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Your body uses sweat to regulate your temperature. However, some people’s sweat glands can overwork, leading to excessive sweating. This condition is called hyperhidrosis, and it can negatively affect many aspects of your life.
MiraDry is a revolutionary option that uses microwave energy to treat hyperhidrosis. Learn more about the condition and how MiraDry can help.
Understanding Hyperhidrosis
Your body has two types of sweat glands — apocrine glands and eccrine. The apocrine glands are in your genital area and under your arms. These glands can produce odor when sweat comes into contact with bacteria. Eccrine glands are everywhere in your body, and they secrete odorless fluid.
Hyperhidrosis occurs when your sweat glands remain in the “on” position, leading to visible and uncontrollable sweating. It is not just a response to body temperature or exertion. Excessive sweating can also be a response to stress, certain foods, nervousness, or hormones.
Hyperhidrosis often results in visible sweating, which can leave you dripping wet and can make you soak through your clothes. Some people have such severe hyperhidrosis that they may need to change their clothing more than once a day.
The condition can be primary, meaning it has no obvious cause and is likely genetic, or secondary, which means medications or health conditions cause it. It can also affect just one body site (focal), or it can affect your entire body (generalized).
How MiraDry Can Help
MiraDry is a treatment option that targets the armpit area. It relies on microwave energy that we apply using a specially designed handpiece. The energy penetrates the skin where the hair follicles and sweat glands are, but it only affects the sweat glands that are about 2 to 5mm deep.
The heat from MiraDry destroys the sweat glands, not allowing them to regenerate. Because the sweat glands under your arms make up only a small portion of the total sweat glands you have, removing these doesn’t impact your body’s ability to regulate its temperature.
The MiraDry Procedure: What to Expect
The first step is to set up a consultation with us. We will assess the treatment area and ask you about your medical history. If you take medications or have any allergies, let us know. We will also offer some tips on how to prepare for the treatment, including:
- Shave your underarms four to six days before the procedure
- Stop using antiperspirants one day before the procedure
- Wear comfortable clothes
You may not be able to get MiraDry if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, use supplemental oxygen, have a heart pacemaker, or have an allergy to local anesthetics.
On the day of the procedure, we will use a local anesthetic to numb the treatment area. Once the anesthetic takes effect, we will place a temporary stencil on the skin under your arm so that we know where to apply the treatment. To avoid any pinching from the handheld piece and to create slip on the skin, we use a bit of KY jelly.
We align the tip of the handpiece on the stencil. MiraDry draws the skin gently into its tip, heating it and then cooling it as it releases it. The process repeats until both armpits are finished. Each armpit can take between 20 and 30 minutes.
We will apply antibiotic creams to protect the treatment area from infections. You will need to apply this cream a few times a day as you recover. You can also use cold compresses to minimize swelling.
At home, you may experience some swelling from the anesthetic as well as from the procedure itself. You might be able to feel small bumps under your skin for a few days, but these will begin to disappear as your body removes the damaged sweat glands. To remain comfortable, you can take over-the-counter painkillers.
You can expect the sweating in the treatment area to stop immediately after the MiraDry session, though, in some cases, people need two sessions to get the best results. It can take about a month for the area to feel back to normal.
Get Rid of Excessive Sweating
Dealing with excessive sweating can be frustrating and could even impact your self-esteem. If you are struggling with hyperhidrosis, you now have the chance to get the relief you deserve by turning to MiraDry.
At Metropolitan Vein and Aesthetic Center, we provide the assistance you need to manage this condition as well as many others. Call us to schedule a consultation.
