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Navigation for the excessive sweat / hyperhidrosis
treatment pages
Sweaty Feet - Plantar Hyperhidrosis
Many people have sweaty feet.
This is usually due to footwear - particularly nylon socks or plastic
shoes. In particular, sweaty feet tend to smell due in part to the
overgrowth of bacteria which thrive in the moist and warm conditions.
Conservative treatment of sweaty feet is usually effective by following
such advice as regular washing of feet, antiperspirants, cotton socks,
light leather or open shoes.
Fairly often this can relieve the smell to an extent but often does not
get over the moisture of the sweating and further treatment is needed.
Iontophoresis works in 80-90% of people and has no side effects.
However, many return visits are needed which does not suit some people.
Botulinum toxin is effective in many people. As the
skin on the feet is thick and multiple injections into the foot can be
painful - (30 - 50 or more might be needed on each foot for each
treatment), this cannot really be done without a brief general
anaesthetic or nerve block.
Now we use a heavy sedation/light general anaesthetic. These injections
last 4 - 9 months and we are finding more people getting relief using
this method. Further injections can be carried out, and as with all
Botulinum Toxin treatments the effects tend to last longer with second
and subsequent injections.
Sympathectomy of the lumbar sympathetic chain is possible but not
advisable. The lumbar sympathetic chain controls ejaculation in the male
and orgasm in the female - loss of these is not usually acceptable to
cure sweaty feet!
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