I am always hot and sweaty compared to others in the same condition.
This is try at moderately warm temperatures and especially after I
shower. Can this be caused by a medical condition and are there any
treatments?

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Request for Question Clarification by djbaker-ga on 02 May 2005 13:51 PDT

Greetings!
In order to answer this we'll likely need more information such as
your age, your sex, your approx. level of fitness, what conditions
your always hot and sweaty in (all time, when your moving, lying down,
etc).

Thanks,
djbaker-ga

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Clarification of Question by darrenlu-ga on 02 May 2005 14:08 PDT

28 y/o Male
6'3", 230 lbs
work out 3x per week for 1 hour; cardio and weights
hot and sweaty when it's moderately warm to hot, even with light exertion

You might have a thermoregulatory problem.  One possibility is an
overactive thyroid gland.  Our encocrine (hormonal) sytem works to
maintain balance in our metabolism, so whenever something seems out of
order it is possible that somewhere along an endocrine pathway
something may be over (or under) functioning.

The thyroid gland receives messages from the pituitary gland, which
itself receives messages from the hypothalamus, which itself receives
messages from the brain. At each of these steps, the pathway has a
feedback mechanism. For example, when the thyroid over-produces
thyroid hormone (T3, T4), there is negative feedback, prompting the
pituitary to release less thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH).


What to do:

You might want to check your free T3 and T4 levels, which are the
actual thyroid hormones that are in your bloodstream and are involved
with thermoregulation. If your thyroid is truly over-producting these
hormones, then your TSH should be low because it is trying to get the
thyroid to produce less thyroid hormone.  I believe that the active
form of thyroid hormone (T3)is mainly produced in the liver by
conversion of T4 to T3. The thyroid itself only produces 20% active T3
hormone. A definitive diagnosis of hyperthyroidism can only be made by
checking both thyroid hormone levels and TSH.  There are many types of
hyperthyroid disorders (one being Graves disease) and I suggest you
have an endocrinologist look into this matter because it is possible
that your condition may become serious or life-threatening.

It could just be overactive sweat glands (hyperhidrosis). I sweat
after coming out of the shower sometimes as well, especially if the
shower was a little hotter than usual. At moderate-warm temps and
light exertion, someone with overactive sweat glands will sweat heaps,
especially on the forehead, palms and feet. This could just be you,
you might have more sweat glands than usual or larger pores.
Pathologies/diseases which cause hyperhidrosis usually all come with
other symptoms, so if it's just the sweating and nothing else, don't
be too worried.

You seem like a healthy adult male, so hyperthyroidism is unlikely but
cannot be excluded. Graves is a common childhood disease, and
hyperthyroidism is familial, chronic and symptomatic from an earlier
age. Other major symptoms are unexplained rapid weight loss, dyspnoea
(breathing problems) and cardiovascular symptoms, so if you're not
experiencing those, hyperthyroidism is unlikely. You should get your
FT3 and FT4 levels checked anyway.

A good website to look at for people with excessive sweating is
www.sweating.net, this site can give you some more answers.

Are you taking any medications? Certain drugs -- including some
antidepressants -- can cause sweating.    There's a drug that helps
control sweating -- not sure what the name of it is, though.

Hi,
I don't know if this has any bearing on the matter, but I was born in
the deep south and grew up on the Gulf Coast (80+°F and 80+% humidity
from May to Sept.), but haven't lived there in decades.  Back then and
there, I could sweat after a shower when I brushed my teeth.
I also sweat readily with activity, always have since then, even ice
skating in subfreezing weather, and in other sports here in N. Europe,
more readily than my fellow sportsmen.
I have never considered it a problem, chalking it up to my growing up
in a climate that required the cooling of perspiration and my body's
adapting  - which may not be true. (?)

Could it be, that you have a similar background?

Germans who grew up in the days of a Saturday night bath used to say: 
"Don't drink so much water, just makes you sweat more."  It may be
true, but I don't think doctors now subscribe to this.

Sometimes the cause of sweating is the stress from worring about
sweating itself. I had this problem years ago and I relized it was
trigged only when I though about it. Try relaxing and concern your
mind with other issues instead of sweating. But if it actually is a
physiological problem treatments do exist. If your main concern is
your underarms, sweat glands can be surgically removed, but this is a
expensive option and doesn't always have the greatest sucess rate.
Botox is another option. Along with getting rid of wrinkles Botox is
an effect way to paralyze sweat glands and stop sweating completly in
a localized area. Injections are needed every 3-4 months but it is
still a overall much cheaper and less invasive way to take care of
sweating problems.

