Quick Start Guide to Iontophoresis / basic treatment regime.

There is no set regime or fixed power level to reach for iontophoresis, however there are some basic treatment protocols you should follow in the initial stages. This is so that you can establish what regime works for your specific set of needs and will help you get the best results.

Simple Iontophoresis Guidelines

If you have already used an iontophoresis machines or undergone treatment in either a hospital or clinic and had goods results, you should keep following the regime you already follow. Even so, you may need need to follow this quick start guide to iontophoresis to refresh your memory or update you on the settings used on your machine at home which may differ from that used in clinic.

Did you know?

Please be aware that water quality greatly impacts responses and so if you find you had good results at the clinic or hospital, but now find results at home are lacking, it may be due to your water supply being different to that where you underwent iontophoresis treatments initially. If this is the case, we suggest using a bottled mineral water for your home based iontophoresis treatments.

Read the specific instructions for your model first but once you are happy with the operation of the machine and have established what power levels are comfortable you should perform 1 x session of 15 minutes per day at the maximum comfortable power level. 

In the initial treatment phase, perform these daily 15 minute sessions every day until you see results. If you encounter discomfort after sessions then you may need to reduce frequency of treatments. Do not operate any iontophoresis machine at power levels that are not comfortable. This risks irritating or even blistering and burning the skin which will prevent you from performing any treatment until skin has had time to heal.

Difference between models

Idromed machines are either direct current (GS – 100%) or pulsed current (PS 50%). Dermadry machines are fixed enhanced pulsed current (90%) and the Hidrex models are switchable between the two settings with the ConnectION benefiting from having variable pulsed current power options. As such, some advice given here may not relate to or be relevant to your model of machine. Please ask us for assistance if you are unsure.

If you can, try to perform treatments in direct current. Direct current is the most efficient power format as it delivers power to the patient 100% of the treatment time. This means that a 15 minute session in direct current provides power to the patient for the full 15 minutes. Direct current is nearly always suitable for the feet ,as there is generally high tolerance in this area, but for some patients in some other areas, direct current can be uncomfortable. This is where pulsed current comes into effect.

Pulsed current sends the power to the patient in an on-off cycle. The Idromed 5 PS operates at the standard 50% on / 50% off cycle. It’s very mild but the downside is loss of efficiency. The Hidrex ClassicION which is switchable between direct and pulsed current also operates its pulsed current cycles in equal 50/50 on off cycles. So, a 15 minute session on the Idromed 5 PS or on the Hidrex ClassicION in pulsed setting, provides power to the patient for 7,5 minutes. This can mean that you will need to perform more overall treatments to reach dryness, but if you cannot tolerate direct current, this option allows you to comfortably treat hyperhidrosis with iontophoresis where previously patients with low tolerance couldn’t use the iontophoresis equipment to control their hyperhidrosis.

The Dermadry Iontophoresis machines function in a fixed pulsed 90% format. This is classified by IontoCentre as ‘High Efficiency Pulsed Current’ because it is very near to the level of efficacy seen with direct current but still a milder treatment sensation. The Dermadry Iontophoresis machines have maximum mA outputs of 25mA and 55v. Pulse 90, or 90% pulse cycle, is the most efficient pulsed current option and supplies power to the patient for 90% of the treatment time with a 10% comfort break. Over the 15 minutes of treatment the patient receives 13.5 minutes of dosage. This is an improvement in efficiency of 80% over the standard pulse current levels.

The Hidrex ClassicION is switchable from direct current (100%) to standard pulsed current (50%) so you can chose which power option you require. The Hidrex ConnectION is switchable from direct to pulsed but can also be adjusted in 10% increments to suit the patients treatment needs. This make this particular machine very versatile. You can set the pulse cycle to treat the patient’s tolerance and comfort levels and tailor set up for specific treatment areas which often have differing needs in terms of current. For example, the feet nearly always tolerate and require direct current iontophoresis but the underarms nearly always require pulsed.

Response Times

So, establish what is your maximum comfortable power level in whichever power setting you require for your treatment area then perform a single 15 minute treatment each day until you sweating stops (or is greatly reduced and normalised). You should only perform 1 x treatment per day. Do not perform multiple treatments in a single day. This is against the manufacturer’s instructions and can negatively impact response rates. It typically takes around 10-15 sessions before results are seen but this can be sooner or later and depends on water quality, the current setting used and power levels reached.

Maintaining Results

Once sweating has stopped and the skin is dry you can stop daily sessions and move onto maintenance mode. This is where you establish the amount of time between treatment that you can remain dry before you need to perform a top up session or two. You can either stop sessions completely and monitor skin for signs of sweating and then top up as soon as skin feels slightly clammy, or if you feel more confident in continuing sessions but gradually extending them out (from daily, to every second or third day to weekly etc) then that is fine.

The amount of time between top up sessions varies from patient to patient. Some may have to perform a session or two each week, especially during the warmer summer months or during stressful periods in their lives, others may enjoy two or three months of dryness. You may see websites promising 12 months of dryness, but this is non-sense and purely false marketing.

Basic Tips

• Perform 1 x 15 minutes session each day to start.
• Ensure skin is clean from product (soap, deodorant, moisturisers, fake tan etc)
• Drink plenty of water of treatment periods (good hydration aids current flow)
• Avoid excessive amounts of alcohol, caffeine and citrus fruit drinks.
• Use warm tap water – even as warm as a bath.
• Use tap water from a non-softened supply (outside tap if you have a softener installed)
• Operate at your maximum comfortable power level.
• Do not operate at uncomfortable levels – you will not respond quicker but may damage skin and have to stop treatments
• Ensure water levels are adequate to cover the treatment area
• Do not have the water trays too deep as this will dilute the session
• Avoid applying antiperspirants or deodorants before performing iontophoresis treatments