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Health

Weakness and sweating and other symptoms: fever, dizziness, palpitations

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 19.10.2021
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Very often, feeling weak, we do not rush to consult doctors for advice, associating this symptom with banal fatigue. But when a full rest does not bring due relief, it is no longer about fatigue, but about something else. And to understand this can only specialist after carrying out certain diagnostic measures.

The same goes for sweating. Wet underarms in sports and stress will not surprise anyone. And even though they look unaesthetic, you understand that this is a temporary business. It's enough to rest and calm down and sweating will come back to normal.

And if not? The person is calm, and the armpits, face, hands or other parts of the body suddenly become wet. This is already an alarming symptom, especially if you celebrate it regularly.

General and muscle weakness and sweating can be due to overwork, infectious inflammatory diseases, nervous, endocrine, gastrointestinal, oncological and other pathologies. Those. These symptoms can not be called any specific, and therefore make a diagnosis on them does not make sense. It's another matter if other symptoms join this symptom complex. Here the circle of "suspects" is somewhat narrowed, which facilitates diagnostic activities and reduces their number.

Without pretending to be a diagnostician, we will still try to understand the issue, when weakness and sweating are symptoms of the disease and what kind of disorders in the body can there be with different combinations of symptoms.

Temperature

Weakness, sweating, a general decline of strength experienced by everyone who has ever had a cold respiratory illness, when laying a nose, sore throat and the temperature rose to very high rates. It must be said that the thermoregulation mechanism works not only in the case of a change in the ambient temperature, but also in the case of fluctuations in the body's own temperature. It is clear that an increase in temperature to subfebrile values (of the order of 37- 38 degrees) or more, will be accompanied by a thermoregulatory sweating. And it's good, because in this way, the body does not allow body temperature to rise to critical values.

The appearance of a lot of sweat in case of illness is necessary for lowering the temperature, so the process of sweating is stimulated by various medicinal (antipyretic) and folk (abundant drink, warm tea with lemon or raspberry).

Why does it cause weakness? This is the answer to the high costs of the body's own energy to fight the disease, i.e. On the work of the immune system. Therefore, during the illness it is so important to receive a sufficient amount of vitamins and energetically valuable substances (glucose, fats).

Sore throat, night sweats, subfebrile condition

Weakness, sore throat and sweating supplemented with a runny nose, headaches, fever, cough are most often an indicator of a respiratory viral infection and persecute a person during illness. But after acute respiratory viral infection, flu, sore throat caused by viruses, and other similar diseases, weakness and sweating can remain, which, on the background of a low temperature, only indicates a high degree of weakening of the body.

Subfebrile, weakness and night sweats are considered frequent symptoms of infectious diseases. For example, they are typical for the clinical picture of tuberculosis. But sometimes a prolonged increase in temperature is associated not with a specific disease, but with the presence in the body of a chronic infectious-inflammatory process of different localization (sinusitis, pancreatitis, gastritis, cholecystitis, etc.).

However, sometimes even such serious pathologies as ARVI, influenza, angina, pneumonia can occur without temperature, which does not entail absence of weakness and sweating. Usually, the absence of temperature speaks only of low immunity and a decline in strength, which is always accompanied by weakness. Sweating also indicates a decline in strength, especially when it occurs at night.

But weakness and sweating on the background of high fever can be a signal not only colds pathologies. They can indicate the presence of an infectious-inflammatory process inside the body, associated with bacteria, viruses, or fungi. Symptoms will indicate that the body is struggling with pathogens that destroy its cells and poison it with the products of its vital activity.

Weakness and sweating at night can also have several causes. We already talked about an acute retroviral infection, but this is not the only pathology in which hyperhidrosis is observed at night.

Night sweat and weakness are typical for hormonal imbalance (often affects teenagers, pregnant women and women during menopause), generalized oncological pathologies and cancer with metastases (sweat can be intensively secreted during pain attacks during the day or at night), tuberculosis, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, HIV infection, reflux disease, hypoglycemia in diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism. True, if such a phenomenon is observed in isolated cases, its cause, most likely, has become a nightmare or a stuffiness in the room.

Night sweating and weakness against a background of fever is typical for some oncological pathologies of the lymphatic system. For example, this symptomatology is specific for Hodgkin's lymphoma. However, there is also a change in the size of the lymph nodes.

