Help for Nervous Cowardly Democrats - Relief for Excessive Armpit Sweating

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/8/8/91508.shtml?s=he

Relief for Excessive Armpit Sweating

NewsMax.com Wires Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007

People who suffer from excessive armpit sweating may find relief with a

minimally invasive surgical procedure, a study shows.

Really sweaty 'pits, technically known as focal axillary hyperhidrosis, can

cause "serious emotional and social problems," note Dr. Falk G. Bechara and

colleagues from Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany, in the Journal of the

American Academy of Dermatology.

They treated 51 such patients with "suction-curettage" to remove sweat

glands in the armpits. The process is somewhat akin to liposuction, in that

a cannula is inserted under the skin and suction applied -- in this case to

remove sweat gland rather than fat.

Before the treatment, the quality of life of the patients was significantly

below normal, as evidenced by relatively high pre-treatment scores on a

standard index. The average score before treatment was 12, and ranged from 9

to 18.

Nine months following suction-curettage, the average score dropped to 4,

with a range of 2-8. That translates to a 63 percent improvement, Bechara

and colleagues report.

Thirty-five patients reported a sweat reduction of 75 percent or more, and

13 reported a 50-75 percent reduction.

"Patient satisfaction with the surgical procedure was high, with 78.4

percent of the patients being very or completely satisfied with

suction-curettage," the team found.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, August 2007