using ionto with baking soda

[hinder87]

has anybody here actually had faster results with baking soda when put in the water? i heard it will increase the conductivity, but im not sure if it will actually help "dry up" ur hands faster compared to just water itself. i can already achive up to 20 mA without baking soda, but if the baking soda actually helps speeds up the process to get results i woudnt mind the pain.

 

[Hyper-Hydro]

has anybody here actually had faster results with baking soda when put in the water? i heard it will increase the conductivity, but im not sure if it will actually help "dry up" ur hands faster compared to just water itself. i can already achive up to 20 mA without baking soda, but if the baking soda actually helps speeds up the process to get results i woudnt mind the pain.

If you don’t make an assessment of mineral content in your tap water, you can´t use any positive replies to your question, unless it´s from someone living next door to you, using the same tap water. Mineral content in tap water is too different around the globe, and can differ greatly within just a small geographical radius.

HCO3- (“baking soda” or “bicarbonate”) is not the active ingredient in Iontophoresis, but merely a “vehicle” or “route” for metal ions from the electrodes in your into-device travelling to your sweat glands. You´ll gain nothing from adding more beyond a certain level. Just as you don´t get faster from point A to B by adding more lanes to the highway, if there´s only one car.

HCO3- (along with many other ions) is naturally abundant in much tap water, but may be totally absent depending on your geological situation. Also HCO3- may be plentiful in your tap water, but unable to convey the metal ions, because other ions in the water are competing with the metal for the affinity of the HCO3-

Putting it simply: 100 taxis are at the airport and 100 danish tourists want to go to point B. They will get there late if e.g. 200 german tourists are competing with them to get to point A, which is even further away. Or they may not get there at all, if 100 drunk english tourists decide to weld the doors of the taxis shut only to make sure noone goes anywhere. In this analogy the danes are the aluminium ions, germans the iron ions and the english some other ions hanging out at the airport causing trouble, because security won´t let them fly until they sober up :roll:

The amperage you can tolerate Is not a measure of how efficient the iontophoresis can be, because other ions in the water unaffiliated with the iontophoresis also add up in the combined conductivity, and may even obstruct the process, or make it uncomfortable. There´s absolutely no necessity to endure any sort of pain in ionto. I achieved dryness at averagely 9 mA

Unfortunately there´s no ready-made water solution ideal for ionto available at pharmacies.

I would carry out my own experiment, using destilled water ( or de-mineralised water, as a cheaper alternative) with no minerals present at all, but the HCO3- you´re adding.
Precisely how much HCO3- is necessary for perfect iontophoresis is unknown, but my iontophoresis works fine with my tap water containing 358 mg/l of HCO3- Buy real baking soda (e.g Arm & Hammer brand) consisting of pure HCO3- , and an accurate digital kitchen scale.

Or e.g. do as Scottish dermatologist Kavanagh tried, and use (expensive) French bottled water brand Badoit with stellar HCO3- content, (1.300 mg/l, and only negligble amounts of sulphur and chloride) She found it more efficient for iontophoresis than Scottish tap water, excellent for whisky but maybe not for ionto…

 

[HHzapp]

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[woofytalk]

Wow. I have to say. Hyper-Hydro really knows his stuff. I've never gotten so indepth with my Iontophoresis treatments. They just worked for me in general so I've never gone so far as to measure the mineral content and consistency.

The baking soda idea is interesting but I think for me it would be overkill.

By biggest problems with Iontophoresis have revolved around its irritation factor. I used to have to apply vaseline to the waterline mark on my hands and feet because of stinging.

Hyper-Hydro, Thanks for the thorough explaination on mineral content. Very helpful to those having trouble making Iontophoresis a permanent answer. Hope to hear more of your insight.

 

[Hyper-Hydro]

Well I'm from Scotland too... so maybe that's why it doesn't work for me...
Sea salt works better than bicarb soda apart from it errodes the metal plates if you don't dissolve it properly first...

Please describe in details how you established that Sea Salt works better than bicarbonate? Do you have an analysis of the mineral content of your tap water?

The electrodes will corrode if the ionto works. Thats´s the basic idea: Moving metal ions from the eletrodes over to your sweat glands. If you´re having success moving ions, eventually the solid metal will decompose/corrode. Why you may have to add baking soda is because it contains bicarbonate, HCO3- which helps metal ions attaching themselves to the human skin. Sea Salt ( NaCl) has no bicarbonate. Salt will increase conductivity, but I don´t think in a beneficial way. If it helps iontophoresis, I think it could be because the chloride somehow facilitates access of bicarbonate which is already in your tap water, but somehow unavailable to the metal ions. (this is all just theory)

 

[sweatypalms]

hey woofy,

Out of curiousity, can you let us know where in general you are located. I'm just curious as to the conditions and origins of your water.

Thanks

 

[woofytalk]

I'm in New York City. I honestly don't know much about the mineral content. I'm sure Hyper-Hydro can write a book on it :wink:

I've said on this forum before that Ionto works for me, but the irritation I get outweighs its benefits. That's why i stopped. I'm probably just a wuss when it comes to that kind of discomfort.

Most people say the discomfort of having sweaty palms and feet far outweigh the Ionto irritation, but I think my palmar hyperhidrosis isn't to that degree. I use a regimen of Drysol for two weeks and then I switch to Certain Dri for another two weeks (just as the Drysol begins to irritate). It's a two week rotation between the two. Sometimes I'll skip 6 days to give my hands a break but by the 7th day, my sweat pores are pumping out perspiration in overdrive again.

My Underarm Sweat is maintained with a similar rotation of Drysol and Certain Dry but I also exfoliate my underarms in the shower. For whatever reason, this seems to help the sweating.

For foot sweating, I use the same rotation of antiperspirants with a scheduled Sage Tea Solution foot soak at least once a month for 20 minutes at a time, 7 days straight. I know some people with really bad hyperhidrosis don't get the same benefits from this, but Sage Tea really helps me.

I also drink lots of water and avoid spicy foods and caffeine altogether. I know this routine doesn't take advantage of some of the more modern advances like Ionto, but the routine above is clunky as is. I don't want to add any more time consuming treatments into my day to day.

 

[Hyper-Hydro]

I feel no irritation whatsoever using iontophoresis. You don´t have to feel any sort of pain. If you do, you´re probably not using your device right, you probably haven´t got your water right (yes the part you didn´t read) or your device is probably not designed very well. E.G. Fischer and others don´t supply therapy baths of sufficient size, and they recommend low water levels that will result in irritation. Woofy never worried about his water, because he´s not interested in improving his Ionto. That´s how I´m interpreting his post anyway.