Homemade Iontophoresis device

Hi,

I've spent a considerable amount of time on these and similar forums over the past few weeks looking at options for my extreme palmar and plantar hyperhidrosis. I'd also hoped for an alternative to dropping $700 on Fischer's Md-1a since my insurance company isn't interested in helping out. So, after looking at the features of several popular models I decided that I might be able to build one myself. After doing an experiment with some batteries and wiring to test the principle I decided to move forward on a reusable table-top model. I'm now happy to report that despite a few bugs and tweaks that I have left, the device is functional. Due to the nature of having someone stick their hand into current supplied by a machine that they built, I'm rather wary of posting the how-to instructions. But, I thought I should at least throw the offer out there to see if there was a strong enough response. If nothing else, I may post a battery powered option as opposed to my plug-in model.

Ultimately, you can construct it without special skills or tools, using electronic parts available at Radioshack and certain online sites (less expensive) for less than $75 dollars. It has an on/off switch, led status light, deep and large treatment baths, current output display, and a current adjustment knob. Presently, I'm having a problem with switching the polarity but that can be accomplished manually via the trays anyway.

Let me know what you all think.

I think it's great, but why develop your own machine and take on that kind of liability when there are so many tested products out there?

I guess that I don't see any risk for personal use. The $700-$1000 devices all simply deliver DC current through stainless or aluminum plates in tapwater. Since there's nothing special going on there, why pay a premium? I realize that licensing and getting approval on such a device is part of why their prices are so high, but look at Drionic, which is available for much less money, and underwent the same legal processes. It would be more prevalent if they had paid any attention to design.

Best of luck with it. You sound like you're pretty passionate about the endeavor.

Having personal experience with Hyperhidrosis will definitely give you a leg up.

Just wanted to post a progress report. I finished the device and followed a regimen I'd seen posted during the latter weeks of December; something like treatments on Days 1, 2, 4, 7, 11, 16, 22. I treated my hands at 10mA for 10 minutes and then another 10 at reversed polarity. By Day 16, my hands were completely dry, and this is coming from someone who had a serious daily problem with hyperhidrosis. I waited to see how long it would take for the symptoms to return instead of treating again one week later. Well, one day after the 1 week point the symptoms began to trickle back in. I'd actually almost forgot about monitoring the condition for that week because it no longer affected my life. After seeing the symptoms return I treated that night and will hit it a few more times to get back to the weekly efficacy rate. Good luck to eveyone else, this seems to be working!

Good stuff steel36. I'd love to see some pictures of the finished product.

Best of luck with it!

Hi, I am from Singapore. Have posted a few enquiries on purchase of Ionto machine which not available here in Singapore. So far no luck.

After reading all these posts in the various forums, it seems to me that constructing one yourself is possible. I am keen to share my product and would greatly appreciate any contribution.

Other than the 2 plastic trays, I will use 2 stainless steel plate as the electrode or conductors for the base. The cable/wire to link to the 2 stainless steel plate can be attached to 2 standard clips from the power source.

The key component of this device is the power source. I will use a battery holder that has 2 connection wires. I intend to use a 12 volt battery holder. The red output wire will be connected in series with a LED light and then a variable resistor before connecting to 1 of the stainless plate. The black directly to the other stainless steel plate. The batteries can be AA rechargeable type. (battery is preferred due to safety although we can also use an adaptor to step down from 240 or 120 volt AC)

Assuming the resistance of our body submerge in water is 1 Kohm, the current deliver by the 12 volt battery will be 12 mAmps max. With the variable resistor, we can reduce the current to the plates to between 4 to 12 mAmps.

To further protect our skin from direct contact with the stainless steel plates, we can add 2 pieces of plastic sheet above the plates.

Any comments?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc0pj2tf6_4

Posted wrong link before.

Hi etsveteran, the site you pointed out is how you can modify the Drionic machine from DC to AC. I read somewhere they now come in AC already?

