More treatment options for focal excessive sweating?
If normal antiperspirants do not work, your doctor may advise an antiperspirant that contains aluminium chloride. This is a 'strong' antiperspirant. It is thought to work by blocking the openings of the sweat ducts. It tends to work best in the armpits. However, it may also work for sweating of the palms and soles. Although it may also work on the face, some doctors do not recommend using this on the face as it may cause severe eye irritation if it gets into an eye.
There are several brands of aluminium chloride based antiperspirants. For example: Driclor® and Anhydrol Forte® come in a bottle with a roll-on applicator. ZeaSORB® is a dusting powder that contains aluminium chloride. You can buy these at pharmacies. Some are also available on prescription. It is important to use aluminium chloride based antiperspirants correctly. Read the instructions that come with the product you use. These usually include the following:
- Apply to clean, dry skin. (It is more likely to cause irritation on wet or moist skin.) Therefore, wipe the skin dry with a towel or dry flannel before applying. Some people use a hair dryer to make sure the skin is dry before applying.
- Ideally, apply at night (bedtime) when the sweat glands are less likely to be as active.
- Wash it off the next morning.
- Do not shave the area 24 hours before or after use.
- Avoid getting it in the eyes, and do not apply on broken or inflamed skin.
- Some doctors do not recommend that you apply this treatment to your face.
- Apply every 24-48 hours until the condition improves. Then apply once every 1-3 weeks, depending on response. (It may take a few weeks to build up its effect. This is because it is thought to gradually clog up the sweat gland which causes a gradual reduction in sweating.)
- If successful, treatment can be continued indefinitely. You may only need to apply it once every 1-3 weeks to keep the sweating under control.
Note: aluminium chloride antiperspirants often cause skin irritation or inflammation. If this occurs, it is often still worth persevering if the irritation is tolerable as the benefit may outweigh the irritation. To reduce the effects of any skin irritation or inflammation that may occur:
- Reduce frequency of use, and/or
- Apply an emollient (moisturiser) every day after applying the aluminium chloride, and/or
- Apply a short course of a mild steroid cream such as hydrocortisone 1% to the affected area twice daily for a maximum of 14 days. (Steroid creams reduce inflammation.)
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