Reversing Polarity Homemade Iontophoresis Causing Electric Shocks

[jamessmith112]

Hey everyone! I've had palmar-plantar hyperhidrosis all my life and have tried drysol and oxybutynin with unsatisfying results. I've recently started iontophoresis, my homemade iontophoresis machine is made up of 4 6 volt lantern batteries connected in series (24 volts total) with alligator clips connected to 2 aluminum baking pans. I use regular, room temperature tap water with a dash of salt mixed in for 10 minutes and have noticed a mild shock when I insert and remove my hands with a mild tingling sensation during treatment. This is all perfectly tolerable.

Reversing the polarity is far too painful though. When I reverse the polarity I receive a strong shock and pull away. I tried again after 2-3 minutes and the shock wasn't as strong as before but was still too strong to be able to continue the treatment.

What I'm asking is, do I need to reverse polarity for my treatment? Will it make a difference, if so by how much?
Should I work with a smaller voltage to reduce the shock during reversal, will this hinder my results?
Should I wait longer between reversals (a few hours?) or should I just reverse polarity the next treatment I have (which would be the next day)?

I have done the treatment 2 days so far and see no results. I understand that it takes some time and I will continue it for up to 3 weeks.

Thanks in advance for any responses, your help is greatly appreciated

PS: I haven't treated my feet yet but will start today. Do I use the same polarity settings that I use on my hands on my feet?

 

[hoplaba]

I'm quite sure you have to reverse it.. but if the shock is too strong for you, try putting your hands slowly until current finds its way. The shock doesn't last forever just first couple seconds, maybe 15-20 seconds max..

P.S. At first I was scared of initial shock too, but after few treatments I get use to it, and I don't even feel it that much anymore.

 

[CharlesN]

I use the exact same homemade set up but do 40-50 minutes per polarity. I've done it even with cuts on my hands. That stings a lot more. But as Hoplaba says, the sensation (pain or sting) goes away. I find that distraction helps. Watch a movie or sports or something while doing it.

I'm not sure 10 minutes per is enough. But everyone is different.

Good luck with it. It has really been a great thing for me.

 

[hyp-hi]

How are your reversing it? I have a device where I switch it before each treatment. It should feel about the same either way.

 

[CharlesN]

It definitely does not feel the same. After you swap the leads (coming from the batts) on the 2 aluminum pans - there is always a shock factor.

 

[NickM]

Do the treatment every day and switch polarity every day. It's not necessary to switch polarities in the middle of a treatment. Also if you don't see results in 3 weeks, don't give up it could take longer!


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[jamessmith112]

Hey everyone, thanks for all the helpful responses!

P.S. At first I was scared of initial shock too, but after few treatments I get use to it, and I don't even feel it that much anymore.

The shocks are too strong to tolerate when I reverse polarity on a 24V. My hands literally shot out initially, the second time they were mildly convulsing, my arm muscles were tensing up. I noticed the salt is what's making it so strong. If I don't have salt in there I can do it but I think the salt really helps make it more effective.

How are your reversing it? I have a device where I switch it before each treatment. It should feel about the same either way.

I'm using a DIY iontophoresis machine, I just take the aligator clips I have attached to the pans and swap them to the opposite pan.

...if you don't see results in 3 weeks, don't give up it could take longer!

Will do, I'll continue it for a month.

I'm getting different answers here as to whether I should reverse polarity the next treatment (being the next day for me) or during the treatment. During my last treatment I used 18V on my hands and reversed the polarity and it was tolerable. I think I'm gonna start doing 24V for 20-30 min on my hands and alternate the polarity between treatments (so the following day).

As for my feet I started them as well and found it very difficult to keep them floating and not touching the bottom of the pan. I could tolerate 30V, I could maybe even do more but that's all the batteries I got. I didn't try reversing the polarity, I will do that today and update you on that. I used standard household yellow-green sponges and balanced my heel on it to keep my feet from hitting the bottom of the pan, will this hinder my results?

 

[NickM]

No, the sponges won't hurt your results. I use wash cloths, maybe that would be more comfortable for you? Having fabric between your feet and the metal will prevent burning.