Back to home-made machine. The key factor is the votage to apply. I tested 24 volt dc at 300 mA, no effect. The Drionic works on 9 volts. Surely the circuit board may have amplified the voltage somewhat.

I am now trying out using a standard electronic pluse massage machine to generate the current into 2 trays. The machine operates using 2 numbers of 1.5 volts AAA batteries. Therefore, the total voltage is only 3 volts. If you have used such a machine before, you wil know the effect when you adjust the intensity to max. This shows that the circuit board inside the machine does amplified the voltage somewhat.

Anyone out there care to comments?

Hi, I have posted this on other sites and just wanted to share with as many as possible.

This gentleman has posted on youtube on how to make your own iontophoresis device. Check this out, it is useful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc0pj2tf6_4#EseczMf6hsY

I have tried using 24 volt adaptor and it works. Now I am trying out to see if iontophoresis can cure my HH. Frankly, this is about passing current through you body through you palms. Whatever machine out there, I guess it is just the amount of current.

Hope I am right and should I have any result, I will share here.

Hi, I always believe we should share good things. I suffered HH for so many years, and since now I am able to control it, I really hope others with similar problem can also benefit.

After working on this home-made machine, I just want to tell people out here that it works! Of course if such device is availabe in your country and you can afford it, please buy one.

Some key points when you made your own device you got to take note.

Do not go beyond 30 mA or 0.03 ampheres. Therefore, it is safe to try out from 9 to 24 volts. That is, start with 9 and if you think you can take a higher current, move to the next level which is 12 volt.

It is not the voltage that kills, but more the current. Most household breakers are protected by 0.03 amperes. To be real safe, use rechargeable batteries.

You should also reverse the polarities every 15 mins. The main reason is, your body will act like a capacitor. after a while, the current flow will be restricted. The polarity change will ensure your body discharge the stored voltage and allow current to flow through again.

Hope the above information helps.

Thanks for the information Bukitimah. Are your hands dry even in stressful situations? What about the finger-tips?

Hey, sorry to bump this up, but its important.

I've tried everything (for my homemade device), changing the water source, changing from plastic to metal plates, changing the alligator clips... and now recently I kept track of the amperage, it never rose above 4ma, no matter what I did... at 24 Volts is the max I tried. I need to know what to do, i havbe been quite active in reading up about iontophoresis, and the different devices, which are all regulated by mA. I am sure I need atleast 10 ma to even do any good, how do I achieve this? Any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated. I've been at this for too long to just stop.


THANKS!

skillzx3 said:

Hey, sorry to bump this up, but its important.

I've tried everything (for my homemade device), changing the water source, changing from plastic to metal plates, changing the alligator clips... and now recently I kept track of the amperage, it never rose above 4ma, no matter what I did... at 24 Volts is the max I tried. I need to know what to do, i havbe been quite active in reading up about iontophoresis, and the different devices, which are all regulated by mA. I am sure I need atleast 10 ma to even do any good, how do I achieve this? Any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated. I've been at this for too long to just stop.


THANKS!

Click to expand...

hi, skillzx, although I myself really don't know why we couldn't get high mA with our homemade device, I suggest you to purchase a cheaper commercial device, such as Drionic. its design is poor, however, as I know, many people still got dryness with it.

I have been using my idromed 4 dc for 13 days, I still havn't got the satisfactory result.

good luck

hey ultrafrost. are you certain that the iontophoresis is working? Are you sure its just not the weather, and also how much mA are you now using... If I were you, I'd try the maximum if I could handle it, having sweaty hands myself, I know the pain would be worth it. And do you think connecting 62 volts would be a good idea to reach the mA? and one more question, what are the risks of connecting my 24DC adapter to 6VDC batteries to acheive more voltage... would this be some major electrical problem?

skillzx3 said:

hey ultrafrost. are you certain that the iontophoresis is working? Are you sure its just not the weather, and also how much mA are you now using... If I were you, I'd try the maximum if I could handle it, having sweaty hands myself, I know the pain would be worth it. And do you think connecting 62 volts would be a good idea to reach the mA? and one more question, what are the risks of connecting my 24DC adapter to 6VDC batteries to acheive more voltage... would this be some major electrical problem?

