Vancouver miraDry^® (in Surrey) for treating underarm sweat

Traditionally, miraDry^® has been used for hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) patients. However, nowadays, people opt for it simply as a lifestyle choice.

Our Vancouver miraDry^® service (in Surrey) is typically a one-time treatment to target sweat glands and hair follicles around the underarm area only. It can’t be used on other parts of the body, such as the palms of your hand or feet.

By getting rid of the sweat glands under the arms, odour from axillary osmidrosis (the smelly sweat), is also reduced.

To be treated with miraDry^® at our Surrey clinic, you must be over age 18 (or at full growth development).

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miraDry^® uses microwave thermal energy at 5.8 GHz. While the word “microwave” may cause you to think about heating up food in a home appliance, that’s not what’s happening with the miraWave^TM technology. The term “microwave” simply refers to the scientific name for a wavelength on the electromagnetic spectrum. This same wavelength is used in other medical technologies, and in other industries.

The science behind miraDry^® is that it heats up the layer of your skin where sweat glands, odour glands and hair follicles are. This is below the skin’s surface. So, the upper skin layers are cooled, while the lower layers are heated, and destroyed. The heated area is referred to as the focal energy zone, where the ‘action’ of miraWave^TM  takes place. It leaves other parts of your skin unaffected.

When you come in for a Vancouver miraDry^® sweating treatment at our laser clinic, you will be prepped for 45 – 60 minutes. A numbing injection will be applied, as well as a marker template for the area to be treated. After you are prepped and the numbing takes effect, we will begin the application of the miraDry^® handpiece on your skin. The handpiece comes with what’s called a bioTip^TM, which is like a suction device. This is what stabilizes the handpiece for a lengthy, unmoving application (it’s not like pulsing or gliding with a laser, if you’re used to that). The handpiece also delivers cooling to the area during the deliverance of heat, which helps with patient comfort.

The process takes about 45 minutes to 1.5 hours to complete, after the 1 hour of prep time and numbing.

Please note: there are some very rare cases where miraDry^® may not work on a person, since their glands are located too far away, or too close to their skin’s surface (outside the 2 – 5mm depth range). Some people’s sweat glands can also resist this treatment. For that reason, we can’t make guarantees that miraDry^® will work for everyone.

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Most patients only need one treatment to see immediate and long-term effects. Three months after your first treatment, we advise that you come back to our office for a sweat test. If needed, we may recommend a second treatment.

You should not need more than two treatments to see the results that other people have experienced (that is, up to 82% sweat reduction).

In extremely rare cases, a third treatment may be necessary.

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The downtime with miraDry^® is minimal. Post treatment, you may experience swelling, tingling, numbness, tenderness and possible infections. These should clear up within a few weeks. Total healing time should take 2 to 3 months. During this time, you should be able to return to your normal life – work, exercise, and going out as usual.

Sometimes, sweating can decrease or increase on-and-off for a few weeks after a treatment (it’s different for everyone). However, when fully healed, this effect should go away, and leave you with less sweat overall.

Being a doctor-led clinic, you’ll have the advantage of post-treatment medical follow up available to you. If you do experience any disconcerting side effects, we urge you to contact us right away.

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To get an accurate estimate, we encourage you to book an, in-person consultation at our clinic. This consultation will be required before being able to book a treatment. It is the best way for us to give you advice on treatments for your particular case of excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis.

Unfortunately, Vancouver miraDry^® treatments are not recognized under PharmaCare, nor as an MSP-covered treatment for hyperhidrosis patients in B.C. However, you should check with your private insurance provider to see if they will cover the cost.

Keep in mind that 90% of surveyed participants called miraDry^® a “worth it” investment. If you consider the cost of shaving supplies, ruined clothing, repetitive Botox^® injections and not to mention, hassle – then the cost of permanent sweat reduction without surgery is likely going to pay off over your lifetime. It can also have a profound effect on your quality of life – especially if sweat is a real nuisance or insecurity for you.