Treatment consists of multiple injections of botulinum toxin into the armpits and it is often necessary to do a test first to identify the areas of most sweating. I recommend coming for your first treatment wearing an old vest-type top that you don't mind if it gets permanently stained as the test involves iodine.

It is a perfectly safe treatment.

Most people find the treatment is painful and so I always recommend using an anaesthetic cream in the armpits beforehand. You can now get these numbing creams over the counter from a pharmacy, and you will need to have applied it for an hour prior to treatment, ideally with arms elevated leaving the cream in place for most of that time. Dr Ben Coyle will remove the cream during your appointment.

The treatment involves multiple injections and so a little bruising is common but it is obviously in an area that is unseen. It might be associated with some discomfort after treatment.

Some people occasionally report increased sweating in other areas after treatment but I haven't observed this very often in 20 years of doing this.

As with any botulinum toxin treatment, sometimes if it is your first time it is possible to have a mild immune reaction - a mild sniffle, temperature, headache for around 24 hours afterwards. Paracetamol will help, and symptoms settle quickly.

You can continue your life as normal after treatment but please avoid vigorous washing of the armpits and heavy exercise for a few days.

It will start to work anywhere between 5 days and a week but will take two weeks for treatment to have its full effect. Once it has kicked in it usually lets around 9 months though it is not uncommon for it to last up to 18 months. You should notice significantly drier armpits afterwards and for the duration of effect.