Ionunit MK7 Iontophoresis Kit User Guide

Ionunit MK7 Iontophoresis Kit

The KBMM Iontophoresis Kit MK7 is a device used for the treatment of hyperhidrosis. It includes an Ionunit controller, USB charger cable, USB charger, carry case, treatment trays, cloth electrodes x 2, and a Quick Start Guide.

What’s inside your kit

Setting up

• Set up opened case on a level surface.
• Place the cloth electrodes into the treatment trays formed by the case.
• Plug the electrodes into the blue sockets on the side of the controller.
• Clean and rinse the areas to be treated.
• Cover any cuts or abrasions with a barrier cream, such as petroleum jelly in order to avoid concentrated current areas that could result in a stinging sensation.
• Fill each tray with warm tap water, to a level that covers the areas to be treated (typically, to a level half-way up the sides of the hands or feet).
• In some cases, the local tap water may too “soft” or may not contain sufficient minerals to provide adequate conduction. Add a couple of teaspoons of non-iodised salt and/or bicarbonate of soda to each tray.
• More extreme cases of problematic tap water might require the use of standard saline solution instead.

Operating instructions

• Switch on the controller using the rocker switch situated at the top of the unit.
• If the unit is switched off and needs to switched on immediately again, wait around 10 seconds to allow the circuitry to reset before switching on.
• Select the treatment profile by touching the “HOME” or the + and – buttons, a few seconds after the select pointer appears on the screen.
• Touch “ENTER” to open the selected profile.
• Touch “ENTER” again to transition to the RUN page.
• The battery indicator shows the state of charge.
• Place hands/feet into the trays to commence treatment.
• When ready, touch “ENTER” to start the treatment.
• If alone and treating hands, place one hand into the water and use the other hand to touch “ENTER”. The voltage (V) will rise, searching for the user to complete the circuit. Place the other hand into the water when the voltage is moving through its lower values.
• The current (mA) will ramp up to the pre-set value and the timer indicators (minutes, seconds) and the progress bar will appear. The voltage (V) will settle at the value needed to produce the required current (mA).
• If the treatment does not commence, remove the hands/feet and add salt and/or bicarbonate of soda to the water (about one to two teaspoons each tray) and try again.
• Treatment commences in the FWD direction (polarity one).
• Touching the “ENTER” button (directly under STOP) will pause the treatment and the current will ramp down.
• To continue the treatment from where it was paused, touch the “ENTER” button again (directly under RUN).
• Touching the “HOME” button will cause the current to ramp down and return to the treatment profile selection page.
• After the pre-set time has elapsed, the current will ramp down, the polarity will reverse and the current will ramp up again, in the REV direction (polarity two).
• After the pre-set time elapses a second time, the current will ramp down, completing the treatment session.
• Remove hands/feet (or under-arms kit) before turning the unit off.
• Turn off the control unit using the rocker switch.
• Disconnect the leads from the controller.
• Empty the trays, then rinse the trays and cloth electrodes.
• Gently squeeze out excess water from the cloth electrodes while rinsing and then allow them to dry.
• Allow to dry completely if packing away.
• The current level can be increased or decreased during treatment as required, by touching the “+” or “-” buttons on the control unit. The user may wish to increase the treatment current, if still comfortable.
• A high setting (above 10 mA) is not necessarily more effective.
• Decrease the default setting if any discomfort is experienced.
• Too low a setting (below 2 mA) will be less effective.
• If treating the under-arms, make sure that the paddles are fully wrapped and thoroughly soaked.
• The control unit ceases treatment if the battery level is allowed to drop to one bar (red). It is best to keep the control unit charged to around 4 bars when storing long term.
• Hands and feet can be treated simultaneously by separating the trays. Place one tray on the floor to accommodate both feet. Place both hands into the other tray. Profile 2 (feet) may be used as the default setting. Generally, it has been found to be more effective to treat hands and feet separately.
• Profile 4 provides user-defined settings of current and treatment time, which are then stored in memory.

