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What is Iontophoresis?

by | Mar 31, 2017

iontophoresis treatmentIontophoresis is a safe medical procedure in which very mild electrical currents are passed through the skin. If you are one of the millions of Americans suffering from excessive sweating problems, this could be the solution you’ve been looking for.

How Does It Work?
During the iontophoresis treatment, the affected part of your body is put in water and then given light electric shocks through an iontophoresis machine. These are able to temporarily block your sweat glands, though they made need around six to 10 treatments to do so. The procedure is not powerful enough to give you an actual shock. Most patients simply report a tingling feeling around the area being affected.

Where Does Iontophoresis Treatment Take Place?
The procedure can be done right in the doctor’s office. Your doctor will have you submerge the desired body part into a basin of water and then they will turn on the iontophoresis device. To help control excessive sweating, sessions usually last between 25 to 45 minutes. You are not expected to see results right away and may need to reschedule more appointments to continue the treatment. Your doctor should be able to work with your schedule.

Is It Safe?
Iontophoresis is a very safe procedure. Any side effects are mild and don’t last long. The most common one is the skin feeling dry. Your skin may also blister, peel, or become irritated from the shocks, but this can largely be dealt with using moisturizer.

How Effective Is Iontophoresis?
Iontophoresis treatment has been reported to be very effective in helping excessive sweating. After just a few sessions, many patients reported their sweating had decreased over time. Because of this, they needed to go in for treatments less often.

Though mostly used to treat excessive sweating iontophoresis treatment can also be used to help treat sports injuries. The only difference is some form of anti-inflammatory medicine is added to the water basin before treatment, so as not to further irritate the injury.

Iontophoresis treatment is still relatively new in the United States. However, its effectiveness and ease are quickly allowing it to gain a reputation as a viable treatment for excessive sweating. If you struggle with sweating too much, talk to your doctor about iontophoresis.

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