Does this have a name?

bookmobile · 03-01-2010, 02:36 PM

Ever since I was injured (32 years ago @ 11 months, Mid chest down), I've only sweated on the right side of my body. During the summer, I'll sweat like crazy on that side, but nothing on the left. I'm just wondering if this is something usual, and even if it has a name?

SCI-Nurse · 03-01-2010, 05:08 PM

It is not unusual, especially if you are an incomplete injury. It is an autonomic dysfunction- coming from the sympathetic outflow issues that people with SCI have. To be honest, I am not sure if it has a name or not, but do know that from what you are describing, it is probably related to poikilothermia - the inability to regulate your body temperature to compensate for the environmental temperature.
Hope that this helps.
CKF

SCI-Nurse · 03-01-2010, 05:09 PM

PS- it would be helpful if you would fill in your profile.....
Thanks
CKF

DaveT · 03-01-2010, 07:18 PM

We call it half and half because we don't know what else to call it. Sometimes I sweat on one side of my head and one side of my body is ice cold and the other is warm to the touch. (my wife tells me)
Doc says the same thing SCI nurse said.
Weird huh?

TAM63 · 03-01-2010, 07:48 PM

Interestingly, that is one way they test for autonomic dysfunction. It's called a sweat test.

They cover you head to toe in yellow powder, and put you in a booth that heats you up. Then, where you sweat, the powder turns purple. (I kid you not) If there's an area that stays yellow, you didn't sweat there, and that points towards autonomic dysfunction.

lol I said that's what I always wanted - a purple and yellow striped husband. Cool.

thehipcrip · 03-01-2010, 08:48 PM

The official name for it is hemihidrosis (hemi=half and hidrosis=sweating).

I've got it too, bookmobile. I sweat buckets on my left side and nothing on my right ever since the surgeons cut the tumor out of my brain stem back in the late 70's.

It's annoying enough on its own, but it makes me crazy in conjunction with the inability to regulate body temp. Not only do I sweat when I'm not supposed to (roommates I've had over the years were dumbfounded by my ability to drip with sweat while standing completely still and mostly naked outside in the middle of a Michigan winter), I only sweat on one side of my body when I do!

03-01-2010, 02:36 PM	#1
bookmobile Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 2	Does this have a name? Ever since I was injured (32 years ago @ 11 months, Mid chest down), I've only sweated on the right side of my body. During the summer, I'll sweat like crazy on that side, but nothing on the left. I'm just wondering if this is something usual, and even if it has a name?

03-01-2010, 08:48 PM	#6
thehipcrip Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: US Virgin Islands Posts: 2,665	The official name for it is hemihidrosis (hemi=half and hidrosis=sweating). I've got it too, bookmobile. I sweat buckets on my left side and nothing on my right ever since the surgeons cut the tumor out of my brain stem back in the late 70's. It's annoying enough on its own, but it makes me crazy in conjunction with the inability to regulate body temp. Not only do I sweat when I'm not supposed to (roommates I've had over the years were dumbfounded by my ability to drip with sweat while standing completely still and mostly naked outside in the middle of a Michigan winter), I only sweat on one side of my body when I do! __________________ It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience. ~Julius Caesar

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03-01-2010, 05:08 PM	#2
SCI-Nurse Moderator Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: USA Posts: 41,512	It is not unusual, especially if you are an incomplete injury. It is an autonomic dysfunction- coming from the sympathetic outflow issues that people with SCI have. To be honest, I am not sure if it has a name or not, but do know that from what you are describing, it is probably related to poikilothermia - the inability to regulate your body temperature to compensate for the environmental temperature. Hope that this helps. CKF

03-01-2010, 05:09 PM	#3
SCI-Nurse Moderator Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: USA Posts: 41,512	PS- it would be helpful if you would fill in your profile..... Thanks CKF

03-01-2010, 07:18 PM	#4
DaveT Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: MN Posts: 23	We call it half and half because we don't know what else to call it. Sometimes I sweat on one side of my head and one side of my body is ice cold and the other is warm to the touch. (my wife tells me) Doc says the same thing SCI nurse said. Weird huh?

03-01-2010, 07:48 PM	#5
TAM63 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 2,511	Interestingly, that is one way they test for autonomic dysfunction. It's called a sweat test. They cover you head to toe in yellow powder, and put you in a booth that heats you up. Then, where you sweat, the powder turns purple. (I kid you not) If there's an area that stays yellow, you didn't sweat there, and that points towards autonomic dysfunction. lol I said that's what I always wanted - a purple and yellow striped husband. Cool.