When was the starch-iodine sweat test invented?

The neurologist Victor Minor described the starch-iodine (Minor's) test in 1928. Iodine and starch on the skin react with sweat to turn dark blue-black, making sweating areas visible. It is still used clinically to map hyperhidrosis before treatment.

What was the first antiperspirant?

Everdry, marketed in 1903, is generally recorded as the first antiperspirant to use aluminum salts, an aluminum chloride solution applied with a cotton ball. An earlier product, Mum (1888), was a deodorant aimed at odor rather than reducing sweat.

When did surgery for excessive sweating begin?

The first sympathectomy specifically for hyperhidrosis was performed by Kotzareff in 1920 using an open approach. The first thoracoscopic (keyhole) version was published by Hughes in 1942, and minimally invasive techniques were refined over later decades.

How was botulinum toxin discovered to treat sweating?

By accident. In the early 1990s, doctors treating facial spasms with botulinum toxin noticed reduced sweating on the treated side. Bushara and Park documented the effect and proposed it as a treatment for underarm hyperhidrosis in a 1996 paper.

When did the FDA approve treatments for hyperhidrosis?

The FDA approved Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) for severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis in 2004, and approved Qbrexza (glycopyrronium) cloth, a topical anticholinergic, in 2018.

Who established the physiology of human sweating?

The Japanese physiologist Yas Kuno was central. His book The Physiology of Human Perspiration (1934), expanded as Human Perspiration (1956), synthesized how eccrine glands, heat, and nerves drive sweating and became a foundational reference.

Research

A History of Sweat Research and Hyperhidrosis Treatment

Sweating has been studied and treated for well over a century, and the milestones are easier to place than most people expect. A visual skin test for sweating arrived in 1928, the first aluminum-based antiperspirant went on sale in 1903, surgeons were cutting sweat nerves by 1920, and modern drug therapies earned US approvals in 2004 and 2018. This page assembles a verified timeline of how researchers learned to measure sweat, understand its physiology, and treat excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis), with every date traced to a primary or well-documented source.

By the Sweat Explained Editorial Team · Published 2026-07-13 · Last reviewed 2026-07-13 · Educational information, not medical advice.

Key statistics at a glance

1928
Victor Minor describes the starch-iodine test to visualize sweating
Minor 1928 / Minor test
1903
Everdry, the first antiperspirant using aluminum salts, is marketed
history of deodorant
1920
Kotzareff performs the first sympathectomy for hyperhidrosis
Cerfolio review 2017
1994–96
Bushara & Park report botulinum toxin reduces sweating
Bushara 1996, Clin Exp Dermatol
2004 / 2018
FDA approvals: Botox for underarm hyperhidrosis (2004); Qbrexza cloth (2018)
FDA / Dermira

Learning to see and measure sweat

The first practical breakthrough was a way to make sweating visible. In 1928 the neurologist Victor Minor described what became known as the starch-iodine (Minor's) test: paint the skin with iodine, dust it with starch, and any area that sweats turns a dark blue-black as the two react. Nearly a century later the same simple chemistry is still used in clinics to map where and how heavily a person sweats before treatment.

Understanding the physiology behind that sweat took a parallel line of work. The Japanese physiologist Yas Kuno published The Physiology of Human Perspiration in 1934 and a greatly expanded monograph, Human Perspiration, in 1956. Kuno's synthesis of how eccrine glands, heat, and nervous stimulation drive sweating became a foundational reference for the field of thermal physiology.

A timeline of key milestones

The dates below are drawn from primary papers and well-documented historical records. Two threads run in parallel: measuring and understanding sweat on one side, and treating excessive sweating on the other.

Selected milestones in sweat research and hyperhidrosis treatment
Year	Milestone	Note
1888	Mum, the first commercial deodorant, is patented	A zinc-oxide paste; targets odor, not sweat volume
1903	Everdry, the first antiperspirant using aluminum salts, is marketed	Aluminum chloride solution applied by cotton ball
1920	First sympathectomy performed for hyperhidrosis (Kotzareff)	Surgery on the sympathetic nerve chain
1928	Minor describes the starch-iodine sweat test	Still used clinically to map sweating
1934	Kuno publishes The Physiology of Human Perspiration	Expanded as Human Perspiration in 1956
1942	Hughes publishes the first thoracoscopic sympathectomy	Early minimally invasive approach
1994–96	Botulinum toxin found to reduce sweating (Bushara & Park)	Observed during blepharospasm treatment; treatment proposed
2004	FDA approves Botox for severe underarm hyperhidrosis	First botulinum-toxin approval for sweating in the US
2018	FDA approves Qbrexza (glycopyrronium) cloth	First once-daily topical anticholinergic for underarm sweating

Deodorant and antiperspirant dates are from documented product history (secondary). Surgical and drug milestones are from peer-reviewed and regulatory sources.

The antiperspirant era

Everyday sweat control is a separate story from clinical medicine, but it starts even earlier. The first commercial deodorant, Mum, was patented in 1888, a zinc-oxide paste aimed at odor rather than wetness. The first true antiperspirant, Everdry, followed in 1903 and was the first to use aluminum salts, applied as an aluminum chloride solution with a cotton ball. Aluminum salts are designed to reduce visible wetness at the skin surface, and they remain the active ingredient in most over-the-counter antiperspirants today.

Early formulas were harsh (acidic enough to sting skin and stain fabric), and later products refined the chemistry to be gentler. It is worth noting neutrally that major health bodies have examined aluminum-based antiperspirants and do not support the common alarmist claims linking normal use to serious disease; this page reports the historical record rather than endorsing any product.

