WebMD Medical News Laura J. Martin, MD Feb. 23, 2011 --
Electricity alone may be enough to zap sweaty palms and
temporarily relieve excessive sweating caused by hyperhidrosis.
A new study shows that applying a small electric current to the
wrists of people with the disorder kept their hands dry during
treatment. Researchers say tap water iontophoresis, which
involves placing hands in a container of tap water charged with
an electric current, has been a common treatment for
hyperhidrosis for many years. But the results of this study
suggest that the tap water may be unnecessary and a dry electric
current alone may be an effective treatment for sweaty palms.
“These results imply that tap water in traditional iontophoresis
may play no other part than acting as conductor for current,”
researcher Kave Shams, MBChB, of Monklands Hospital in Airdrie,
Scotland, and colleagues write in the Archives of Dermatology.
“This suggests that far less bulky iontophoresis machines
requiring less space and resources could also b