About MiraDry Treatments for Excessive Underarm Sweating

Millions of people suffer from excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis). Hyperhidrosis can lead to many difficulties in life. It can cause anxiety at work, embarrassment in relationships and social settings, and frustration over constantly ruining clothes with sweat stains. Excessive sweat can also have devastating effects on your emotional well-being and self-image, and impact how you feel about yourself and even how others perceive you.

One of the most common areas where people deal with excessive sweat is their underarms. In fact, it is estimated that 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. is bothered by their underarm sweat. Excessive underarm sweat is a daily struggle that can interfere with nearly every aspect of your life. In fact, in a large consumer survey, underarm sweat was deemed by some to be more embarrassing than being overweight, or having acne, cold sores or dandruff.

If you have excessive underarm sweat, you may be suffering from a medical condition known as axillary hyperhidrosis. It is a condition in which the underarm sweat glands are overactive, producing much more sweat than is needed to cool the body. MiraDry is the only non-invasive technology that is FDA approved to dramatically decrease excessive underarm sweating in a long lasting manner. With MiraDry, underarm sweating can be reduced by up to 80-90% in two sessions. MiraDry is a safe and non-invasive treatment that uses precisely controlled microwave energy to permanently inactivate sweat glands. Because sweat glands don’t regenerate once they have been eliminated, the results are significant and durable.

If you think you may be suffering from axillary hyperhidrosis, MiraDry treatment with one of our board-certified dermatologists at Gateway Aesthetic Institute & Laser Center may be your answer.

What does MiraDry treatment for excessive underarm sweating involve?

Your underarms will be numbed prior to your treatment to ensure that your experience is virtually painless. The treatment itself takes about an hour and involves placing the MiraDry handpiece in a grid-like pattern over the areas where you are producing the most sweat. Immediately after treatment, ice-packs will be applied to help control swelling.

What is recovery like after MiraDry?

You can expect minimal downtime following the procedure. Your dermatologist will likely recommend a mild over-the-counter pain medication and the use of ice packs for a few days following treatment. You should be able to return to normal activities or work right after the procedure, and you can typically resume exercise within several days. Some localized soreness or swelling is normal, and typically clears within a few weeks. Some patients have temporary, short-term altered sensation in the skin of their underarms or upper arms, which gradually disappears over the course of a few weeks.

How much will MiraDry improve my excessive underarm sweating?

Most patients report a dramatic reduction of their underarm sweat – in a recent clinical study, the average underarm sweat reduction was 86% after two treatment sessions. You should see a reduction in sweat immediately after treatment. Two procedures spaced three months apart are required to maximize your results. As with any medical procedure, individual results will vary.

Don’t I need my underarm sweat glands?

No. Your body contains over 4 million sweat glands, with only about 2% located in the underarm area. Eliminating this 2% will not affect your body’s ability to cool itself.

How is MiraDry different from other treatment options for excessive sweating?

MiraDry is a noninvasive energy-based treatment that is FDA approved to treat excessive underarm sweating—it cannot be used to treat the palms, soles, scalp, or most other areas where an individual might also be grappling with hyperhidrosis. For those who are living with the inconvenience of excessive sweating affecting other areas of the body, our-board certified dermatologists can offer several other procedural and medical options for managing this condition.

Neuromodulator injections (Botox, Dysport, Xeomin, Jeuveau) have been used with great success to treat hyperhidrosis affecting the palms, soles, scalp, groin/buttocks, and area under the breasts. These injections can also be used to treat excessive underarm sweating in patients who are either not good candidates for MiraDry, or for those who do not yet feel ready to commit to MiraDry treatment. In one clinical study of axillary hyperhidrosis (underarm sweating), patients receiving Dysport injections had, on average, an 88 percent reduction in sweat production with the first treatment and showed continued improvement throughout all 48 weeks of the study. Several other published studies of neuromodulator use in other anatomic areas have also demonstrated efficacy in markedly improving hyperhidrosis. Improvements in hyperhidrosis with neuromodulator treatment are usually sustained for 6 months or more.