Safety trips

Three trip conditions are programmed into the Ionunit. If any of these trips are triggered, the unit will cease operation and the voltage will run down to zero. Upon reset, operation will resume.

Over-voltage

• This trip appears under the voltage (V) gauge and signifies that the voltage increased above the set safety limit of 45 V.
• This trip can occur if the resistance of the circuit formed by the user and the water is too high and the unit is not able to reach the treatment current (mA) during ramp-up.
• It can also occur during a treatment if the treatment current set point is increased and the voltage rises above 45 V, in an attempt to reach and maintain treatment current.
• Add non-iodised salt and/or bicarbonate of soda to the water to lower the circuit resistance.
• Make sure that hands/feet are clean and devoid of any moisturisers or oils.
• Use warm water in the treatment trays and soak the hands/feet before treatment.
• Ideally, the voltage during treatment should lie somewhere between 10 V and 30 V.

Over-current

• This trip appears under the current (mA) gauge and signifies that the current has increased above the set safety limit of 20 mA.
• This condition is unlikely to occur during normal operation.
• However, it can arise under a short-circuit condition or if the current set point is set at or near maximum (20 mA) and the current momentarily rises above 20 mA during a ramp-up.

Open-circuit

• This trip appears under the current (mA) gauge and signifies that the circuit formed by the user and the water has been broken, typically by the removal of a hand or foot.
• For user convenience, if the user wishes to remove hands and there is no one to operate the down arrow, the unit may be tripped on purpose as follows:
• Roll one hand up onto the finger tips. The voltage will then rise in order to maintain treatment current.
• Once the voltage has increased by more than 5 V, the unit will trip on Open-circuit and the voltage ramp down to zero, allowing the user to remove hands without the risk of a shock sensation.
• While in the tripped state, the user may increase or decrease the treatment current set-point by touching the “+” or “-” buttons respectively.
• Each “beep” signifies a single step up or down in treatment current value.

To reset the trips

• Touch RUN (“ENTER”) once the voltage and current have run down to zero.
• To continue, touch RUN (“ENTER”) again. The unit will resume operation.
• Otherwise touch Home (“HOME”) to return to the selection page.

Charging the unit

• Plug the USB cable into the socket at the top of the control unit and into the USB charger.
• Plug the charger into a suitable mains outlet.
• The RED LED indicator will illuminate while charging is taking place.
• Charging will be complete once the GREEN LED indicator illuminates.
• As a safety measure, the unit will not operate while plugged into the mains during charging.

Under-arm treatment

• The under-arm kit can be purchased separately (see website).
• Thoroughly soak the double cotton socks, covering the paddles, in warm tap water.
• Connect the paddles to the controller.
• Under-arms should be free of deodorants/antiperspirants.
• Select the under-arm profile (Profile 3) or set your own values (Profile 4) and perform treatment.
• Ensure that the socks remain thoroughly soaked throughout, stopping treatment if necessary to re-soak them.

Methodology:

• Users sit with their hands/feet in shallow trays filled with tap water while the control device passes a few milliamps of current through the water.
• The process requires 6 to 8 treatments on average, no more than one per day.
• The treatments can be carried out daily or even every second or third day.
• The user then switches to a maintenance schedule of one treatment every two or so weeks or even months as required to prevent the return of hyperhidrosis.
• In rare, difficult cases, certain prescription drugs may be added to the water.

Treating hyperhidrosis with iontophoresis

• Studies show that close to 100 % of users with excessive sweating have been helped.
•  During iontophoresis treatment, a very mild electric current is passed through water and into the affected areas, through the skin’s surface.
• The treatment is non-invasive as it is applied only through intact skin.
• There are no significant side effects, and benefits are long term with the use of a maintenance schedule.

Please visit our website for more information. www.ionunit.com

References

• Ionunit

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