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What Causes High Body Temperature And Excessive Sweating?
Question: About every hour or two during the day and about 4-5 times while asleep, I have what could be a hot flush. My body temperature rises, I perspire on the face, neck and chest to the point of being very wet and in 5-10 minutes it has gone. I am 69 years old and have had this for 20 years. I now find that my brother who is 72 also suffers the same symptoms so it is unlikely it is hormonal. My deceased mother suffered very badly from the same thing which I remember clearly as a teenager. She rarely left the house because she found it embarrassing. These symptoms are hard to live with and I'm beginning to wonder if it is a defective gene that my family carries or whether this could be triggered by a food intolerance such as sugar or spices. I am also BRCA2 positive which is why it may be dangerous to use oestrogen patches. A specialist recently prescribed a low dose anti-depressant saying that this sometimes helps, but it didn't and I felt sleepy half the day. Is this a common ailment or can I try different things to alleviate the symptoms?
Brief Answer:
Thyroid, cardiovascular, diabetes to get further checked
Detailed Answer:
Hi my dear,
What you are experiencing could be partially related to hormonal changes. And, here we are not taking about female hormones, but to thyroid hormones as they can be altered at your age.
A simple blood test can be carried out to evaluate the levels of thyroid hormones.
Another cause could be cardiovascular disease. Get your blood pressure checked and schedule an appointment with cardiologist to evaluate your heart through ECG and echocardiogram.
Diabetes is another factor. Oscillations in blood sugar levels or diabetic neuropathy can also explain your symptoms.
Discuss this further with your family physician and ask to run the consultations as advised earlier.
Hope it answered to your questions.
Dr.Albana
Thyroid, cardiovascular, diabetes to get further checked
Detailed Answer:
Hi my dear,
What you are experiencing could be partially related to hormonal changes. And, here we are not taking about female hormones, but to thyroid hormones as they can be altered at your age.
A simple blood test can be carried out to evaluate the levels of thyroid hormones.
Another cause could be cardiovascular disease. Get your blood pressure checked and schedule an appointment with cardiologist to evaluate your heart through ECG and echocardiogram.
Diabetes is another factor. Oscillations in blood sugar levels or diabetic neuropathy can also explain your symptoms.
Discuss this further with your family physician and ask to run the consultations as advised earlier.
Hope it answered to your questions.
Dr.Albana
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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