Axillary hyperhidrosis: local treatment with aluminum chloride hexahydrate 25% in absolute ethanol

Eleven women (group I) with axillary hyperhidrosis were treated ad modum Shelley & Hurley with local application of aluminium chloride hexahydrate 25% in absolute ethanol and plastic foil occlusion during two successive nights once a week. The patients were observed for 24 weeks. Another 12 women (group II) were treated for up to 12 weeks with aluminium chloride hexahydrate 25% in absolute ethanol but without using plastic foil occlusion. We have attempted to determine the effect of the treatment by sweat measurements, leaving the left axilla untreated during the initial 1--2 weeks as a control. An immediate reduction in sweat production of the treated axilla was found in both groups. The reduction increased during the first weeks and was maintained thereafter. The degree of sweat reduction was the same during standardized work and during rest (group II). At the final controls all patients in group I had discontinued the occlusion and had individualized the treatment, most of them using local application 1--2 times weekly. Two patients in group I had to stop the treatment because of unbearable itching. The other patients found the treatment completely satisfactory. All patients had experienced itching and smarting when starting the treatment. Often these discomforts were temporary but they seem to require active support by close medical control during the initital period of treatment. In contrast to previous investigations, effective treatment was achieved both with and without occlusion.