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| Without the ability to sweat, the human body has a difficult time regulating its temperature. |
Anhidrosis
What is anhidrosis?
BY LAURIE L. DOVE
You're always cool as a cucumber, despite
excessive summer heat, an exercise class or new social situations.
But just because you're not sweating doesn't mean you're truly composed.
You could have anhidrosis, the inability to
perspire.
Odds are you may not notice the signs of
anhidrosis -- an absence of telltale underarm wetness, for instance -- until it
reaches a potentially dangerous level.
So why is sweating so important? It helps your
body regulate its temperature.
More precisely, it helps your body cool off as
your internal temperature rises.
One of the repercussions of not being able to
sweat is that you may get heat stroke or, in the case of a fever, develop a
temperature so high it causes a febrile seizure.
Either scenario could prove deadly.
Children are especially vulnerable if unable to
sweat; they have are less able to regulate internal temperatures because of
their size, so being able to perspire may mean the difference between health
and death.
When you don't sweat, you may have to deal with
other symptoms, too.
Prolonged muscle cramps, dizziness and a
perpetual feeling of being too hot become daily challenges -- especially for
people who don't perspire over most of their bodies.
But that's not always the case: Anhidrosis can occur
in a single area or in scattered patches.
When this happens, other body areas that do
sweat will try to make up the difference. This may be bothersome, but it's not
usually dangerous.
However, the prevalence of mild symptoms makes
it difficult to recognize the condition until something goes really wrong, like
getting overheated.
That's one reason no one really knows how many
people are affected; sometimes the symptoms go unnoticed -- even by physicians.
With anhidrosis, it's not just that the sweat
doesn't leave the body; it isn't produced in the first place.
Sweat glands stop working for a number of
reasons, ranging from nerve damage to skin trauma.
The condition also may be inherited.
Either a child is born with very few sweat
glands, a malady known as hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, or has
a genetic disorder that makes sweat glands malfunction.
Anhidrosis can't be prevented, unless it's the
temporary kind.
Sometimes anhidrosis develops as a side effect
of medications, including those used to treat bladder control, nausea, elevated
blood pressure or psychiatric conditions.
Most often, though, the body once again begins
to perspire after the offending medications are discontinued -- as long as
there aren't any pre-existing genetic factors at play.
Men and women are equally likely to be born with
anhidrosis, but when it comes to developing the condition, women are more at
risk as they age.
Many older adults experience a decreased ability
to sweat, but women seem especially likely to have problems perspiring.
Treatment, whatever the age or gender, usually
focuses on lifestyle: Staying in an air-conditioned environment when it's hot
outside, wearing loose clothing (to encourage air circulation) and avoiding
anything more than moderate exertion.
Laurie
L. Dove is an award-winning journalist
who covers timely topics for HowStuffWorks. She is the author of six books and
the former owner of a newspaper and magazine. When not reporting on the latest
tech breakthrough, health advance or economic development, Dove is tracking
down hidden history, science innovations and biologic discoveries. As the
Honorable Laurie Dove, Mayor, she has brought multi-million-dollar improvements
to the small Midwest town where she lives with her husband, five children and
two Akitas.
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