A slight increase in temperature, weakness and sweating can be noted against the background of overheating of the body due to high ambient temperature, the intake of muscle relaxants and atropine-like substances, physical overstrain, stressful situations.

Rapid fatigue, dizziness, palpitations

Sometimes weakness, sweating and fast fatigue accompany cardiovascular pathologies. In addition, symptoms such as pain in the region of the heart, nausea (usually with fluctuating pressure), dizziness may also appear. For example, sweating, dizziness and weakness are common symptoms of vegetative-vascular dystonia (VSD). But it is impossible to exclude also various endocrine pathologies, as well as infectious diseases caused by viruses and bacteria. It should be noted that with ARVI sweating is observed mainly in the evening and night.

It should be understood that rapid fatigue is considered one of the symptoms of weakness, and is most often due to overwork of the body. But fatigue can be caused by stressful situations or physical factors (regular exercise, hard physical labor), and pathological causes (for example, chronic diseases that lead to exhaustion of human strength).

Weakness, sweating and heart palpitations on the background of slightly elevated temperature may indicate both a viral pathology and problems with the cardiovascular system, especially when it comes to inflammatory pathologies (myocarditis, pericarditis, etc.).

Severe weakness and sweating are typical for VSD, a drop or increase in blood pressure, in general, for vascular pathologies. Very often, vegetative disorders are observed against the background of long-persisting low-grade fever (subfebrile), and it seems that the body has a hidden viral or bacterial infection.

A sudden appearance of weakness and cold sweat can be observed with a sharp change in the position of the body. This may also cause nausea and darkness in the eyes.

Cough

Dizziness, sweating, coughing and weakness are considered to be symptoms of the pathology of the respiratory system. So can manifest themselves bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis and some other pathologies. In this case we are talking about an infectious and cold cough. Already by itself a strong cough causes muscle tension and sweating, a deep breath leads to dizziness, and energy consumption to fight the disease - to weakness.

By the way, cough does not have to be cold. Such a symptom can sometimes be observed with an allergy that exhausts the body no less than other chronic diseases, so it can be accompanied by weakness and sweating when strained. Still, cough also needs strength.

But there is also such a thing as a heart cough, which is evidence of stagnation of blood in the lungs. But stagnant phenomena are thought to be a consequence of heart failure leading to a weakening of the blood flow. I must say that in addition to dry cough for heart disorders, frequent complaints are the same weakness and sweating, which can be observed at the very beginning of the disease.

trusted-source[1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

Nausea

The combination of such symptoms as nausea, dizziness, weakness and sweating is characteristic of the acute course of viral diseases and intoxications of various genesis. But viral pathologies are most often accompanied by a runny nose, cough, sore throat and headache, eye pain, and intoxication depending on what became the cause of poisoning fraught with digestive disorders, respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological disorders. If it's not about colds or poisoning, then maybe it's a banal allergy, which is also characterized by the symptoms described above.

By the way, nausea, weakness and sweating can also indicate inflammatory pathologies of the digestive system, which occur with a metabolic disorder. And if, in addition, flies "flies" in the eyes, there is a noise in the ears or stunned, dizziness, probably the cause of this condition was the drop in blood pressure. At increased pressure, nausea, weakness and hyperhidrosis can be supplemented by flushing to the face, skin hyperemia, severe headaches.

But the same symptoms can manifest itself and a new life. And equally it can be about helminthiasis and pregnancy. However, in the latter case, bouts of nausea and vomiting torment a woman mainly in connection with the smell of food (toxicosis).

Weakness, hyperhidrosis and nausea may also indicate poisoning with food or chemicals. In the first case, diarrhea and vomiting are often associated with symptoms, in the second - malfunctions in the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, headaches, impaired orientation and other neurological disorders.

Headaches, dyspnea

Headache, sweating and weakness often are symptoms of circulatory disorders in the vessels of the brain and a malfunction in the vegetative system. These same symptoms can be observed with hypo- and hyperthyroidism, diabetes mellitus and other endocrine pathologies.

But sometimes this symptomatology is caused by hormonal imbalance in different age periods (in adolescence at puberty, at a young age at pregnancy, on the average and older age at approach of a climacterium) or a weak intoxication by chemical substances.

When people talk about symptoms such as weakness, shortness of breath and sweating, they are suspected of mostly respiratory or cardiovascular pathologies. In diseases of the respiratory system, a dry or wet cough, rhinitis, wheezing, fever, and chest discomfort are often associated with the overall picture of the disease.

