Hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating is a medical condition where the body produces more sweat than is necessary to cool itself. Most often people sweat excessively from 1 or 2 areas of the body: palms, feet, underarms or head while the rest of the body remains dry.
This problem can cause emotional distress and interfere with social interactions, work or daily activities. For underarm sweating, once a patient has tried any of a variety of effective over-the-counter antiperspirants, we might prescribe a prescription version or an oral medication. Botulinum toxin injections (Botox) have shown effective for hyperhidrosis in reducing sweating by about 45-50% in some patients. The benefits of Botox for excessive sweating last approximately 4-6 months at which time they would need to be repeated.
