A strange disease makes a 19-year-old man afraid of karaoke rooms and air-conditioned cafes

(Dan Tri) - Whenever he enters a closed space such as a car, karaoke room, air-conditioned cafe, or even an elevator, the young man does not dare to enter, for fear of having his illness discovered.

The disease that makes the young man afraid of closed spaces

Being afraid of group meetings, avoiding crowds and being afraid of closed spaces such as cars, elevators, karaoke rooms, air-conditioned cafes, game shops... are habits that have followed TTP (19 years old, HCMC) for the past 10 years.

According to the boy, since the age of 9, the skin under P.'s armpits smelled like raw onions. When he entered puberty, especially after exercising, playing sports or simply sitting in class for a long time, P.'s armpits smelled even worse.

P. tried many methods such as rubbing lemon, applying advertised treatments for underarm odor online such as creams, serums, natural essential oils, deodorants... but could not get rid of the smell.

Ms. M. (P.'s mother) said that when he was young, his son was innocent and did not know how to be shy. But when he reached puberty and began to sense his own body odor, as well as being teased by his friends, P. gradually became withdrawn and went out less. Every time he sat in a car or next to a stranger, P.'s hands were always tightly closed, not daring to raise them.

Afraid of pain but wanting to get rid of body odor, when he was in high school, P. asked his mother to take him to the hospital to have sympathectomy surgery to treat hyperhidrosis in the underarm area. But because he was under 18 at the time, P. was in the group of subjects contraindicated for this surgical intervention.

To live with the above condition, P. can only use deodorant containing aluminum salts and shower several times a day.

How to treat hyperhidrosis permanently

It wasn't until he was in college that friends introduced him to the hospital to learn about non-invasive treatments.

Examining the patient's skin and subcutaneous tissue condition, Dr. Vu Thi Thuy Trang, a dermatologist and cosmetic dermatologist, said that P. had severe hyperhidrosis. This condition is caused by overactivity of the eccrine and apocrine sweat glands.

To completely treat underarm odor, patients need to intervene in both sweat glands.

Dr. Trang advised P. to use microwave technology to permanently treat excessive sweating and odor in the armpit area, instead of short-term treatment with botox injections.

19-year-old boy treated for underarm odor at hospital (Photo: BV).

P.'s armpits were sterilized and anesthetized locally so that he would not feel any pain during the treatment. The doctor marked the treatment area and 20 sweat gland locations with a specialized tool before starting the intervention. P. said he felt no pain, only slight numbness in both armpits.

After about 3 hours, the treatment is completed. Patients are instructed to apply cold compresses for the first 1-2 days, limit strenuous exercise and not use deodorant to avoid clogging pores and causing inflammation.

Dr. Trang said that treating axillary hyperhidrosis with microwave has many advantages over traditional methods such as sympathectomy, iontophoresis, botox injections, etc. thanks to its direct impact on the sweat glands and oil glands located under the skin.

This method is effective after only 1-2 treatments, helping to reduce sweat and underarm odor permanently, limiting recurrence. This method does not require surgery, does not leave scars, has a quick recovery time and the patient can return to normal activities almost immediately afterwards.

Doctors note that after treating hyperhidrosis with microwave technology, patients often feel the armpit area slightly swollen, tense, or have a slight numbness for the first few days.

Some cases may experience minor bruising or slight pain when moving the arm, but these symptoms usually resolve on their own after 3-7 days.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/can-benh-oai-oam-khien-chang-trai-19-tuoi-so-phong-karaoke-ca-phe-may-lanh-20250623120231942.htm