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What Causes Bouts Of Cold And Hot Flashes, Muscle Cramps And Severe Joints Pain?
Question: My husband, a 74year old male, went to Peru.thia year. Before the trip he took the necessary shots incluing yellow fever malaria pills etc. Sine he is having bouts of cold and hot with severe sweating. Hos shaking wih the cold is nearly unconteolable. the sweating is intenseHe also has muscle cramps and sudden,y he has moderate to severeaon pain in his joints sich as el ows. Blood tests showed no abnormalities, x aya showed. Some arthrities in his wrist.
he did not have ghis problem before the trip to Peru. Any idea what coild be going on?
Brief Answer:
Sorry to hear about this
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.
I am so sorry to hear about what your husband is going through.
A few questions before we get there.
1. When did he go to Peru and for how long did he stay there?
2. How soon after return did these symptoms start?
3. How often do the fevers, cold. sweating and shaking happen? Daily every 2, 3,4 days etc?
As a tropical disease doctor, I hope and wish to be of much help to you on this.
Thanks and hope to hear from you soon.
Dr. Ditah, MD.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
He went to Peru in April of 2013 and stayed in a very poor section of Peru on the edge of the XXXXXXX He says there were no mosquitos. he was there for 17 dAys. the cold/hot spells started about 3 weeks after he got back, they were very ilght at first, starting usually at night and lasting for a short while. Now they are more i tense and last longer, nearly 3 days now.
They happen every 3 or 4 seeks. thank. You very much!
Brief Answer:
Thanks for following up with me..
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this follow up information.
I initially thought of these spells to be probably caused by an infectious process given the fact that he recently visited a country with poor sanitary conditions. However, this happening every 3 or 4weeks takes it out of the picture of any possible tropical disease.
I will suggest that the doctors stop relating his symptoms to his travel and investigated them just like he never traveled. Because these cannot be explained by any condition specific to Peru. I will ask that he look into possible endocrine pathologies especially something like carcinoid syndrome and other endocrine disorders.
I understand how disturbing this can be. Please, talk to his doctors and let the idea of possible Peru related cause be discarded.
I hope you find the above information helpful. I wish him well. Thank you so much for using our services and please feel free to request for clarifications and more information if need be.
Dr. Ditah, MD.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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