Fischer Galvanic MD-1a Review

My first experience with Fischer Galvanic MD-1a caused a lot of anxiety. I opened the case and saw a lot of wires and many booklets and sheets of paper with instructions.

I read through all the directions and set up the machine. I opened the case to find that it conveniently slides apart to become two tap water trays. One metal plate rests in each tray and a cloth goes on top of the plates to avoid any direct contact with the skin. Each plate is connected by a wire to the main device where you change the level of milliamperes. The instruction booklet said that you should aim for setting the device to 12-18 milliamperes.

Although I knew the machine was safe, I couldn’t help fearing that I would somehow be electrocuted and pass out once the power button was switched on. I could feel knots in my stomach and my breathing was fast. I was really nervous.

What I noticed most was vibration. The vibration was pretty severe during my first try- vibrating my fingers, palms, wrist, and half-way up my forearm.

The vibration sensation was not painful, just a little uncomfortable.

I was happy to find that the treatment wasn’t painful and that I felt safe. The treatment takes a lot of time, but I was able to watch TV during it. Watching TV also helped keep my mind off of any discomfort I felt with the vibration sensation.

Despite its dated look, Fischer Galvanic MD-1a is still a device that gets the job done.





At first I was a little bothered by the dated look and controls of the machine, but once I got used to it, I didn't mind - they are adequately precise and setting up an iontophoresis treatment is easy. So far I am satisfied with the device (buying of which was backed by my health insurance company), and I intend to keep using it for a long time.



For me, it took 5 weeks of daily treatments to stop sweaty hands, a state which I now blissfully maintain with only 2 treatments a week. Fischer Galvanic MD-1a is a good choice, especially if it's recommended by your doctor.

I first heard about Fischer Galvanic MD-1a through this website, after which I went to my doctor and got a prescription for it. My health insurance reimbursed me with part of the expenses, and I also used the Hyperhidrosis Network discount, so I think I got a pretty good deal.



I was pessimistic and did not believe that this will make a lot of difference in my battle against sweaty hands, but iontophoresis turned out great for me. In the first weeks, the excessive sweating on my hands strongly oscillated - first it was better, then worse, then good again... and so on. Then one day, I was surprised to find out that my hands are free of excessive sweat. Instead they were entirely dry 90% of the time! Unreal.



The only problem I have with this machine is that is causes my skin to become dry, and then I easily get skin lesions on my knuckles. Still, using a cream to treat this is a lot better than having sweaty hands, and I will keep using this iontophoresis machine.

Since poor MD-1a is getting some bad rap for its oldie control panel, I have to disagree there. I have poor eyesight so analog controls can be even easier for me than their digital counterparts. I just need to follow the marker and not squint at the numbers. My point: it's good that we can still buy devices with analog controls, because some of us prefer that.



I also like the simplicity of the entire device, which is really very straightforward, and you don't need a lengthy manual to find your way around it. Set the water trays, plug in the electrodes, and you are pretty much good to go.



My main complaint – and the reason why this won't get 5 stars – is the direct current. It is just not suited for treating sweaty underarms, so that makes the Fischer Galvanic MD-1a less versatile than I would like it to be.

Living in the States, I felt it safest to buy a Fischer Galvanic device, and after a consultation with my dermatologist, I decided to go with Fischer Galvanic MD-1a, because he had one in his office and offered me to go through a treatment first to see if it feels okay.



That single procedure did not help me, but I felt no bad side-effects, so I ordered my own Fischer to start with the regular treatments. I only needed to treat my hands, and at the beginning my husband would help me set up the device (I immersed my hands in the water while he adjusted the scales according to my instructions.) This made it easy to set the current perfectly.

I took me about a month to start noticing the lasting effects of iontophoresis. At first, my palms would be irritated and dry, but I would still sweat. Now, my palms don't sweat, and I only need to do treatments twice a week, so my skin is not that dry anymore.



I don't know what else to add - the Fischer Galvanic device works well, and it's all pretty straightforward: easy to use, easy to clean.

I heard about R.A. Fischer iontophoresis machines a long time ago, but it took me some time to actually get moving, get myself to a doctor, and get a much needed prescription for this iontophoresis machine.



As a first time iontophoresis user, I wasn't sure if Fischer Galvanic works better with wet pads or trays, so I ordered both. It turned out that trays are definitely better for my hands (which suffer from severe hyperhidrosis), but for my feet (with mild hyperhidrosis), both wet pads and trays are equally efficient.



What I like the best about Fischer Galvanic is its sturdy quality - I'm using it for about a year now and it's still as good as new. (I have hand iontophoresis treatments twice a week, and feet iontophoresis once a week.)



The controls are simple, and personally I really like them - because of their simplicity, it doesn't take much fiddling to master this device. I'll admit that I've been feeling a bit queasy at first, but once I learned to set the machine to fit my needs, the treatments were pretty much painless and perfectly effective. So, in my experience, Fischer Galvanic turned out to be a good way to treat hyperhidrosis.

I've used both the Fischer MD1 and the MD2. I started with the MD1 and it worked wonders. Then the MD2 came out and it looked more advanced and had some additional features that I really liked, so I bought that one. The biggest feature was that it auto-reversed the polarity, so I didn't have to do that manually, which I sometimes forgot to do on the MD1. They both work equally effective, but the MD2 has some bells and whistles. I would recommend either of them, and if you are on a budget, then the MD1 is the machine to get. Life changer.

R.A. Fischer was (and still is) a very pleasant surprise, as it completely changed my everyday life by curing my sweaty hands. The impression is that MD-1 is a very reliable machine, professionally built and safe to use.

So what if the interface isn't very sophisticated? I don't mind analog controls as long as they are precise and get the job done. I never had any difficulties setting up the desired level of iontophoresis intensity, which is probably why the treatments worked so well.



My personal iontophoresis experience: profuse palmar sweating increased after 2 weeks of use, but then after 3 weeks it stopped! Afterwards everything went by the book - weekly treatments, dry hands... =)

Bought on a prescription, this was recommended by my doctor who guaranteed I should get good results with an "old, reliable Fischer". He was right, and my profuse sweating really stopped on both my feet and my palms.



Since my palms are more sensitive, I regularly use a hand lotion to keep my skin healthy; with feet I don't really have this kind of problems.



I use trays for feet and sponge pads for my palms, but with this I need to be very careful how I set the current intensity, and treatments can be less effective. I only recommend doing palms & feet iontophoresis at the same time when you don't have the time for two separate treatments.



It's true that the machine looks quite dated, but it still helped me. Not bad.

I had trouble maintaining the same level of therapy over the months. Sometimes iontophoresis would leave my feel completely dry, to the point of skin cracking, while other times I would keep sweating from some parts of my feet. I don't know why this happens, and the doctor suggested that maybe this is due to uneven concentration of overactive sweat glands on the soles of my feet.



For me it's best when the amount of water in the trays is just high enough to cover my toes; and if I add a teaspoon of baking soda in the water.



Overall, this method eased my HH problems and the machine seems sturdy enough to last.