Iontophoresis - what has worked for me (iontophoresis user since 1996)

[iontoman]

Hi,

Thought I'd share what has worked for me over the years. I've used the Fischer MD-1a (1996-2001) and currently am using the Idrostar (since 2001).

1. Instead of the recommended 10 minutes for each polarity (so 20 minutes for each side), I do 15 minutes for each polarity (30 minutes each side). This extra 5 minutes for each polarity seems to enhance the effect of each session.

2. For maintenance sessions, I do 2-3 sessions every 2-3 weeks when temperature is cold; 3-4 sessions over a 2-3 day period every 2-3 weeks when it's hot. I typically do my maintenance sessions towards the end of the week (Fri-Sun) when I have more time. The water level in the trays are just high enough that it covers the problem-sweating areas and does not cover the top of the palms.

3. (perhaps the most important) After I do my maintenance sessions, exercise for an hour wearing a long-sleeve shirt and hold small frozen cans (e.g., tomato juice) in both hands. I've noticed that this seems to "train" the body to divert the sweat to other areas instead of the palms. When I notice that sweat is coming from the top of my hands instead of my palms, that is a sign that this is working for me and reaching a dry palm state doesn't take as long (maybe a couple days instead of the 5-7 days of wetness).

I'm currently in grad school and am in a relationship. I don't think this would be possible if it weren't for iontophoresis and being persistent about it through these years.

Disclaimer: I'm not necessarily recommending any of the above. I'm only sharing what has worked for me.

 

[kygirl19]

Does the iontophoresis work for you without doing the whole exercise and holding frozen cans? I'm kind of confused about the whole exercise thing. I'm getting ready to rent a MD Fischer machine to see if ionto will work for my hands/feet. Also do you treat you feet or do you just have palmer HH? I heard quite a few people with good results for the hands but not too many people mention their feet. I'm glad you found something that works for you

 

[iontoman]

Iontophoresis for me would work without doing the exercise and holding frozen can things. However, for me, holding frozen cans while exercising speeds up the time it takes for hands to become dry. Without the exercise + frozen cans, it would take me 5-7 days to reach a dry state. The idea for me is to divert the sweat away from the palms to other areas such as the tops of your forearms near the wrists and the top of the hands.

I have palmar and plantar HH. I do one side (left hand + left foot) for 15 minutes at each polarity or 30 minutes total for one side. Then repeat this for the other side so that it's about 1 hour per session.

 

[baseballplaya92104]

Iontophoresis.. one of the only ways to go in my opinion =)

 

[serenityprayer]

Hi iontoman, thank you for sharing. Do you mind detailing why you switched from the fischer to the idrostar? I'm currently doing the trial of the fischer and just curious if I should buy the idrostar instead?

Thanks!

 

[Uber Schnitzel]

Hi Iontoman (sounds like a superhero!) Could you go over point 2) with the details of the frequency of your sessions? The frozen cans technique sounds totally bonkers but hey whatever works!

 

[iontoman]

Example for point #2:

Friday night, I'll do maintenance session #1: Right side 15-20 minutes, and switch polarity, for 15-20 for total of 30-40 minutes on right side. Then i'll repeat this for the left side. Total time for each maintenance session 1 hr to 1 hr and 20 minutes.

On Saturday morning, i'll do Maintenance Session #2: same as above
On Sunday morning, I'll do Maintenance Session #3: same as above

Hope this helps.

 

[HH]

machine: idromed 4 GS
rating: 9/10
results: 10/10
pros: easy to use, works (for me anyway),
cons: price-expensive for what it is really, time consuming to set up (but aren't they all)

my treatments are done once a week for 30mins, I don't change over + and - half way through anymore-don't need to.

overall a good product that's helped keep my hand hh under control

 

[Ex-HH]

machine: homemade
rating: 7/10 exclusive to the one I made
results: 8/10
pros: easy to set up and store away, fairly cheap
cons: did work 100% for me, had to use it with hydrosal gel to maintain a 95%

overall: an easy to use machine for such low price. Although it didn't stop me from sweating completely, it definitely made life better. Treatments were once or twice a week depending on stress level and climate for 30~40 minutes each.