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What Causes Profuse Sweating In An Elderly Woman?
Question: My Moms having major sweating ......not only at night...sometimes she's cold other times warm...right now she has a cold and on antibiotic....at any particular time she could start sweating even without exerting any energy...she's 76 yrs.old
Brief Answer:
investigation is required
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
too much sweating is usually abnormal. By saying "usually" I mean that sometimes the patients overestimate their sweating because of anxiety or other reasons.
Here's a list of potential causes (not exhaustive though, just the most common ones) :
- anxiety
- hyperthyroidism. Too much thyroxine causes sweating (wet hands all the time), fast heart rate, weight loss, increased appetite, etc
- various infections including tuberculosis, but also more common infections. The patient experiences a cold feeling (chills or rigor) when the temperature is rising and sweating when it drops.
- various malignancies including Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin Lymphomas.
Treatment would depend on the cause obviously. The investigation should start with a detailed history to find some clues. Important information would include:
- when the sweating is more profuse (for example during the night? Does she have to change clothes because they get wet? When she's stressed? etc)
- has she checked her temperature? It would help to check the temperature morning and evening for a week or so to make sure there's no fever.
- clinical examination to exclude the presence of enlarged lymph nodes or internal organs and to detect other potential clues.
- lab testing including TSH for thyroid disease, CRP and ESR as inflammatory markers of infection, complete blood count to check the hematcrit and white blood cell count, etc.
I hope it helps!
Kind Regards!
investigation is required
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
too much sweating is usually abnormal. By saying "usually" I mean that sometimes the patients overestimate their sweating because of anxiety or other reasons.
Here's a list of potential causes (not exhaustive though, just the most common ones) :
- anxiety
- hyperthyroidism. Too much thyroxine causes sweating (wet hands all the time), fast heart rate, weight loss, increased appetite, etc
- various infections including tuberculosis, but also more common infections. The patient experiences a cold feeling (chills or rigor) when the temperature is rising and sweating when it drops.
- various malignancies including Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin Lymphomas.
Treatment would depend on the cause obviously. The investigation should start with a detailed history to find some clues. Important information would include:
- when the sweating is more profuse (for example during the night? Does she have to change clothes because they get wet? When she's stressed? etc)
- has she checked her temperature? It would help to check the temperature morning and evening for a week or so to make sure there's no fever.
- clinical examination to exclude the presence of enlarged lymph nodes or internal organs and to detect other potential clues.
- lab testing including TSH for thyroid disease, CRP and ESR as inflammatory markers of infection, complete blood count to check the hematcrit and white blood cell count, etc.
I hope it helps!
Kind Regards!
Note: For more information on hormonal imbalance symptoms or unmanaged diabetes with other comorbid conditions, get back to us & Consult with an Endocrinologist. Click here to book an appointment.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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