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[Sprawling]

All very good advice. Use a different polarity every day rather than mid treatment. I use wash clothes on the bottom of my containers.

You can do one hand, one foot, switching off polarity each day.

Keep doing the treatments. You may be lucky and have dry hands within 7-10 days. Every one is different. Treatment results can take weeks.

 

[jamessmith112]

No, the sponges won't hurt your results. I use wash cloths, maybe that would be more comfortable for you? Having fabric between your feet and the metal will prevent burning.

Understood, I have started using two yellow-green sponges to keep the soles of my feet on (mainly my heel and just underneath my toes). I'm still keeping my hands floating the water but the skin below my nail doesn't get in the water. Should I use a washcloth to get my hands in there deeper and or will that be unnecessary?

Thanks again everyone for all the help. I'll keep you guys posted on my progress. So far I haven't noticed a particular change. It's hard to say whether it's placebo or not but I feel like maybe my hands dry more frequently throughout the day and like it's a little harder for sweat to start but when it does it's full go and just the same as before.

 

[NickM]

Should i use a washcloth to get my hands in there deeper and or will that be unnecessary?



It's hard to say whether it's placebo or not but I feel like maybe my hands are my dry more frequently throughout the day and like it's a little harder for sweat to start but when it does it's full go and just the same as before.

Use washcloths! It will make the whole experience easier for you. Also, if you sweat on the sides of your hands like me, you will want to get it deeper in the water.

What you're experiencing is normal for when the ionto starts to work. Just stick with it!



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[86theHH]

Reversing the polarity is far too painful though. When I reverse the polarity I receive a strong shock and pull away. I tried again after 2-3 minutes and the shock wasn't as strong as before but was still too strong to be able to continue the treatment.

What I'm asking is, do I need to reverse polarity for my treatment? Will it make a difference, if so by how much?
Should I work with a smaller voltage to reduce the shock during reversal, will this hinder my results?
Should I wait longer between reversals (a few hours?) or should I just reverse polarity the next treatment I have (which would be the next day)?

I have done the treatment 2 days so far and see no results. I understand that it takes some time and I will continue it for up to 3 weeks.


PS: I haven't treated my feet yet but will start today. Do I use the same polarity settings that I use on my hands on my feet?

I've always reversed the polarity and haven't heard of people who only did one polarity. The reversal ALWAYS intensifies the sting and level of discomfort. One way to reduce that sting is to use baking soda instead of salt. Baking soda is a better conductor of electricity than salt. For what ever reason, salt just makes it sting more (just think of the phrase "salt in a wound".) The amount of baking soda you should use depends on the amount of water you are using. I use about 1/8 - 1/4 cups baking soda to 2 cups of water. Make sure that you dissolve as much of the baking soda as you can.

Everyone has a different level of tolerance for pain, so 24V is too much for me. I rarely go above 18V. My range is from 16-18V

Regarding the shock you receive when starting the reversal, you would need to start at a lower voltage and work your way up to your 24V level. The best thing to do is buy a regulated DC voltage generator instead of using batteries. This way you can get your hands or feet in the water bath and start the voltage from zero and work your way up. You will still feel a sting as the voltage increases, but you won't get the initial shock.

The time frame for achieving results can be anywhere from a few days up to 4 weeks. It depends on the severity of HH and how your body responds to Iontophoresis.

You can treat your feet and hands at the same time. Do a search in this forum and there are postings I have for performing that little trick.

 

[jamessmith112]

Thanks again for all the responses!

Use washcloths! It will make the whole experience easier for you. Also, if you sweat on the sides of your hands like me, you will want to get it deeper in the water.

What you're experiencing is normal for when the ionto starts to work. Just stick with it!

Understood, I'm going to buy sponge clothes-it's easier than washcloths for me and should work all the same. It's great to hear that I'm experiencing is the early signs of it working, being sweat free would be phenomenal :bigsmile:

...One way to reduce that sting is to use baking soda instead of salt. Baking soda is a better conductor of electricity than salt. For what ever reason, salt just makes it sting more (just think of the phrase "salt in a wound".)

