If you suffer from excessive foot sweating you’ll probably have tried antiperspirants and other measures.

If those first-line treatments deemed inefficient you may need more invasive sweat reduction therapy.

The first option, the one that is most commonly recommended because it has almost no side effects is iontophoresis.

By emerging your feet in water and exposing them to a mild electric current sweat glands are closed. This temporary effect results in less sweat being excreted to the outer skin of your feet.

There are few pros and cons about this treatment

• The good. Iontophoresis works for a lot of people and has virtually no side effects. Some people experience minor skin reactions including dryness, blisters, and itchy sensation or, initially, a mild rash. Iontophoresis treatment can be irritating or painful in case you have cuts or other wounds.  You can reduce the stinging sensation by applying Vaseline or duct tape on skin nicks.

One user mentioned a side effect of hands getting “a bit weak and red on my palms”

• The bad. It does not work for everyone. If you belong to those unlucky souls you may have to get botox injections or undergo surgery.

• The ugly. This effects of the iontophoresis procedure are wear off in time. You will have to keep getting sessions in order to control your hyperhidrosis. This means ongoing session costs which may make it an expensive treatment. A foot treatment session on average costs about $40.

If iontophoresis works for you, getting your own device will probably be more affordable in the long run.

Which begs the question, which home iontophoresis device to get? The most affordable one?

Drionic is the most affordable iontophoresis device available on the consumer market.

But does it work?

What are its pros and cons?

The Drionic comes in two versions, a unit for hands and feet treatment and an underarm unit.  We’re talking about the foot treatment device.

Cons

• Battery powered. Makes use of expensive (about $7 a pair), hard to get by batteries that don’t last very long. Some customers have batteries shipped over from the US.

• Poorly built. Its design could be improved upon. Especially the elevated mid part prevents you from submerging the middle of your feet and thus treating the whole surface of your foot soles and sides of your feet at once.

Pros

• The most affordable. At $216 the Drionic is the least expensive device on the consumer market.

• Works for many people. Iontophoresis sessions are the first line treatment for people who tried antiperspirants and other cures to no avail.

Research confirms this treatment works. This study on PubMed for instance concludes:

Iontophoresis is a safe, efficacious, and cost-effective primary treatment of palmar and plantar hyperhidrosis. Decades of clinical experience and research show significant reduction in palmoplantar excessive sweating with minimal side effects.

Does Drionic work? User reviews

When people start using the Drionic they feel a discomforting stinging sensation or some pain. This gradually reduces.

Peter2222 who uses the Drionic device on his hands reviews:

Hi…. i bought it [drionic] about 8 days ago..and been using it every day..morning when i get up and nights before i go to sleep…i use full power…every sessions..for 30 minutes…anyways.. .its a bit uncomfortable with the stinging that you feel when using it..but i’ve been through worst situations mentally with sweety hands..so now…i just want to say that my hands are not sweating right now… 😛  …. i was skeptical when using it first…but it does work…

 

Sadly it doesn’t work for everyone. klamm76 reports:

I lost my hope for the iontophoresis because of the Drionic.But now i tried Idrostar and that machine worked much better for me.My sweating is about 90% cured if i do it once a week after 10 sessions in the start,but still my fingertips is sweating and my hands/feet is swelling when its extremly hot indoors?.So the hyperhidrosis shit is still a problem for me.But as i said much better.

Generally, iontophoresis does not cause compensatory sweating like surgery is known to do. However some people seem to experience it. Which is another reason to try this treatment first before getting your own machine. Here’s a user who uses the device for his hands.

The Drionic device did work for me, but, I started sweating on the back side of my hand & fingers. Did this happen to anyone else? I became so frustrated that I stopped.

For most people however the Drionic seems to work. Studies and renowned medical institutions confirm this

The Department of Dermatology, George Washington University Medical Center notes:

“Results with the Drionic device have been very good in patients who have hyperhidrosis; 80 percent or more have shown some improvement and have continued its use.”

And Harvard Medical School reports:

“The Drionic home-use apparatus seems to be effective in reducing hyperhidrosis, providing a definite inhibitory response by 3 weeks.”

Various other studies come to the same conclusion. “Iontophoresis…a commercially available Drionic device delivering 20 ma is effective.” Timothy G. Berger, M.D.
Asst. Clinical Professor, Dept. of Dermatology . University of California, San Francisco

How to get around the Drionic batteries issue

If you purchase a iontophoresis machine for home use for the sake of convenience and cost reduction you don’t want to have to buy expensive batteries on a regular basis.

Especially if these are relatively hard to come by it defeats the purpose of getting a machin in the first place. There are a few ways to circumvent this annoyance.

People have developed hacks by finding a way to adapt the device to use more common 9 volt batteries. By inserting a thin piece of metal such as a box cutter you can adjust one of the metal flaps so that it comes out. By reducing the distance you’ll make rechargeable 9 volt batteries fit.

Another hack,

I rewired mine to take a simple 12V adapter so I could stop replacing batteries.

 

Alternative iontophoresis devices

Much pricier machines costing around 500$ and up. However these are better built and can just be plugged into a socket.

• Hidrex
• Idrostar
• I2m.a and Iomax 4 by I2m Labs.

Insurance?

Find out if your insurance plan covers the purchase of a professional iontophoresis device. If they will pay for a more expensive device you may want to get that.

If not, or if you have to pay for one yourself, the Drionic may be a great sweaty feet cure anyway.

It may have its downsides but if nothing else works and surgery or botulinum toxin injections are your only other option you may want to churn out those 200 bucks to get rid of that dreadful sweating.

Read more reviews about the Drionic Hand/Foot device on Amazon.