Surgery on the sweat nerves

For severe cases, surgeons turned to the sympathetic nervous system, which controls the sweat glands. The first sympathectomy specifically to treat hyperhidrosis was performed by Kotzareff in 1920, using an open approach to reach the nerve chain along the spine. In 1942 Hughes published the first thoracoscopic (keyhole) version, and over the following decades minimally invasive techniques progressively replaced the older open operations.

These procedures can reduce sweating in the targeted area, but the history also records a well-known trade-off (compensatory sweating elsewhere on the body), which is why modern practice reserves surgery for carefully selected cases. Our companion research page on compensatory sweating after endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy covers that evidence in detail.

Botulinum toxin and modern approvals

One of the most useful discoveries was accidental. In the early 1990s, clinicians treating facial muscle spasms with botulinum toxin noticed that patients also sweated less on the treated side. Bushara and Park documented this effect and, in a 1996 paper, proposed botulinum toxin as a possible new treatment for axillary (underarm) hyperhidrosis. That observation matured into a formal therapy: in 2004 the US Food and Drug Administration approved onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) for severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis in people who could not get relief from antiperspirants.

Topical prescription options followed. In 2018 the FDA approved Qbrexza (glycopyrronium), a pre-moistened, once-daily anticholinergic cloth developed by Dermira, for primary axillary hyperhidrosis, the first product of its kind. Together these approvals mark the point at which excessive sweating moved from a condition managed mainly by surgery or off-label drugs to one with dedicated, regulator-reviewed treatments.

Methodology and limitations

This timeline combines primary and well-documented sources: the historical record of the Minor starch-iodine test (described 1928); Yas Kuno's monographs (1934, 1956); a peer-reviewed review of thoracic sympathectomy for the surgical milestones (Kotzareff 1920; Hughes 1942); the Bushara & Park botulinum-toxin publication (1996); and regulatory and manufacturer records for the FDA approvals (Botox 2004; Qbrexza 2018). Deodorant and antiperspirant dates come from documented product history and are labeled as secondary.

Limitations: history is rarely a single clean 'first.' Some milestones (early sympathectomy, endoscopic refinements, commercial product launches) are attributed differently across sources, and the years given here reflect the most commonly documented dates. This page is an educational timeline, not medical advice; treatment decisions should be discussed with a qualified clinician.

Frequently asked questions

When was the starch-iodine sweat test invented?: The neurologist Victor Minor described the starch-iodine (Minor's) test in 1928. Iodine and starch on the skin react with sweat to turn dark blue-black, making sweating areas visible. It is still used clinically to map hyperhidrosis before treatment.
What was the first antiperspirant?: Everdry, marketed in 1903, is generally recorded as the first antiperspirant to use aluminum salts, an aluminum chloride solution applied with a cotton ball. An earlier product, Mum (1888), was a deodorant aimed at odor rather than reducing sweat.
When did surgery for excessive sweating begin?: The first sympathectomy specifically for hyperhidrosis was performed by Kotzareff in 1920 using an open approach. The first thoracoscopic (keyhole) version was published by Hughes in 1942, and minimally invasive techniques were refined over later decades.
How was botulinum toxin discovered to treat sweating?: By accident. In the early 1990s, doctors treating facial spasms with botulinum toxin noticed reduced sweating on the treated side. Bushara and Park documented the effect and proposed it as a treatment for underarm hyperhidrosis in a 1996 paper.
When did the FDA approve treatments for hyperhidrosis?: The FDA approved Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) for severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis in 2004, and approved Qbrexza (glycopyrronium) cloth, a topical anticholinergic, in 2018.
Who established the physiology of human sweating?: The Japanese physiologist Yas Kuno was central. His book The Physiology of Human Perspiration (1934), expanded as Human Perspiration (1956), synthesized how eccrine glands, heat, and nerves drive sweating and became a foundational reference.

Sources

Primary peer-reviewed studies and official sources first, then reviews and institutional framing (secondary).

Tochihara Y, et al. History of thermal and environmental physiology in Japan: the heritage of Yas Kuno. Temperature (Austin). 2015;2(3):310–315. Documents Kuno's 1934 and 1956 monographs on human perspiration. Full text
Cerfolio RJ, De Campos JRM, et al. Thoracic sympathectomy for hyperhidrosis: from surgical indications to clinical results. J Thorac Dis. 2017;9(Suppl 3):S178–S191. Kotzareff (1920) first sympathectomy; Hughes (1942) first thoracoscopic. Full text
Bushara KO, Park DM, Jones JC, Schutta HS. Botulinum toxin: a possible new treatment for axillary hyperhidrosis. Clin Exp Dermatol. 1996;21(4):276–278. PMID 8959898. PubMed
Minor V. Ein neues Verfahren zu der klinischen Untersuchung der Schweißabsonderung (a new method for clinical examination of sweat secretion). Dtsch Z Nervenheilkd. 1928;101:302–308. Origin of the starch-iodine (Minor's) test. (secondary) Reference
International Hyperhidrosis Society. OnabotulinumtoxinA and treatment of hyperhidrosis (FDA approval, 2004). Documents 2004 FDA approval of Botox for severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis. (secondary) Reference
Dermira, Inc. Dermira receives FDA approval for Qbrexza (glycopyrronium) cloth to treat primary axillary hyperhidrosis. Press release, June 2018. First topical anticholinergic cloth approved for underarm sweating. (secondary) Press release

How to cite this page

Sweat Explained. A History of Sweat Research and Hyperhidrosis Treatment. Published 2026-07-13; last reviewed 2026-07-13. Available at: https://sweatexplained.com/research/history-of-hyperhidrosis-and-sweat-research

Please cite the original studies for the underlying figures. Journalists are welcome to link to this page; the charts are original renderings of the cited data.