Most people know Botox smooths forehead lines. Fewer know it has been FDA approved since 2004 for severe underarm sweating, and almost nobody in Phoenix realizes they could have been doing it every summer.
We get the same reaction every time. Wait, that is a thing?
How it works
Sweat glands fire when a nerve tells them to. Botox blocks that signal at the nerve ending, so the glands in the treated area stay quiet.
It is the same mechanism as wrinkle treatment. Different target.
Your body does not stop sweating overall. You have millions of sweat glands and we are treating a patch roughly the size of your palm on each side. Compensation elsewhere is uncommon and usually minor.
What the appointment is like
The area gets mapped, sometimes with a starch iodine test that shows exactly where you sweat most. Then a grid of shallow injections, about 15 to 20 tiny pricks per underarm.
It is quick. Twenty minutes, start to finish. The needles go just under the skin, so it is less uncomfortable than most people expect. Numbing cream or ice helps if you want it.
Standard dosing is about 50 units per underarm, so 100 units total. At $10 per unit that puts a full treatment around $1,000. Not cheap, and worth being upfront about.
When it kicks in and how long it lasts
You will notice a drop in about four to seven days, with full effect around two weeks.
Results typically run four to six months, which is longer than facial Botox. Some people get closer to nine.
Practical implication for Arizona: treat in late May and you are covered through the worst of it. Treat in July and you spent June sweating for nothing.
Other areas people ask about
Palms. Effective, but the injections hurt more and results tend to run shorter. Nerve blocks are usually part of the plan.
Feet. Same story as palms.
Scalp and hairline. Increasingly requested, particularly by people who blow out their hair or wear helmets. Works well.
Face. Possible but requires a careful hand, since the muscles that control expression sit right there.
We will talk through which of these we treat and which we would rather refer out.
Who this is for
If you are changing shirts at lunch, avoiding gray and light blue, keeping a backup in your car, or dreading a handshake, this is a real quality of life treatment and not a vanity one.
If you sweat like a normal person in a 110 degree parking lot, that is just Phoenix, and you probably do not need this.
Worth knowing before you book
Excessive sweating is occasionally a symptom of a thyroid condition, a medication side effect, or something else worth a physician's attention, especially if it started suddenly or happens at night. Our provider will ask about that history. If something does not add up, we will send you to your doctor first.
Insurance sometimes covers hyperhidrosis treatment when it is documented as a medical condition and conservative options have failed. We are not an insurance clinic, but it is worth a call to your carrier before you pay out of pocket.
Book before June
The two week onset means late May is the right time.