Cardiovascular diseases can also be accompanied by such symptoms, but the pain behind the sternum is compressive or acute, the temperature rises slightly and not always, and cough in case of heart failure can be dry or with the release of blood.

But you need to understand that shortness of breath, as one of the symptoms of breathing disorders, can also be present in chemical poisoning, in which sweating and weakness are considered a familiar symptom.

Tremor of the body and limbs, muscle weakness and pain

Interest is also a combination of symptoms, such as weakness, sweating and trembling in the body. Most often, this symptomatology is observed in severe excitement. But the identical picture is accompanied by attacks of hysteria, in which excessive expressive laughter, anger, tears, intermittent breathing, sobs, faints, etc. Are also observed.

Strong and prolonged negative experiences can cause a mental disorder called depression. In this case, the body gradually loses its strength to live and struggle, which speaks of physical and nervous exhaustion. In this case, tremor and sweating are not specific symptoms of depression, but with nervous or physical stress they can make themselves felt.

The tremor of the hands, feet, head and regularly repeated "causeless" trembling in the whole body against the background of weakness and sweating are characteristic for:

  • some hereditary disorders (with the symptoms may appear simultaneously or separately),
  • Parkinsonism (trembling of different parts of the body can be observed even in a calm state),
  • Wilson's disease (severe hyperhidrosis, tremor mainly in motor reactions),
  • individual vascular disorders,
  • lesions of the brain stem,
  • multiple sclerosis,
  • hyperthyroidism (with tremor of extremities is one of the first symptoms, hyperhidrosis is pronounced, often a weakness is felt throughout the body)
  • hypoglycemia (low sugar - one of the main sources of energy, which is responsible for breathing tissues),
  • Some craniocerebral traumas accompanied by neurologic symptoms (there is also lethargy, weakness in the hands, sweating during movement, rapid fatigue, disorientation in space, especially with closed eyes),
  • food, chemical and medicinal poisoning (tremor of hands, profuse sweating, general weakness),
  • encephalitis (paroxysmal tremor in the hands is accompanied by paresthesia, muscle pain, sweating and weakness),
  • emotional lability (trembling is not intense, but constant, hyperhidrosis is poorly expressed, also weakness, fatigue, deterioration of appetite, sleep disturbance, change of episodes of apathy and arousal) are also characteristic.

The tremor of the hands and body, sweating and weakness can be symptoms of severe physical overstrain and fatigue. And sometimes such symptoms cause drugs in large doses, drug overdose, uncontrolled intake of drugs (additional symptoms: nausea and vomiting, violation of water-salt balance), while the trembling is shallow and irregular.

Weakness in the legs

Weakness in the legs and sweating can also have a great variety of various causes. Such symptoms can be observed against the background of a weakened body with respiratory infections of both the viral and bacterial plan, blood pressure changes, brain tumors, endocrine pathologies (diabetes, obesity, etc.). The identical situation happens at strong psychoemotional loads, as a result of unrest, experiences, stress.

The cause of such symptoms may be inflammation in the body, the onset of infectious pathology, intoxication and dehydration of the body, iron deficiency conditions, neurological disorders.

But weakness in the legs against the background of sweating can also occur when a person for a long time adheres to a diet low in protein or takes medicine in large doses. To complain that sweating has increased, and the legs have become wadded and can women during menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, which is associated with hormonal changes in the body.

If weakness in the legs and hyperhidrosis are combined with nausea and dizziness, the cause may be a disruption of the vestibular apparatus, poisoning with food or chemicals, taking medication on an empty stomach, dropping blood sugar (hypoglycemia), hunger, etc. But sometimes this symptomatology can be observed with a sudden change in the position of the body (for example, when you suddenly get up from bed), immediately after visiting extreme rides, during a trip in land or sea transport, or a lift on an elevator.

If weakness is felt only in one leg, then most likely, we are dealing with a neurological or vascular pathology of the spinal cord and lower limbs, but it is impossible to exclude the violation of blood circulation in the brain.

Sweating combined with weakness of the legs can torment a person in hot weather, so in the summer time such a symptomatology will not surprise anyone. With strong physical exertion, such symptoms are also a variant of the norm. But when the sweating intensifies in a cool time against a background of physical and mental rest, plus the muscle weakness of the legs is added, this is an occasion to consult a doctor for advice. It should be understood that the symptoms need not necessarily be related to each other, they can have completely different causes, so the diagnosis can consist of two or three definitions.

