Cold sweats – causes, symptoms, and treatment

Cold sweat is a sign of sudden stress, coming up due to psychological or physical reasons, or can be an outcome of both. The human body harbors two types of sweat glands, namely the eccrine and the apocrine. The eccrine is present all over the body and is responsible for controlling the body temperature, as the sweat produced by the eccrine comes out as water. This helps in cooling down the body heat. The apocrine sweat glands reside mainly in the groin and underarm areas and are more often stimulated by stress and hormonal alterations. Thus, the apocrine has a vital role to play in cold sweats. 

Causes of Cold Sweat

The most popular belief behind cold sweat is that anxiety and stress play the predominant role. Not wholly incorrect, though; there lie several other situations that can set off cold sweats.  

Anxiety disorder: 

  • The most recurrent symptoms of panic attacks, generalized anxiety, and social anxiety appear in the form of cold sweats. Anyone suffering from cold sweats combined with unusually higher anxiety levels should go for medical help at the earliest. 
  • Pain and shock: cold sweat can also occur due to sudden rapid heart rate, lower blood pressure, and blood divergence from other significant organs. In such cases, the cold sweats are accompanied by a painful sensation resulting from accidents or injuries. The patient should be rushed for medical care since there lie life risks. 
  • Heart attack: in many cases, cold sweats acted as a warning sign for an impending heart attack. The person will feel trouble breathing and will be all sweaty and clammy. Also, there will be a painful sensation in the chest. Under such circumstances, proper medical assistance is essential.
  • Hypoxia: in simple terms, hypoxia refers to that physical state when a few body parts don’t get sufficient oxygen. This lack of oxygen may occur due to prior injuries, blockages, or exposure to allergens or poisonous substances. In such cases, too, cold sweats may occur.
  • Hypoglycemia: cold sweats occur when a person suddenly suffers from a fall in the blood sugar level. In medical terms, such a situation is referred to as hypoglycemia and is a particular risk for people who are under medication for diabetes. 
  • Hormonal changes: often, when menopause and perimenopause knock on the door, there takes place substantial hormonal changes. Such internal alterations often result in an overwhelmingly high occurrence of cold sweats.
  • Infection: the last in the list of causes of cols sweating is infections. Your body can be responding to many various infections, the result of which can be the cold sweat. The infections can also be as dreadful as HIV and Tuberculosis. 

Symptoms 

The most prominent symptoms or the physical responses ignited by the stress response include:

  • Rapid heartbeat
  • The opening of sweat glands
  • Digestive system lacking sufficient blood, thus leading to a dry mouth and less saliva.
  • Shallow breathing
  • Release of endorphins

Unlike the regular sweats that cool down the body heat and control the body temperature, cold sweats lead to clammy and cool skin with a cold sensation. In many cases, the skin also turns pale. 

Risks

On the surface level, cold sweats usually do not have many risk factors. But if the origin of the sweating is some health issues like heart diseases, you should go for medical care at the earliest as such circumstances can be life-threatening. Also, the constant clamminess in the skin can invite infections. 

Treatments

  • To overcome the clammy discomfort or odor that follows the cold sweat, you need to take a bath daily and use antibacterial soaps.
  • Try wearing alternate shoes to get away with the odors and maintain dry feet.
  • Wearing woolen socks or sports socks are helpful since they absorb the moisture, thus making you comfortable.
  • You need to keep yourself relaxed, either by practicing mediation or yoga. The root cause of cold sweating is anxiety and stress, and thus one should search for ways to relax.

Consuming too much caffeine can result in increased sweating. So, it is crucial to maintain a proper diet to reduce cold sweats.