Excessive sweating, caused by hyperhidrosis, is disruptive and uncomfortable. Despite hyperhidrosis being a fairly common condition, it can also be really embarrassing to suffer from it. And over time, trying to hide your sweat patches beneath dark or baggy clothing becomes an exhausting daily routine.
If you’re suffering from hyperhidrosis, you’ve probably already tried conventional antiperspirant and deodorant — and you may have also used unproven (and ineffective) topical home remedies such as baking soda and lemon, coconut oil, or apple cider vinegar. And while many blogs will tell you to maintain hygiene and avoid certain foods, it’s clear that these aren’t really solutions to hyperhidrosis.
Fortunately, these days, there are a number of genuinely effective hyperhidrosis treatment options. Roughly, these are broken down into three main types:
- Clinical-Strength (aka. Prescription-Strength) Antiperspirant
- Prescription-Only Antiperspirant
- Medical Procedures, Such as Botox and Surgery
In this blog post, we’ll investigate these robust hyperhidrosis treatments; all of which are legitimate options to consider. As we’ll show, there are pros and cons to each option — from cost to invasiveness and convenience, as well as side effects and general effectiveness for stopping your excessive sweating.
Try Duradry’s 3-step solution that actually works to stop excessive sweating. Use Duradry PM at bedtime, Duradry AM in the morning, and Duradry Wash to deep clean and prepare your skin for total protection against hyperhidrosis. Get started for just $20.
1. Clinical-Strength (or Prescription-Strength) Antiperspirants
Clinical-strength simply means “stronger than conventional” — so these products will typically have a higher concentration of the usual active sweat-stopping ingredients such as Aluminum Chloride (max. 15%) or Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex (max. 20%).
There are several clinical-strength antiperspirants on the market, including Certain Dri, SweatBlock, and Dove Clinical Protection. And here, we want to introduce our own unique treatment, which is an alternative to clinical-strength antiperspirants — Duradry.
Introducing Duradry’s 3-Step Hyperhidrosis Treatment
Clinical-strength antiperspirants will often claim to be the best solution to excessive sweating, but in fact, they don’t contain the most effective active ingredients — and nor do they enhance the effectiveness of their products by adding supportive functional ingredients.
For example, clinical-strength treatments don’t use Aluminum Chloride Hexahydrate — which, by featuring the smallest molecule of all antiperspirant active ingredients, is highly effective. Our Duradry PM product contains this (strength 15%), and we combine it with Salicylic Acid — which is scientifically proven to boost performance while reducing side effects such as skin irritation.
Here’s an overview of the 3-step treatment that has given 97% of our users full dryness within 1 week:
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Duradry PM: An unscented gel that you apply before bed, containing the active ingredient Aluminum Chloride Hexahydrate (15%). Duradry PM dries quickly and works on your underarms through the night to prevent excessive sweating the following day.
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Duradry AM: An easy-to-apply antiperspirant stick with deodorant, containing enhanced efficacy Aluminum Zirconium Trichlorohydrex Glycine Superfine Powder (20%) — which further protects you against sweat during the daytime. Our special blend is highly effective against microorganisms causing body odor, providing you with 24-hour protection.
- Duradry Wash: For you to use every morning and/or evening to remove bacteria and wash away residue so Duradry AM and Duradry PM can work ultra-effectively. Packed with natural ingredients that deodorize and deep-clean your skin.
When you compare Duradry with the stronger prescription-only treatments you get from the doctor (which we dive into in the next section of this post), studies show that the 15% concentration of Aluminum Chloride Hexahydrate is just as effective as 20% — but it doesn’t irritate the skin as much.
So, when it comes to combating hyperhidrosis while looking after your skin, Duradry offers you the optimal strength. Try the 3 step system.
2. Prescription-Only Antiperspirants
Prescription antiperspirants can be very effective, but as we’ve mentioned, with greater concentrations of active ingredients (e.g. 20% of Aluminum Chloride/Hexahydrate), you have higher chances of skin irritation. And there are two obvious downsides to prescription-only treatments:
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The hassle of going to the doctor or dermatologist: The time and energy it takes to book an appointment, travel to your doctor’s office and have a conversation that you’d rather not have.
- The cost of going to the doctor: The cost of a health care visit has to be added to the cost of the treatment itself, which soon adds up — especially if you need repeat prescriptions.
Some leading prescription-only hyperhidrosis treatments include Drysol, Xerac AC, Qbrexza, and Driclor.
