A young woman who produces up to three litres of sweat a day due to a debilitating medical condition has spoken out about the devastating impact of having her life-changing treatment axed by the NHS.
A Childhood Marred by Bullying and Shame
Darcie Hamilton, a 22-year-old college student president from Scotland, appeared on ITV's This Morning to discuss her decade-long struggle with hyperhidrosis. The condition causes excessive sweating unrelated to heat or exercise and is notoriously difficult to treat permanently.
Darcie explained that her symptoms began around the age of ten. "In primary school I would notice taking part in physical activity, I would be sweating a lot more than my peers," she told hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley. "I would be sweating from the top of my armpits to the top of my waist, it was really bad."
The relentless sweating led to severe bullying from classmates who cruelly assumed she had poor hygiene. "They assumed a lot of things, saying things like, 'Oh, she doesn't wash'," Darcie recalled. To cope, she was forced to shower multiple times a day and bring several changes of clothes to school, while also battling chronic dehydration and exhaustion.
The Elusive Search for Effective Treatment
Darcie's journey to manage the condition was fraught with setbacks. After finally receiving a diagnosis, she was initially prescribed a clinical-strength roll-on deodorant, which only worsened her symptoms with a severe burning sensation.
A breakthrough came when she was offered Botox injections under her arms on the NHS. The treatment, which uses a neurotoxin to temporarily block nerve signals to sweat glands, proved transformative. "It changed my life for just over a year," Darcie said. "I had no symptoms, it was night and day, I was a completely different person, full of confidence."
However, her relief was short-lived. After the initial year of success, she received a letter in March informing her that the NHS would no longer fund the treatment.
NHS Cuts Force Patients to Go Private
The withdrawal of treatment was attributed to NHS funding cuts and new national guidelines. A spokesperson for NHS Scotland stated that a National Referral Protocol published in September 2025 sets out criteria where "Botox for hyperhidrosis is not routinely provided," and offered an apology to affected patients.
This Morning's physician, Dr Zoe Williams, clarified the reasoning: "Hyperhidrosis... is classed as a condition rather than a disease. Therefore, when cuts are being made, it's often conditions like this where they are making the cuts because it can be delivered privately."
Devastated, Darcie now faces the prospect of finding thousands of pounds for private treatment. "I opened the letter and just balled my eyes out crying. I felt so defeated," she told The Mirror. "Hyperhidrosis is not taken seriously as a real medical condition."
The segment on This Morning also featured a discussion about a 28-year-old trainee solicitor, Jade Mandongwe, who underwent a £10,000 cosmetic surgery package in Turkey, prompting debate about the platform given to such procedures. Harley Street surgeon William Townley cautioned that facelifts for people in their 20s without an underlying condition are not recommended.