I'll start using baking soda and post my results.

Regarding the shock you receive when starting the reversal, you would need to start at a lower voltage and work your way up to your 24V level. The best thing to do is buy a regulated DC voltage generator instead of using batteries. This way you can get your hands or feet in the water bath and start the voltage from zero and work your way up. You will still feel a sting as the voltage increases, but you won't get the initial shock...

I reverse polarity on a daily basis. I googled regulated DC voltage generators and didn't get much could you please provide a link of what you're referring to?

You can treat your feet and hands at the same time. Do a search in this forum and there are postings I have for performing that little trick.

I'll look into your hands and feet at the same time trick, but I use different voltage levels for both so I don't think that would work, right?

 

[86theHH]

I reverse polarity on a daily basis. I googled regulated DC voltage generators and didn't get much could you please provide a link of what you're referring to?

http://www.amazon.com/MASTECH-HY302...N6QABYC6HS&s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1395867246&sr=1-5


I'll look into your hands and feet at the same time trick, but I use different voltage levels for both so I don't think that would work, right?

For my feet I use 16-18V, but I don't use Into for my hands. You could try using the same voltage for your feet as you do with your hands and see if it helps.

 

[jamessmith112]

For my feet I use 16-18V, but I don't use Into for my hands. You could try using the same voltage for your feet as you do with your hands and see if it helps.

Thanks again, I've read online that it's best to use as much voltage as I can tolerate so I'm gonna stick to doing separate treatments. I clicked on the link for the voltage regulator but it's a bit too costly for something that I won't know will work for me. If I start to see results I will probably get a professional machine but it's good to know an alternative exists.

It's been a week since I made my first post and 8 days of treatment to date. I haven't seen a reduction in the amount of sweating from my hands and feet but there may have been increase in my 'dry time' throughout the day. Once I start to sweat it's the same as before (and again the increase in dry time may be placebo as well). I've upped my treatment length to 20-30 minutes and started using sponge cloths and baking soda. The baking soda doesn't sting as much as the salt but there is still some irritation at the waterline but it's perfectly tolerable. I feel as though I was getting better results with the salt but it's only been one day with baking soda so it's too soon to say. The results have been disappointing but I'm going to stick with this for a month like I said. I wish iontophoresis didn't take so much time out of my day; I'm spending over 1 hour each day and it's becoming taxing but if it works for me then it will be well worth it

PS: I saw you post about using a baking soda and salt mixture, do you think this will be more effective?

 

[jamessmith112]

Hi everyone it's been a week since my last post so I thought I'd give you all an update. Although I promised daily treatment for 1 month I stopped at around the 11th day because I was really busy with school and was disappointed with my results.

I started noticing, 3-4 days later, that my hands were more dry throughout the day. I have dyshidrotic eczema on my hands and feet and noticed they were paper dry to the point that I needed lotion, something I haven't experience since I was 10 years old! This may sound like a bad thing but I just carry lotion around with me and I prefer this to hyperhidrosis any day! I would still sweat sometimes throughout the day particularly when exposed to heat or anxiety but it was more mild and less frequent.

A few days later and I noticed that the treatment was definitely making a difference and it wasn't placebo. Iontophoresis hasn't cured my sweating but it has helped manage it a great deal! I really noticed this when I was in my English class because I always sweat then and even when I tried to force myself to sweat (rubbing my hands together, making myself more anxious, etc) I could only produce subtle moistness at best!

So thanks again everyone, iontophoresis is not a silver bullet to my sweating but it helps manage it and makes living with this condition so much easier. I have started iontophoresis again as well as oxybutynin. I've found 10mg twice a day works well for me and combining it with iontophoresis is producing great results! I've found the side effects aren't as severe when I use 400mg ibruprofen, drining water, biotin dry mouth spray and eye drops. If my condition improves more with iontophoresis than I may not need oxybutynin at all!

I approached hyperhidrosis with the hope to find a cure but I've realized now it's much more about trying to manage the condition and trying to create your own regimen. I'll keep you guys posted with my progress and thanks again for all the help