To Darrenlu,

I can sympathize completely -- I found your posting by trying to
research my own condition.  I am 38, female, 215 lbs, I don't work out
at all or do any exercise because I sweat at the drop of a hat.  My
life goes something like this:  I must shower with cool water,
otherwise I sweat instantly.  I must sit quietly with wet hair for at
least half an hour, preferably outside on the porch with no shirt on
(thankfully no neighbors to witness this!), and wait until I've cooled
down enough to dry my hair; otherwise I sweat.  After using the
hairdryer on cool setting...I sweat.  At work, when I take ten minutes
to distribute the office mail in the allotted mailboxes...I sweat. 
Clean the catbox...sweat.  Try on clothes at the mall...sweat.  You
get the idea.  This is not something I was born with, as I understand
most people with sweat problems develop them in their childhood or
teens; this is something that is getting progressively worse, and has
only been going on for the last six or seven years (since around
thirty years old).  I have been tested for thyroid problems even
though I have no signs other than sweating, e.g. weight loss, etc.  No
thyroid trouble.  I take no medications.  I am not anxious about
sweating or anything else, for that matter.  I do drink a lot of diet
pepsi (four cans a day), caffeinated, which I understand doesn't help,
but since my pepsi intake has been pretty consistent since childhood,
I can't see how it would make that big of a difference -- still, I am
going to try decaffeinated for a month and see if it helps.  I do seem
to sweat significantly more just before and during my menstrual cycle;
in fact, I wake up with a fever on the first day, usually.  But since
my "hot flashes" do not seem anything like those I read about
menopausal or premenopausal women having, e.g. a flushed feeling
primarily on the chest and throat, etc., I really don't think that's
what I'm experiencing.  It just seems to take less and less effort to
work up a sweat.  Does anyone have any ideas about what it could be? 
Is it just because I'm fat?  Could my concurrent worsening runny nose
(certified to be vasomotor rhinitis and thus untreatable, probably
caused by any increase in blood flow to my nose) have anything to do
with it, meaning, are they both caused by the same hormonal inbalance
of some kind?  Any ideas were be appreciated, and if there's anyone
else out there who suffers like darrenlu.ga and I do, I'd love to hear
from you -- just to know I'm not alone!

THIS IS FOR RAVENNAEVANS

I WOULD REALLY LOVE TO TALK TO YOU. I AM A 32 YEAR OLD FEMALE IN
FAIRLY GOOD HEALTH EXCEPT FOR THE PROFUSE SWEATING. I SWEAT WHEN IT'S
HOT, I SWEAT WHEN IT'S COLD. I SWEAT FOR NO REASON AT ALL. I SWEAT SO
BAD THAT SWEAT DRIPS FROM MY FINGERS. I DREAD GOING OUT IN PUBLIC. MY
UNDERGARMENTS STAY SOAKED.WHEN I SIT I LEAVE A WET SPOT ON THE SEAT.
SWEAT ROLLS DOWN BY BACK, BETWEEN MY BREASTS, DOWN MY ARMS, DOWN MY
FACE, DOWN THE FRONT AND BACK OF MY LEGS. I CAN'T WEAR ANY TYPE OF
FLIPFLOPS OR SANDALLS. I JUST SLIP AND SLIDE IN THEM. ONE THING THAT
YOU SAID REALLY CAUGHT MY ATTENTION. THE RUNNY NOSE. I HAVE HAD THIS
SWEATING "CURSE" FOR MANY MANY YEARS NOW BUT JUST IN THE PAST , I'D
SAY, 2 YEARS I REALLY NOTICED A PROBLEM WITH THE RUNNY NOSE. EVERY
TIME I START HAVING WHAT I CALL A BAD MELT DOWN MY NOSE STARTS
POURING. I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW IF YOU'VE HAD ANY LUCK FINDING OUT WHAT
THIS COULD BE. I'VE BEEN TO SO MANY DOCTORS THAT JUST BLOW IT OFF. I
HAD ONE TELL ME THAT IT WAS ALL IN MY HEAD AND IF I PUT MY MIND ON
OTHER THINGS THAT IT WOULD GO AWAY. WELL HERE I AM STILL SWEATING
AFTER I KNOW AT LEAST 10 YEARS AND IT HASN'T GONE AWAY YET.