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CNN Live Today

'Daily Dose'

Aired January 21, 2003 - 11:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Botox has been shown to take the wrinkles out of your forehead and now researchers say it may take some of the smell out of your sweat.
Joining us with details in our daily dose of health news is CNN medical contributor Dr. Sandy Fryhofer.

Sandy, good to see you.

DR. SANDY FRYHOFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Carol.

LIN: When we heard the story this morning, we were laughing because of course, we think, OK, to, erase your wrinkles, but to what extremes will people go to in order to you know have a better personal hygiene? I mean, this is a very particular condition you're talking about.

FRYHOFER: It is. Actually, This is from a group of doctors in Germany, and I call them the sweat doctors, because they seem to be very interested in sweat and seeing what Botox will do. In fact, last year, they told us that Botox injections will actually cut down on the quantity of sweat, and this year, here we are, that they will make our sweat smell better, and in fact, it may even not only smell less, but have a more pleasant odor.

LIN: But that seems like an extreme solution for those of us who just whip out the Ban or Arid in the morning. I mean, the condition that doctors are describing is something called hyperhydrosis, is that right?

FRYHOFER: Hyperhydrosis is the medical term for excessive sweating, and it's a very debilitating condition for a lot of people. not only do these people have sweaty armpits, but they can having sweaty hands. They can be working, and the sweat can drip from their forehead, which can interfere with their job, in interviews, in social situations. And so it's great that we now know that Botox can help, and again, we found that out last year from this group of researchers.

LIN: How does it do it?

FRYHOFER: What it does, it works just like it does when he gets rid of the wrinkles. It actually paralyzes the nerves that cause you to sweat. That's how it does it. And they looked at -- this is a small study. They only looked at about 16 volunteers. The way they did it was interesting. They had people wear a T-shirt for 24 hours, and then they cut the arm holes out of the T-shirt and they put it in a glass bottle, and in order to be a participant in the study, you not only had to sweat, but you have to agree to test the sweat, so they actually had the volunteers smell the little bottle with the armhole from the T-shirt, and they had to rate it pleasant -- how unpleasant it is, but in some cases it actually made you smell even better.

LIN: Are their side effects to taking Botox in your armpit.

FRYHOFER: Well, one thing, it's not going to be permanent fix. It only lasts several months at most. It won't work immediately. It takes about a week or so for it to work. And in fact, when the did this study, they did the control part a week before they actually did the actual study part to see if it worked. So there are -- it's not the perfect thing. Certainly go for the antiperspirant first.

LIN: Still relatively untested. When you talk about antiperspirants, there are some super duper deodorants as alternatives.

FRYHOFER: There are. And some are prescription. There is one called Drysol that 20 percent of the active ingredient, aluminum chloride. This is definitely the first thing to try for the sweaty armpits. You can get one that's 13 percent called Certain Dry. That's probably about the strongest you can get over the counter.

Now there are other things that have been tried. We've tried machines. There is one called Dryonics. It actually -- you have to put an electric current under your arms. It's kind of cumbersome. You have to use it several times a week. Some oral medications have been used. They don't work quite as well.

Some people actually have resorted to surgery, in which they actually remove the sweat glands, or they cut the nerves that stimulate the sweat glands.

So certainly Botox is a much easier solution than some of those other ones, and I guess, you know, if you want to go for the little wrinkles between your brow, a dab will do you everywhere.

LIN: You'll have very smooth armpits, all right.

FRYHOFER: They didn't talk about that, but I bet you would.

LIN: All right. Raising your hand a lot in can class these days. Good to see you.

FRYHOFER: Thank you, Carol.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired January 21, 2003 - 11:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Botox has been shown to take the wrinkles out of your forehead and now researchers say it may take some of the smell out of your sweat.
Joining us with details in our daily dose of health news is CNN medical contributor Dr. Sandy Fryhofer.

Sandy, good to see you.

DR. SANDY FRYHOFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Carol.

LIN: When we heard the story this morning, we were laughing because of course, we think, OK, to, erase your wrinkles, but to what extremes will people go to in order to you know have a better personal hygiene? I mean, this is a very particular condition you're talking about.

FRYHOFER: It is. Actually, This is from a group of doctors in Germany, and I call them the sweat doctors, because they seem to be very interested in sweat and seeing what Botox will do. In fact, last year, they told us that Botox injections will actually cut down on the quantity of sweat, and this year, here we are, that they will make our sweat smell better, and in fact, it may even not only smell less, but have a more pleasant odor.

LIN: But that seems like an extreme solution for those of us who just whip out the Ban or Arid in the morning. I mean, the condition that doctors are describing is something called hyperhydrosis, is that right?

FRYHOFER: Hyperhydrosis is the medical term for excessive sweating, and it's a very debilitating condition for a lot of people. not only do these people have sweaty armpits, but they can having sweaty hands. They can be working, and the sweat can drip from their forehead, which can interfere with their job, in interviews, in social situations. And so it's great that we now know that Botox can help, and again, we found that out last year from this group of researchers.

LIN: How does it do it?

FRYHOFER: What it does, it works just like it does when he gets rid of the wrinkles. It actually paralyzes the nerves that cause you to sweat. That's how it does it. And they looked at -- this is a small study. They only looked at about 16 volunteers. The way they did it was interesting. They had people wear a T-shirt for 24 hours, and then they cut the arm holes out of the T-shirt and they put it in a glass bottle, and in order to be a participant in the study, you not only had to sweat, but you have to agree to test the sweat, so they actually had the volunteers smell the little bottle with the armhole from the T-shirt, and they had to rate it pleasant -- how unpleasant it is, but in some cases it actually made you smell even better.

LIN: Are their side effects to taking Botox in your armpit.

FRYHOFER: Well, one thing, it's not going to be permanent fix. It only lasts several months at most. It won't work immediately. It takes about a week or so for it to work. And in fact, when the did this study, they did the control part a week before they actually did the actual study part to see if it worked. So there are -- it's not the perfect thing. Certainly go for the antiperspirant first.

LIN: Still relatively untested. When you talk about antiperspirants, there are some super duper deodorants as alternatives.

FRYHOFER: There are. And some are prescription. There is one called Drysol that 20 percent of the active ingredient, aluminum chloride. This is definitely the first thing to try for the sweaty armpits. You can get one that's 13 percent called Certain Dry. That's probably about the strongest you can get over the counter.

Now there are other things that have been tried. We've tried machines. There is one called Dryonics. It actually -- you have to put an electric current under your arms. It's kind of cumbersome. You have to use it several times a week. Some oral medications have been used. They don't work quite as well.

Some people actually have resorted to surgery, in which they actually remove the sweat glands, or they cut the nerves that stimulate the sweat glands.

So certainly Botox is a much easier solution than some of those other ones, and I guess, you know, if you want to go for the little wrinkles between your brow, a dab will do you everywhere.

LIN: You'll have very smooth armpits, all right.

FRYHOFER: They didn't talk about that, but I bet you would.

LIN: All right. Raising your hand a lot in can class these days. Good to see you.

FRYHOFER: Thank you, Carol.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com