My experience with using Botox for hyperhidrosis, excessive sweating in my feet, at Claraderma in St. Catharines including cost, pain, and effectiveness.
What Is Hyperhidrosis?
If you’re reading this, you probably already know. If you’re just learning about hyperhidrosis let’s dig in a bit. It’s pretty simple: hyperhidrosis is a disorder characterized by excessive sweating in localized areas of the body such as hands, feet, or underarms or the entire body. It affects 3% to 5% of individuals and can impact the quality of life for those living with hyperhidrosis including their confidence, social and emotional wellness.
Let me tell you, life with excessive sweating may not seem like the worst scenario but it’s truly isolating and leads to a lot of self-consciousness. I remember planning my wedding around my excessive sweating.
Generally, hyperhidrosis is prominent in a focal area or generalized all over the body. I’m a bit of an anomaly and see excessive sweating in my hands and my feet. I also could characterize my excessive sweating as QUITE excessive leading to dripping sweat.
Botox is a proven treatment for hyperhidrosis by interrupting the signal from the nerves to the sweat glands.
Is Botox for Hyperhidrosis Covered Under Insurance?
Yes, many private insurance companies cover the cost of therapeutic Botox for hyperhidrosis.At Claraderma, the clinic helped me navigate working with my insurance company to navigate my coverage.
You don’t need to contact your insurance company prior to your appointment! When you arrive for your appointment, you will complete a form with your private insurance information and Claraderma will submit it on for you! Your first treatment is always covered by your private insurance, apart from the injection fee (see below) and you’ll receive a letter from your insurance company about whether future treatments will be covered.
How Much Does Botox for Hyperhidrosis Cost?
If you have insurance through a private company a significant portion of the cost can be covered. At Claraderma if you are insured you pay the injection fee which is approximately $155.
If you do not have insurance, the cost of Botox for hyperhidrosis is about $700.
Does Botox get rid of Hyperhidrosis?
Man, I wish!!! No, unfortunately, Botox does not get rid of hyperhidrosis. Botox for hyperhidrosis can last up to 6 months so individuals may need 1-2 treatments annually.
What to Expect?
At Claraderma Botox is administered by a Medical Aesthetic Nurse by injection. For my treatment, I saw Krista and she was ah-mazing.
There are a few steps involved prior to the injections to help the nurse make injections into the sites of excessive sweating. This includes applying a numbing cream to lessen the pain, then using an iodine corn starch test to the area of concern using, simply, iodine and corn starch. When applied, sweat will turn the area purple and will serve as an injection guide to make sure all the sweat glands are targeted.
- Pictured right is Nurse Krista applying iodine corn starch as a test.
- Sweat turns Purple during the corn starch test to serve as an injection guide.
- The injection guide ensures that all sweat glands have been targeted.
So, what does Botox DO? Once the nurse outlines an injection guide, Botox is injected directly into a muscle and the nerve signal is a block from reaching the sweat gland, eliminating the production of sweat.
After the treatment, you can expect to see some mild discomfort and bruising. You’ll see results between 5 days and 14 days for the full results to be seen.
Is Botox for Hyperhidrosis Painful?
In short, yes – think about it, needles are being injected into your underarms, face, hands or feet. It doesn’t feel good. BUT it varies from person to person based on severity and pain tolerance.
I’m going to be straight with you. My treatment was extremely painful. I had Botox to treat hyperhidrosis in my feet and, as noted, I have extremely excessive sweating. When the Iodine Corn Starch test was done it showed my sweating, which was a lot, was also on the top of my feet. With that in mind, there is a lot of tender skin, a whole lot of nerves, and A LOT of areas to cover to ensure all the sweat glands were targeted. In total, my treatment used two vials of Botox so there were a number of needles.
For me, with how impacted my life is by my excessive sweating, it was completely worth it.
Since My Treatment
Since my treatment three weeks ago I’ve noticed a significant decrease in the sweating in my feet – that’s including during a heatwave!! I’m able to wear shoes I love and my confidence and self-esteem have improved now that I’m not constantly worrying about people noticing how sweaty I am or that I’ve left sweaty footprints on their floors.
Written By: Mandy Cavasin
Other References
https://www.claraderma.com/site/therapeutic-botox-treatments-wellness
https://dermatology.ca/public-patients/skin/hyperhidrosis/
https://www.canadianskin.ca/hyperhidrosis
