Skin pH following high voltage pulsed galvanic stimulation.

Prolonged electrotherapeutic treatment increases the probability of skin irritation beneath the electrodes. One probable cause is acid and base formation under the electrodes. It has been assumed that high voltage pulsed galvanic stimulators do not produce these chemical reactions. The validity of this hypothesis was tested on 40 healthy subjects. Three groups of subjects received stimulation with different high voltage pulsed galvanic units, and one group of subjects served as a control group. Pretreatment and posttreatment measures of skin pH revealed no chemical reaction under the electrodes.