sweating can also be a wonderful aide on the overall cardiovascular system. As the body begins to sweat, the heart tends to increase the circulation flow and in turn, making the body experience long-term health benefits.
Sweat contains a minimal amount of antibiotics that can help improve the skin’s overall clarity, health and texture. The benefits of sweating seem endless another one being that when you sweat, the pores become unclogged from the skin, giving your skin that soft and healthy glow.

Unfortunately, if your body sweats too much/profusely, then there is a chance that your skin will most likely age much faster than if the skin wasn’t sweating quite as much. There are ways to reduce the sweat, such as taking dietary supplements and even making a healthy and beneficial diet plan.
Sweat may not be the only method to keep your skin looking healthy and beautiful as many people opt to consult a dermatologist, this is a professional skin expert who can advise you personally on what may be best for you. Another thing that you should definitely consider doing at home is maintaining a healthy diet, as well as drinking a lot of water.

This article was written by health fanatic and freelance writer Jem. Writing from a dermatology website, he is concerned with people’s lack of knowledge when it comes to their health. You can follow Jem now to find out more on Twitter at @writerjem.

Forum link

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.