Dry mouth and thirst

When dry mouth, weakness and sweating appear, it is also unlikely to be diagnosed right away, because the feeling of dryness of the oral mucosa with the development of thirst, the appearance of cracks on the lips may indicate both pathological causes and temporary conditions that do not require medical treatment .

Reduction of saliva production can be the result of taking various medications (such a symptom will be noted in the instruction in the drug as a side effect of the drug), and weakness and sweating in this case may be manifestations of the disease, in connection with which medications are taken.

Sensation of weakness and hyperhidrosis often persecute women during menopause. But a decrease in the activity of salivary glands in this period is also not uncommon, which is associated with age and hormonal changes.

What is there to say, the same symptom complex tormented literally each of us and more than once in hot weather, when dry mouth and thirst caused the very increased sweating, as a result of which the body loses its water reserves. And weakness appears because of hypoxia, because under the influence of high temperatures the blood becomes thicker, runs more slowly through the vessels and worse supplies oxygen to the tissues. In this there is nothing surprising or pathological.

But do not relax, dry mouth, weakness and sweating can also be symptoms of a certain pathology, which requires special attention to them. For example, this symptomatology is often observed in infectious pathologies accompanied by fever (hyperthermia), diarrhea, vomiting. It's not just about respiratory diseases (ARVI, ARI, tonsillitis, etc.), but also about infectious intestinal diseases (dysbacteriosis, dysentery, etc.).

Dry mouth, along with weakness and sweating, often accompany various intoxications, accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea. Especially expressed similar symptoms with alcohol intoxication and smoking.

Very often, such symptoms become part of the clinical picture of endocrine diseases. For example, with diabetes mellitus against a background of increased sweating and an increase in the volume of excretion of urine, hardly anyone can be surprised by the appearance of dry mouth. A weakness arises as a consequence of the violation of metabolic processes, which negatively affects the work of various organs.

In thyrotoxicosis (hyperthyroidism or increased production of thyroid hormones by the thyroid gland), there is also an increased elimination of fluid from the body due to excessive sweating, frequent vomiting and diarrhea, which results in a feeling of thirst and dryness in the mouth. Patients are tormented by fear, their sleep is deteriorating, frequent heartbeats are observed, appetite worsens, there is a shiver in the hands and body, they become irritating, so it is not surprising when patients against this background begin to experience strong weakness.

Weakness, hyperhidrosis, dry mouth can be a consequence of cancer in the head and radiation therapy used for their treatment, iron deficiency anemia and violent anxiety, neurological problems and system pathologies (eg, cystic fibrosis), kidney disease.

trusted-source[6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11]

Diarrhea, vomiting

Weakness, sweating and diarrhea in most cases indicate food poisoning or intoxication with alcohol. At the same time there is an abundant discharge of cold sweat on the face, spasmodic pains in the abdomen, pallor of the skin. If severe poisoning can also greatly increase the temperature as a consequence of severe intoxication of the body.

But similar symptoms can also have acute conditions in gastrointestinal diseases: gastritis and ulcerative gastrointestinal tract, pancreatitis, cholecystitis, etc. For example, all these symptoms can be observed with pancreatic diarrhea, which occurs with exacerbations of chronic inflammation of the pancreas.

Frequent episodes of diarrhea, weakness and sweating can accompany the development of tumorous tumors in the digestive tract. Particularly symptomatic in the late stages of the disease, which is associated with a strong intoxication of the body products of disintegration of tumors.

The same is true with episodes of fever and frequent infectious pathologies in the last stages of HIV infection, called AIDS. The organism is unable to fight the multiplication of pathogenic and opportunistic microflora, which again leads to its strong intoxication with the products of the vital activity of bacteria.

Somewhat higher, we have already mentioned such an endocrine pathology as hyperteriosis, for which the above-described symptomatology, including hyperthermia, is also characteristic. Although similar symptoms may appear even earlier, at the stage of the appearance of goiter or the development of a tumor in the thyroid gland.

Surprisingly, the cause of diarrhea, weakness and excessive sweating can become a stressful situation, and the fault will be all the increased production of the hormone adrenaline. No wonder, such symptoms are often experienced by high school students and students on the eve and during exams.

