Using Fischer iontophoresis device for feet

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superyou
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 8:03 am

Using Fischer iontophoresis device for feet

Post by superyou »

I've been using the Fischer iontophoresis device for the last couple of months to treat my feet and I wanted to write about my experience here.

I've suffered from excessive sweating of my hands and feet for as long as I can remember. About ten years ago when I was in my early 20s I had surgery to fix my hands which was successful and changed my life. But ever since then I've still been bothered by having very sweaty feet. After discovering the old ESFB forum I learned about the various methods used to help remedy this problem. I tried several things, from Drysol and other roll-on anti-perspirants (none of which worked), to using the Secure Wipes (which worked to a degree, but are expensive and a pain to apply each day). Eventually I came across one person's posts about the Fischer and was convinced to try it myself.

My doctor had never heard of this remedy for excessive sweating. After reading the information at the Fischer website she was actually intrigued by the idea and happy to write me the prescription necessary to order the device.

Following the instructions supplied with the device I began by treating my feet every two days (every 2-3 days is suggested in the instructions), with it set to 15 milliamps (they suggest a voltage of 12-18 milliamps). The feet are treated for ten minutes, then for another ten minutes with the polarity reversed. If this sounds complicated to you (as it did to me at first), it's actually easy to use.

At first the voltage felt a little painful on my feet. It makes one feel itchy and the longer the feet were in the water the worse it felt. But the more I used the device the easier it got; I don't feel any pain using it now.

After those early treatments my feet would be red and feel sore, though mostly only around where the waterline met my feet--the tops of my feet and toes. My skin would be itchy, dry and began to flake in those areas. The rest of my feet, the part below the waterline, did not get affected in this way. Applying moisturiser to my feet when I'd go to bed or before putting on socks in the morning helped soothe the affected areas.

By the time I'd treated my feet ten times the sweating had completely stopped! MY FEET NO LONGER SWEAT AT ALL!

The soreness eventually cleared up, either because I increased time between treatments (every three days instead of every two), or because I raised the waterline to reach my ankles (by changing the trays) which I describe next.

The trays supplied with the machine are inadequate for treating feet as they are not deep enough. The water barely covers the top of my foot and I needed to be treating my foot up to my ankles. The tops of my feet and my ankles were still sweating. So, I made my own replacement trays which was easy.

I used plastic storage containers for trays, found for $3 each at a dollar store. The exact ones I used are on this page, item #1894:
https://www.sterilite.com/category-page.html?S=1

And to connect the wires from the device to the trays I used the 'binding posts' from Radio Shack.

To assemble the trays I just had to make a hole just big enough to screw the binding post into and then used a socket wrench to fasten it securely. And it works perfectly! Now I can treat my entire foot up to my ankles.

The metal part of the binding post in the water got discolored quickly but it doesn't seem to have any negative effect on it. It will likely eventually corrode and need to be replaced.

I have found that now the water level is higher my toes and the tops of my feet are no longer being adversely affected by the current. The redness and dryness I was getting have gone. Where the waterline now reaches my ankles my skin doesn't get affected as badly, just a little redness. Though maybe this is because I treat my feet every three days now, instead of every two days like I did when I started.

My aim is now to start stretching out the time between treatments. The instructions supplied with the device state the eventual possibility of only needing to use it once every 2-4 weeks. I'll plan on reporting my results here later.

My life has changed for the better from this. The high cost of the device (over $600) really was worth it for the comfort I now feel. I hope this post is helpful to some of you and will encourage you to try this, as I was encouraged by reading someone else's experiences. There isn't much information out there so I hope I've been clear and that my post will answer questions some of you may have.

--Robert
Last edited by superyou on Sun Sep 08, 2013 12:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

admin
Site Admin
Posts: 382
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

Post by admin »

Wow thats a truly amazing post Robert and thanks for the links to the tray and binding posts pictures/websites!

I hope you are still going to update this thread in future to let us know if your treatments are still working and how frequently you need to do maintenance treatments.

By the way, did you see a major increase in feet sweating after ETS surgery (like I did)?

Also, did you try getting insurance to reimburse you for the Fisher device? On their website, they do have many helpful links to getting insurance approval and insurance codes.

https://www.rafischer.com/insurance-coverage/

superyou
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 8:03 am

Post by superyou »

I will let you know how it goes. Right now I'm treating my feet every five days and it still works fine. I'm really happy with this!

I don't remember my feet sweating any more after the surgery. I did start sweating elsewhere on my body--back, belly and butt--places I'd never sweated from before. It can be annoying but is preferable to having sweaty palms.

Since I've stopped my feet sweating I have noticed some more compensatory sweating. There's been a couple of times I've been too hot in bed and found my legs sweating. Again, not ideal but better than sweaty feet.

--Robert

guest10009
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2006 3:15 pm

Re: Using Fischer iontophoresis device for feet

Post by guest10009 »

robert, you said you had surgery to fix your hands. what did u do exactly? just considering options for palmar...

superyou
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 8:03 am

Post by superyou »

I had the ETS surgery, ten years ago.

--Robert

superyou
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 8:03 am

Post by superyou »

Update after using the Fischer for several months:

I experimented with stretching out the time between treatments. After a few weeks of treatments five days apart I found my feet began to sweat again (plus visiting Texas in June didn't help!).

So obviously I need to be doing it more regularly. I'm a bit disappointed as the instructions implied the possibility of treatments every two weeks. I guess it's different for everyone and I did have REALLY sweaty feet. I'm just glad this works at all and can live with treating them every 3-4 days which keeps me dry.

I've read a little about using baking soda in the water so will try that to see what effect I get.

--Robert

superyou
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 8:03 am

Re: Using Fischer iontophoresis device for feet

Post by superyou »

Six years later...

Since writing the above post my Fischer machine has continued to work and keep my feet dry. I have to use it three times a week to achieve this but it's worth it. It's a routine I'm used to now. All this time I've been living in the same place.

I just moved state and am currently staying in a hotel pending finding an apartment. I just unpacked my Fischer and tried using it for the first time here. And there's a problem.

When I turned the machine on and turned up the intensity dial I noticed the needle on the readout barely moving. It usually doesn't take much turning to get the 15 milliamp voltage I use to treat my feet. Now when I crank the intensity dial all the way up I'm only getting 10 milliamps.

I'm guessing what's happening is that the water isn't conducting as well as I'm used to. Can someone more scientifically-minded than me shed light on exactly what is happening and what I can do about it?

Thanks.
Last edited by superyou on Sun Feb 24, 2013 2:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

superyou
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 8:03 am

Re: Using Fischer iontophoresis device for feet

Post by superyou »

So I revised the instruction for the device:
If the mineral content of the tap water is low current flow is reduced and the desired amperage (15 to 18 milliamps) may not be achieved. A teaspoonful of baking soda added and dissolved in each tray should solve the problem.
This seems to describes my problem so I added the baking soda and this fixed the problem. I didn't even use a teaspoon; a quarter-teaspoon did the job.

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