Permanently Remain Fresh? No Sweat

Note: This is an article I wrote for The New Paper on Sunday as part of my internship programme. Since the topic was of relevance to this blog, I thought I'd post it up here. Minor changes have been made to the original text, which remains the copyright of Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.




Permanently Remain Fresh? No Sweat

Botox has long been the favourite of those looking for a quickie facelift. But now, there seems to be a growing number of people who want a botox jab for an entirely different reason – to stop perspiring. In August last year, The Daily Mail reported that in Britain, up to 50,000 people a year are going for botox injections to stop excessive perspiration or to stop perspiring completely.

Dubbed Sweatox, the injection works the same way as ordinary botox, which temporarily paralyses muscles with a mild
dose of toxins. But instead of targeting muscles, it freezes sweat glands to stop them reacting to heat. Botox experts say that the treatment is sought after by those who are worried that they will drip like a melting snowman and
ruin important occasions.

Those who have hyperhydrosis, or excessive perspiration, also tend to ask for it. The California Institute of Hyperhydrosis and Facial Blushing has a more detailed explanation of hyperhydrosis.

One in 100 adults suffer from this condition, caused by an overreaction to the body’s sweat glands.

But staying cool and dry comes at a price. Each jab costs £550 ($1,500) and above per area, such as the palms or armpits. And
the injections last for up to seven months before they eventually wear off.

One of the country’s biggest chains of cosmetic surgery clinics, Harley Medical Group, said that demand for Sweatox now makes up 31 per cent of all botox treatments carried out since May last year. Botox ranks as its second most popular non-surgical procedure after laser hair removal.

In Singapore, this surgery is not as new - and not as fancily named as well.

Plastic surgeon Woffles Wu of The Woffles Wu Aesthetic Surgery and Laser Centre said that Sweatox has been available in Singapore for over six years. Here, the treatment is simply
named “botox for hyperhydrosis” or “botox for excessive sweating”.

Dr David Loh of David Loh Surgery said that the fancy name of “Sweatox” is only a brand. He has been offering the treatment for around four years.

The demand for Sweatox or botox for hyperhydrosis seems small. Dr Loh and Dr Wu estimate that they each get about 100 customers a year, but the bulk of them are repeat customers, not new ones.

Dr Loh said: “Most of our patients do not sweat excessively by any standards. It’s just a personal choice not to have to
worry about sweat stains on underarms or parts of their shirts or blouses.”

Besides Botox, there are also other ways excessive perspiration can be treated, in this case permanent solutions.

1. Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy (ETS)



ETS permanently removes nerves associated with the sweat glands.

Dr John Tan of The Vein Clinic has been doing this surgery
for almost 15 years. Dr Tan says: “Most of our patients are those suffering from excessive sweating due to stress."

“They can now get complete dryness in one permanent procedure instead of having to go for multiple treatments.”

The procedure costs around $9,000 and usually takes about 45 minutes. Patients typically make a full recovery in two days, and there are no side effects other than mild discomfort.

2. Subdermal Vaser Treatment

Another way is to go for a subdermal vaser treatment. Here, a fiber optic wire is inserted into the skin. A laser then destroys the sweat glands. This permanently stops the sweat glands in the armpits and even removes some hair follicles.

However, it is not completely effective - for example, it cannot be applied on the palms, and in some cases, the patient might perspire excessively in other areas as the body compensates for the “loss”.

The procedure costs about $2,500 and a one-time treatment has a success rate of between 60 and 80 per cent.