… Continued …
If your RA makes you sweat, this symptom may be followed with other flu-like symptoms. These include feeling hot and feeling generally ill.
Again, the answer of why and how RA can cause generalized sweating is not fully understood yet. As mentioned before, sweating is a normal mechanism of the body to cool down itself. In other words, it can be a part of how the body protects itself.
If you have RA, your body is at inflammatory state. During flare-up of the disease, the joint can be painful and warm. Sweating might be one of the body mechanisms to respond the effects of this inflammation.
RA is not the only one. The following are other possible conditions that can lead to secondary general hyperhidrosis are:
- High blood sugar condition (such as diabetes).
- Menopause. In fact, it is often associated with hot flush.
- Problems of thyroid.
- Pregnancy.
- Infectious health conditions, like tuberculosis (a bacterial infectious disease, most often found in the lungs).
- Parkinson’s disease (a condition that affects the nervous system, it can be progressive disorder).
- Heart failure.
- Stroke.
- Alcoholism.
- The existence of cancerous tumor, especially like lymphoma (cancerous condition that affects the immune system) and leukemia (cancer that primarily affect the bone marrow, the place where your blood cells are produced).
And some medications that may trigger generalized sweating can be; some supplements, some medicines to treat dry mouth and hypertension, certain antibiotics, and some psychiatric medicines.
Furthermore, sometimes RA coexists with another autoimmune disorder (such as Hashimoto’s disease that can trigger the most common type of under-active thyroid, see more in here). And thyroid problem can cause generalized sweating, too – as noted before.
If your excessive sweating is really linked to your RA, controlling and treating your RA are your major goals. If your RA improves and is well controlled, your hyperhidrosis should improve, too! Talk to your doctor for more advice!
- http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis/symptoms.aspx
- http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/is-your-excessive-sweating-caused-by-a-medical-problem