Glyco solution on NHS

[ukchick]

So thought I'd have a battle getting this but dermatologist wrote a prescription and managed to get 3 bottles of the stuff to use in ionto trays.
My daughter has finally found an improvement in her hand sweating after 7 sessions of ionto at the hospital.
If we can do weekly sessions at home and get good results, my daughter will be a different child...yey

 

[Sprawling]

That's great news!

 

[margiehope]

Fingers crossed for you!

 

[DaveC]

Great news

 

[DermoDav]

That s great news... life changing. I have been trying to get iontophoresis via Medicare in Australia for the past 1 year for palmar and plantar HH- despite countless emails, Medicare in Oz views HH as ' insignificant' and not in the Government's interest to manage or compensate. I think Australia should follow the NHS view and start a HH clinic. Only two dedicated clinics exist in Australia (Skin and Cancer in Melbourne) and our private clinic...Sweat Free in Brisbane.

 

[SaintChains]

That s great news... life changing. I have been trying to get iontophoresis via Medicare in Australia for the past 1 year for palmar and plantar HH- despite countless emails, Medicare in Oz views HH as ' insignificant' and not in the Government's interest to manage or compensate. I think Australia should follow the NHS view and start a HH clinic. Only two dedicated clinics exist in Australia (Skin and Cancer in Melbourne) and our private clinic...Sweat Free in Brisbane.

I am a HH sufferer in Toowoomba, and the visit to the Sweat Free Clinic website just gave me some hope that I might be able to do something about my sweating. I didn't know that Botox was covered under the PBS and thought I would have to pay well over $1000 to have a treatment. Thank you so much for all that you and your team do- this thing is really hard to live with...

 

[DermoDav]

Thanks for the free plug! Yeah, BOTOX now on Medicare for Specialist use...only for severe axillary HH. As a group of specialists we are now working on Medicare to subsidise ionto and private health insurance companies to subsidise glyco. and further reduce the pricing of Botox.

The problem I am facing is that the Government doesn't acknowledge the impact of HH because they can't see it (unlike psoriasis...or eczema) and no one really dies from it (unlike heart disease, blood pressure, cholesterol or just being fat). I don't think many people know, but the real reason Botox got onto the PBS (apart from the hard work by a few Melbourne dermatologists), is that someone's son in Parliament suffers from severe HH (so the story goes). If this were not the case, Botox would not be on Medicare.

If I were to post the emails back and forth from Medicare regarding my argument for covering Ionto, they would probably revoke my Specialist registration, but someday they may cover this treatment.

 

[SaintChains]

someone's son in Parliament suffers from severe HH (so the story goes)

Disgusting, isn't it? We (my family and I) were talking about this very thing this evening over dinner. The whole thing reminds me of the difficulty in getting people to care about and donate to those charities supporting endangered animal species that don't have the "cute" appeal of, say, a panda, or an orang-utan. Who cares about some insect or lizard, right? The mammals get all the love...

I am a little concerned when you say the treatment is only covered for those with severe HH. I would describe mine as moderate and unresponsive to topical antiperspirants. Would that still be accepted?

Thanks again for the services you provide. Admittedly, I haven't been to your clinic yet, but I do plan an making an appointment, absolutely. A big part of the problem with healthcare providers is maintaining a regular, sympathetic relationship with somebody who understands the nature and sensitivity of the condition. I simply don't have that kind of relationship with a specialist where I can tailor a specific treatment program with follow-up care.

 

[DermoDav]

HH as defined by Medicare is SUBJECTIVE and not objective. This means if it an impact on YOUR life, it can be considered as severe. Does HH impact your social, work or emotional life? If so, then HH can be considered as severe. Severity can also be measured as HH not responding to Driclor, as defined by Medicare. It is a 'grey area', but I hope that helps. A dermatologist is only part of the circle of HH treatments, as our nurses, psychologists, and all other team members, including support groups play an equally important role in management.