Infectious respiratory and gastrointestinal pathologies, for which weakness and sweating on the background of changes in body temperature are a common symptom, can also be accompanied by diarrhea caused by a violation of the intestinal microflora. These same symptoms can be the result of intensive antibiotic therapy, which can ruin useful microflora of the intestine. Why do doctors advise to take probiotics during systemic antibacterial treatment.

Diarrhea and sweating on the background of general weakness are experienced by some women during menstruation. In addition, pains in the lower abdomen and dizziness are often noted.

trusted-source[12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17]

Loss of appetite, weight loss

Weakness, sweating and loss of appetite are nonspecific symptoms that can be observed in conjunction with other manifestations of various diseases. They can enter the clinical picture of inflammatory pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, infectious pathologies of various etiologies (remember at least how much you want to eat with the same acute respiratory viral infection or flu, not to mention poisoning and dysbiosis). The reason for the decrease in appetite is if not intoxication of the body, so fear of pain while eating.

In principle, any acute pathology is accompanied by a worsening of appetite. And weakness and its manifestation as a hyperhidrosis are a consequence of the fact that the organism spends a lot of effort in fighting the disease.

The cause of a decrease in appetite and the appearance of weakness can be hormonal failures, especially if they are caused by a decrease in the secretory function of the thyroid gland (hypothyroidism), and some neuropsychiatric disorders.

Especially the problem of lack of appetite is relevant for oncology and some eating disorders (for example, with anorexia). This condition is observed due to a general metabolic disorder. It is clear that the overall clinical picture of these deadly pathologies will include various manifestations of weakness.

It is clear that many of the pathologies described above (cancer, anorexia, diseases of the nervous, endocrine and digestive systems) can be accompanied by a decrease in weight. At the same time for cancer, weight loss, sweating and weakness are quite specific symptoms.

With pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, weight loss is not always observed. Usually such a symptom is characteristic for ulcers of the stomach and duodenum, violation of intestinal permeability and ulcerative colitis. There are other specific symptoms:

  • acute pain in the abdomen, diarrhea and vomiting (it may be bloody), dyspepsia - ulcerative lesions of the digestive tract,
  • stupid pain in the lower abdomen, stool and gas retention, vomiting of digested food - intestinal obstruction.

In the vast majority of cases, there is a deterioration in appetite.

As for endocrine pathologies, they can manifest themselves in different ways. Reduced appetite is characteristic for both hypo- and hyperthyroidism. Nevertheless, in the first case, usually an increase in body weight, and in the second - a decrease in the background of the same weakness and hyperhidrosis. With diabetes, low insulin production leads to the fact that the body begins to expend its energy in the form of fat stores and muscle tissue.

Weight loss and weakness are among the many symptoms of a systemic disease such as sarcoidosis, characterized by the formation of granules in various organs and metabolic disorders. Depending on the localization of the lesion, symptoms such as coughing, sweating, shortness of breath, fatigue, violation of the swallowing act (dysphagia), anxiety, sleep disorders, joint pain, etc. Can be observed.

Slimming, weakness and sweating are also obvious symptoms of salmonellosis, along with fever, a drop in blood pressure, jaundice, chills and headache. All the same 3 symptoms are characteristic of anorexia nervosa, adrenal insufficiency, helminthic damage and some other parasites.

It is clear that weight loss is something that many dieters seek. But most of the diets provide strict restrictions in the choice of food, resulting in the diet is unbalanced, the metabolism is broken, and as a consequence there are weakness and sweating.

Anxiety

Any incomprehensible symptoms cause in our soul an anxious feeling. And the more a person thinks about his illness, the more nervous tension grows. A strong excitement and emotions, as we know, can easily cause a feeling of weakness and excessive sweating.

But a person can experience not only about his condition. These can be problems in the family and at work, conflicts with friends and leadership, the so-called "black band". Anxiety caused by such causes can drag on and introduce a person into depression, in which  weakness and sweating  will occur with any physical or emotional stress.

Anxiety in the face of weakness and sweating may be a consequence of hormonal adjustment in the adolescent or menopausal period. The same symptoms can occur in expectant mothers, especially in the 1st and 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

But the most dangerous, when such a symptomatology is observed against the background of pathologies with the heart, that can talk about coronary heart disease or the development of myocardial infarction. In this case, a cold sweat on the forehead and back is observed, shortness of breath, anxiety and pains in the chest on the left are noted.

A similar clinical picture can also be observed at the onset of a stroke, which subsequently leads to loss of consciousness.

trusted-source[18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23]

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