The Health Language of Sweat and Palms: Differentiation of Sweating Characteristics and Identification of Hand Lesions

Sticky sweat is caused by high fever from a severe cold or other illnesses. Yellow sweat is often caused by taking a cold shower after sweating profusely, increasing the content of urea and other substances in the sweat. Bloody sweat is related to endocrine disorders. Nasal sweat, with beads of clear sweat seeping from the bridge and sides of the nose, is often seen in patients with lung deficiency. Forehead sweat, limited to the forehead, or even as hot as steam, may indicate internal organ damage. Half of the head sweats while the other half remains dry. This is often caused by sexual intercourse after a serious illness, resulting in a deficiency of both yin and yang, leading to cold obstruction of the Baihui acupoint. Hemiplegic sweating refers to excessive sweating on one side of the body, while the other side has little or no sweat. This is often caused by insufficient qi and blood obstructing the meridians. Excessive sweating due to mental strain refers to excessive sweating in the pit of the stomach and the area between the breasts, while other areas have little or no sweat. This is often caused by excessive worry, anxiety, fright, or fear damaging the heart and spleen. Excessive sweating of the hands and feet can be caused by internal damp-heat in the spleen and stomach, blood deficiency, yang deficiency, or insufficient middle yang. Perineal sweating is limited to the perineum and external genitalia. Damp-heat descending to the lower body and kidney yang deficiency can cause odorous sweating in the perineal area. Axillary odor, resembling fox odor, becomes stronger in summer when sweating is profuse; this is due to abnormal secretion of the apocrine glands located in the armpits and other areas. Hand characteristics can also indicate diseases: red lines on the hands may indicate hypertension, rheumatism, or heart disease. Small white papules on the back of the hands suggest high cholesterol. Hot and dry palms are seen in hyperthyroidism. Red spots on the palms suggest hepatitis or diabetes. Redness of the palms, especially congested redness of the fingertips in the thenar and hypothenar eminences, can be seen in cirrhosis or liver cancer. Swelling of the finger joints suggests high uric acid or gout. Pale fingertips suggest blood disorders. Stiffness and inability to flex or extend the finger joints, accompanied by pain, is commonly seen in rheumatoid arthritis. Muscle atrophy in the palms and fingers, resulting in a hand shape resembling an ape's paw or a chicken's claw, accompanied by loss of sensation, indicates a problem with the nerves controlling the upper limbs, possibly due to conditions such as syringomyelia or chronic peripheral neuritis.