Immediate Reduction in Sweat Secretion With Electric Current Application in Primary Palmar Hyperhidrosis

W e present herein data showing for the first time to our knowledge that dry iontophoresis rapidly induces anhidrosis during current application in individuals with hyperhidrosis. This finding provides a novel experimental model for evaluating treatments of hyperhidrosis and determining their mechanism of action. Tap water iontophoresis, during which the patient’s hands are soaked in shallow pans of tap water, sometimes with drugs added (usually anticholinergic agents), has been in wide use for several decades, although little is known about its mechanism of action. While studying iontophoretic delivery of botulinum toxin to the palms of patients with hyperhidrosis, we noted that dry current alone induced relative palmar anhidrosis.