What Causes Excessive Sweating?

Heat Exhaustion

Heat exhaustion is a recognized cause of secondary generalized hyperhidrosis. Patients typically develop heat exhaustion after spending time in environments with high temperatures. Symptoms associated with this ailment include excessive sweating, rapid heartbeat and breathing, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, and muscle cramps. Individuals who have been exposed to high temperatures in conjunction with high humidity and patients who have completed strenuous activity in the heat could have particularly severe symptoms. Patients with heat exhaustion could feel faint, and it is common to have low blood pressure upon standing. 

To treat this condition, patients should try to sit or lie down in an air-conditioned area. Any unnecessary clothing should be removed, and patients are advised to loosen clothing as much as possible. Taking a cool shower is beneficial, and drinking plenty of cool fluids is recommended. To prevent heatstroke, a potentially life-threatening condition, patients with suspected heat exhaustion need to seek medical attention if there is no improvement in their symptoms after one hour of home treatment.