New Treatment Offers Hope For Those Suffering From Excessive Sweating

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Identical twins Jocelyn and Haley Lehotsky have the same embarrassing problem -- they sweat too much.

"We would sweat through anything. Couldn't wear, like, light clothing. You'd have sweat marks really bad," says Jocelyn.

"Presentations, too. When you get the anxiety and just make it even worse, then, and think, oh, am I sweating?" says Haley.

They have a condition called hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating. It usually happens under the arms or on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet. It affects three out of every 100 people.

"It can be made worse by things like feeling stressed or maybe feeling embarrassed, but even in moments when you're not under stress, it will just sort of occur," says Dr. Brian Horvath of Hovath Dermatology.

It can be hereditary. Less commonly, it can be from a medicine or a tumor, but the sweating tends to be all over in those cases.

The twins have tried special antiperspirants.

"You'd put it on before bed, and it would burn your armpits, or you'd get cuts from it, because it was so strong," Jocelyn said.

They also tried pills.

"With the pills, you get the dry mouth, and it's just hard to like, talk to people for extended amount of time," says Haley.

They even tried Botox.

"Botox is a very effective treatment, that stops sweating for about six months," says Dr. Horvath.

So, the need for something better and less painful led to a new option that has just come on the market -- a wipe called Qbrexa.

"That medicine actually stops the sweat glands from getting the signal to start sweating. They never sweat in the first place," says Dr. Horvath.

You would still be able to sweat in other places, so you don't overheat.

Some people still have dry eyes, even with wiping just the armpits.

In studies, it was only used under the arms.

"We have great hopes it might help with other areas, like the hands and the bottom of the feet, which are the two other most worrisome spots for sweating," says Dr. Horvath, "A lot of people have sweating at the top of their forehead. We'll have to see if we can use it in that area without having the dry eyes."

It takes three to four days of once-a-day use to become effective.

And as a new product, it is likely to be expensive.

"We don't know yet what the price is going to be of the medication, we don't know yet what the insurance coverage is going to be," Dr. Horvath says.

Even so, the twins would like to try them.

"I would definitely try it. I mean, we've tried three other things, might as well try one more. But, if it works, I mean I'd try it. It probably would be the easiest, too, to apply," says Haley.