Click to expand...

I have no idea about the voltage, but the commercial device really give me much more stronger current than the homemade one. the max output of my commercial device is 25mA, however, I have not done that yet. 20mA is strong enough to cause serious irritation on my hands. I usually did my treatments at 16-18mA, my palms and those area between my fingers still got some redness, blister etc. so, I have to use cream to protect those area.

as for the effectiveness of iontophoresis, I'd say that the frequency of my sweat is definetely reduced, but not 100% satisfactory. I still keep doing my treatment, I just received a message from another people who have severe HH. he told me that he did the treatments for over 4 weeks, no results, then He gave it up. surprisingly, 3 or 4 days after his last treatment, his hands sweat stopped. I think I will try to do the treatment for 1 month to see what would happen.

I personally don't recommend you to try 62 volts adapter. though I am not an electrician, I think that would be dangerous. why not to buy a cheaper drionic? the total sums of the money you spent on your homemade device is larger than buying a drionic.

good luck.

I will report my iontophoresis results soon.

Do a search on the internet.. Voltage higher than 42.4v is hazardous to the human body. Although in the USA 120v and Europe 230v that are in most homes are considered low voltage, it can still lead to serious injury and death. Each body is different and the amount of voltage it can handle varies, however 62 volts is not safe.

One thing you guys may want to try is skipping a day or two during treatment. I have the home made machine and I notice that if I do straight treatment in a row it seems I make no progress. When I stop for a day or 2 my hand is suddenly dry. Then I can do the maintenance. Some people have mentioned in this forum that they skip a day between treatments and see better results. Others dont have the same luck. Each body is different, you just have to try different things to see what works for you, but dont give up. The homemade machine has really been good for me. I guess am one of the lucky ones.

bukitimah said:

Hi, I always believe we should share good things. I suffered HH for so many years, and since now I am able to control it, I really hope others with similar problem can also benefit.

After working on this home-made machine, I just want to tell people out here that it works! Of course if such device is availabe in your country and you can afford it, please buy one.

Some key points when you made your own device you got to take note.

Do not go beyond 30 mA or 0.03 ampheres. Therefore, it is safe to try out from 9 to 24 volts. That is, start with 9 and if you think you can take a higher current, move to the next level which is 12 volt.

It is not the voltage that kills, but more the current. Most household breakers are protected by 0.03 amperes. To be real safe, use rechargeable batteries.

You should also reverse the polarities every 15 mins. The main reason is, your body will act like a capacitor. after a while, the current flow will be restricted. The polarity change will ensure your body discharge the stored voltage and allow current to flow through again.

Hope the above information helps.

Click to expand...

Hello bukitimah, i m new here and really happy to found out this forum,i m suffer for a long time from HH, since 11 years old,now i m from singapore. still cant figure out to make homemade iontophosis machine,pls help me advice if your free and give me any suggestion ..my email is [email protected].
currently i live at woodland, hope to hear from u soon, Thanks.

Does using an Iontophoresis device stop your palms from sweating completely? Like if I think about my hands, or think about shaking hands, holding hands, etc, will my hands continue to stay dry or get sweaty again?

I have been using ionto for about 4 months now. Ionto prevents my hands from sweating even in the most stressful situations.

Thinking of my hands, thinking about shaking hands or holding hands does not make my hands sweat either - not even in the most stressful situations.

It's summer where I live now, and during the weekend it was 30 degrees (celcius) outside. I was working in the garden and while I was sweating all over my hands did not sweat.

Initially it took about 2 weeks of daily treatments for the effect to kick in, after that I have been doing maintenence treatments to keep the sweating at bay.

Before ionto my hands would drip unless I wiped them off.