Botox latest treatment for sweaty underarms
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, July 20, 2004
WASHINGTON – It’s now official: Wrinkle-smoothing Botox can be injected in the armpits to curb excessive sweating.
On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved the long-expected new use of Botox, the latest in a range of conditions to be treated by this weakened form of the food-poisoning toxin that causes botulism.
People with a condition called primary axillary hyperhidrosis produce four or five times the amount of underarm sweat as is normal. There are various treatments, including powerful antiperspirants, drugs to prevent sweat gland stimulation, even surgery on those glands.
Botox apparently temporarily paralyzes a nerve that stimulates sweat glands. In one study, 91 percent of patients who received Botox underarm injections saw their sweating cut in half in a month, compared with 36 percent of patients given salt-water injections.
Patients can get additional injections every few months. The FDA cited one study that found the average duration of response was just under six months.
Side effects include injection site pain and bleeding, sweating in other parts of the body, flulike symptoms, headache, fever, itching and anxiety, FDA said.
Maker Allergan Inc. says price varies geographically, but the average cost is $750 for both arms.