You can also find many of these treatments on Amazon, and in other online stores. Beware though, because it is illegal for merchants to sell prescription-only products without a prescription. While this doesn’t mean the products are fake, it does mean that the seller is breaking the law.
3. Medical Procedures for Hyperhidrosis
If you’re not satisfied with the results of conventional antiperspirants, clinical-strength antiperspirants, or prescription-only antiperspirants, the next step might be to consider more serious medical procedures to control your hyperhidrosis symptoms. However, this isn’t a decision to take lightly — as we explain below.
Let’s look at three of the most popular medical procedures for hyperhidrosis:
Method #1: Botulinum Toxin Injections (Botox) for Hyperhidrosis
Botox smoothes out wrinkles by disrupting parts of the nervous system, and this also affects the activity of sweat glands and can reduce the amount of sweating around the area where Botox is injected. As a result, botox can now be applied as a treatment for hyperhidrosis.
While botox can indeed be effective for reducing excessive sweating, there are a few key downsides:
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It’s temporary: When it does work, it only works for 4-6 months. This means that you’d need to go back and get the procedure redone again and again, which isn’t nice because...
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It’s very painful: Somewhere between 25-50 injections in each underarm are recommended to control hyperhidrosis. As the founder of Duradry, I personally know that this hurts like crazy.
- It costs a lot of money: Botox injections for hyperhidrosis cost somewhere between $800-1000, depending on which professional you choose. That adds up to at least $2000 per year, whereas a subscription to the Duradry 3-step solution special offer only adds up to roughly $200 per year.
Remember: Botox is a toxin (botulinum toxin). So, on top of the fact that it’s temporary, painful, and expensive — you’re also injecting an unnatural substance into your underarms, which shouldn’t actually be in the human body.
Method #2: Microwave Therapy (Thermal Energy) to Burn Away Sweat Glands
Microwave therapy can be used to burn away the sweat glands in your underarms. The leading provider of this treatment is miraDry, which usually costs between $2500-3500 for what should be a permanent solution to hyperhidrosis. Generally, this is an effective treatment, but there are some downsides:
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Negative side effects: In the short term, this type of treatment can cause swelling or discomfort. Sometimes, it can cause long-term numbness in and around the affected area, which can last for many months after the procedure. Occasionally, you see discoloration of the skin.
- You need an anesthetic: Naturally, it's painful to apply heat to the skin like this. So, patients need to have local anesthetic injections in their armpits, which is very painful.
Microwave therapy is recognized as an effective treatment for hyperhidrosis, but it is expensive — and you need to go through some pain and discomfort to get the desired results.
Note: Iontophoresis is another treatment option, where you use a device to run an electric current through the affected area. This is less effective for axillary hyperhidrosis (sweating from the armpits) and is most often used for the soles of the feet, and for palmar hyperhidrosis (sweating on hand palms).
Method #3: Surgery to Cut or Clamp Your Nerves
Surgical treatment involves cutting — or clamping — the nerves that control your sweat glands, which then disrupts the overactive sympathetic nervous system that has been causing your excessive sweating. This surgery is also known as Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy (ETS).
Due to the fact you go under general anesthesia, and it is an invasive procedure using keyhole surgery, it should always be a last resort for the most severe cases of hyperhidrosis. And after surgery, compensatory sweating is said to occur in 80-90% of patients — which means that your hyperhidrosis is highly likely to reoccur on a different area of your body.
Should You Consider Medical Procedures for Hyperhidrosis?
Serious procedures like these, especially surgery, should only be considered as a last resort for treating hyperhidrosis. Due to the pain, discomfort, inconvenience, and costs involved with some of these medical treatments, it doesn’t make sense to jump straight to them before trying non-invasive hyperhidrosis solutions — like Duradry’s 3-step protection system.
Summary: Hyperhidrosis Treatment Options
Effective treatment of hyperhidrosis can open up a better quality of life, where you no longer have to worry about sweat patches or body odor as you go about your daily activities. Hyperhidrosis is a medical condition, and this means conventional antiperspirants don’t cut it — but clinical strength and prescription-only products can stop excessive sweating in its tracks without any painful procedures.
Try Duradry’s 3-step solution that actually works as a hyperhidrosis treatment. Use Duradry PM at bedtime, Duradry AM in the morning, and Duradry Wash to deep clean and prepare your skin for total protection against excessive sweating. Get started today!.
