Can sweating be a symptom of an illness? Actually, yes. Over the course of three years, a man from Wisconsin suffered from strange sweating episodes every month.
Regardless of the temperature or the amount of his physical activity, the 60-year-old patient would start sweating heavily for several minutes at a time in a short cluster of episodes. Then it would stop until about a month later, according to a newly-published report of the case.
Seeking help from various professionals at different hospitals, the man was repeatedly told that he was experiencing “hyperhidrosis,” which simply means excessive sweating. However, the doctors were baffled as to the cause of his regular, repetitive sweating episodes, medically known as “cyclical sweating.”
In general, hyperhidrosis could be the result of many different conditions, for example diabetes, low blood sugar, nervous system disorders and certain infections, according to the Mayo Clinic. Most commonly, hyperhidrosis is due to the overactivity of nerves that signal sweat glands, so sweat is produced even when those nerves are not triggered by warm temperatures or intense physical activity.
However, the man seemed to be healthy. He was not suffering from weight loss, fevers, or even night sweats. The man had an office job as a business consultant and never traveled to any foreign country.
The results that came back from multiple tests were unrevealing too. From radiography examinations, laboratory evaluations such as a complete blood count and urinalysis, to autonomic testing, the results all suggested the man was normal and healthy.
The only medication the man was taking was for gastroesophageal reflux, which had nothing to do with excessive sweating.
When Dr. Mark Chelmowski encountered this unusual medical case, he noticed something in addition to the excessive sweating, which finally led to the discovery of the cause of the sweating episodes.
Since the man had meticulously recorded when the sudden sweating episodes typically occurred, he was able to demonstrate one during an appointment with Chelmowski, who is an internal medicine physician and geriatrician at Advocate Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee.
During the sweating episode, the man was sweating so much that a puddle formed at the area of the desk where he rested his elbow, Chelmowski told Live Science.
However, in addition to the excessive sweating during the approximately two-minute long episode, Chelmowski noticed something else—the man was lowering his head and answering his questions slower than before. The man’s responsiveness then returned to normal a few minutes after the episode ended.
Noting the change, Chelmowski began to think that the cause of the episodes was rooted in the brain, which possibly meant a seizure.
To confirm his hypothesis, an electroencephalogram (EEG) was scheduled for the man, which would show his brain activity during the sweating episodes.
The EEG proved revealing. The temporal lobe area of the man’s brain showed outbursts of electrical activity, indicating seizures, during the episodes.
According to Chelmowski, sweat is typically triggered by processes controlled by the brain, such as experiencing certain emotions or when the body tries to release heat. In this special case, the seizures in the man’s brain triggered a pathway that led to the sweating.
With the correct diagnosis of the man’s cyclical sweating, the man began experiencing many fewer episodes after taking anti-seizure medication. The man has only experienced one cluster of episodes in the past a year and half.
The case report, with Chelmowski as its lead author, was published on Jan. 15 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Temporal Lobe Seizure
The temporal lobes of the brain are responsible for processing emotions. They also play a vital role in storing short-term memory. Severe temporal lobe seizures may cause a person to appear awake but become unresponsive to outside triggers.
During a seizure, which generally lasts between 30 seconds and 120 seconds, a person often becomes less responsive. Typical symptoms include losing awareness of surroundings, staring, lip-smacking, and unusual finger movements.
After a seizure, a person may have trouble with their speech, be unable to remember what happened during the seizure, or even not be aware of having one. It’s also possible for temporal lobe seizures to evolve into a more serious type of seizure that involves convulsions and loss of consciousness.
Repeated temporal lobe seizures may result in the loss of brain cells, causing memory problems.
Causes of temporal lobe seizures is often unknown. However, they can be a result of many different conditions, including anatomical defects, infections, traumatic brain injuries, and scarring in the temporal lobe area.
The seizures are usually treated with medication, and in some cases surgery.
