SweatSolutions.org: Patient Activism Changes Taiwanese Policy

January 2005 Edition Table of Contents:

» Patient Activism Changes Taiwanese Policy

» New Insurance Tools Help Many

» Canadian Medical Journal Gets People Talking about Hyperhidrosis

» Know Sweat?

» Patient Education Booklets Now Available en Español

» New Year, New Education

» View Events

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Patient Activism Changes Taiwanese Policy

(January 2005) According to a letter published in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association (CMAJ), patients in Taiwan suffering from a devastating complication of endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS) surgery have taken a stand -- demanding that their government take their problems and the risks of ETS surgery seriously.

As in all parts of the world, many people in Taiwan suffer from excessive sweating of the palms. And, because treatment of the condition through ETS is covered by Taiwanese National Health Insurance, the surgery has become a popular treatment option. Unfortunately, many patients find out after the surgery that while their palms may have become dry, they've developed serious excessive sweating on other parts of their bodies -- often on the back, buttocks, or thighs. This compensatory sweating can be far worse than the original problem and can have extremely negative impacts on quality of life.

In an effort to prevent other hyperhidrosis sufferers from having to endure compensatory sweating post-surgery, a support group for compensatory sweaters has successfully lobbied the Taiwanese Department of Health to take their problems seriously. These patients have helped to raise awareness that compensatory sweating after ETS has harmful impacts on work, social interactions, and emotional health. Using an Internet discussion forum, the group was able to convince the Department of Health to prohibit surgeons from performing ETS on patients under 20 years old. The new age limit will help to ensure that patients choosing to undergo ETS are mature enough to fully investigate other, less drastic treatment options, and to understand the potential risks and serious side effects of ETS surgery.

As readers of this newsletter know, there are many different treatment options for hyperhidrosis. Antiperspirants, iontophoresis, and Botox injections have helped many, many people and should be tried before resorting to surgery. Because of the potential risks and the permanence of surgery, it is usually recommended only as a treatment of last resort.

Support groups for those suffering from the devastating side effects after ETS surgery exist in the United States, England, Sweden, Spain, China, and Japan, as well as Taiwan. In China, for instance, a group of patients has asked the Chinese Department of Health to completely ban the use of ETS for the treatment of hyperhidrosis (see the related story in our September 2004 edition). In response, the Department of Health has indicated that it will have experts evaluate the medical procedure and decide whether it should be banned. The investigation is ongoing.

Perhaps the policy changes that the patients in Taiwan have been able to enact will inspire these and other patient groups to continue their activism until their voices are heard. Indeed, the powerful impact of the patients in Taiwan is an inspiration to us all -- an inspiration to be fully informed, to continue working to inform others of all of the available treatment options, and to demand that health care systems take hyperhidrosis seriously and work to help improve its management.