Skin - clammy
Sweat - cold; Clammy skin; Cold sweat
Clammy skin is cool, moist, and usually
You feel a tight band of pain around your chest. The pain moves from your chest to your arms, shoulder, and neck. What could your pain mean? Could it be a heart attack, could it be the big one? Heart attacks are caused by interruption of blood supply to part of the heart. If the blood flow is blocked, your heart is starved of oxygen and heart cells die. A hard substance called plaque can build up in the walls of your coronary arteries. This plaque is made up of cholesterol and other cells. A heart attack can occur as a result of plaque buildup or the rupture of one of these plaques. We're not sure why heart attacks occur when they do. You may have a heart attack when you are resting or asleep, or after a sudden increase in physical activity, when you are outside in cold weather, or after a sudden, severe emotional or physical stress, including an illness. So, how is a heart attack treated? If you go to the hospital for a suspected heart attack, a doctor or nurse will listen to your chest with a stethoscope. You will have a blood test to look for heart damage. A coronary angiography test can show your doctor how well blood is moving through your heart. If blood moves slowly, or not at all through your coronary arteries, you have either a narrowed, or blocked artery. Other tests can look at the valves and chambers of your heart and check for abnormal heart rhythms. If you've had a heart attack, doctors can do an emergency procedure called angioplasty. This surgery or procedure can open narrowed or blocked blood vessels. Usually they'll place a small, metal mesh tube, called a stent, in your artery to help keep it open. You may also receive drugs to break up the clot in your artery. Sometimes, doctors will do heart bypass surgery to get blood flowing to your heart muscle again. After you are treated in the hospital for a heart attack, you may need to take medicines to thin your blood, to protect your heart, or to improve your cholesterol levels. You may need to take these medicines for the rest of your life. Most people who have had a heart attack also need cardiac rehabilitation. This will help you slowly increase your exercise level and learn how to follow a healthy lifestyle. After you have a heart attack, your chance of another is higher. How well you do after a heart attack depends on the damage to your heart and where the damage is, and what steps you take to prevent another one. If your heart can no longer pump blood to your body as well as it used to, you may have heart failure and will need lifelong treatment. Usually a person who has had a heart attack can slowly go back to normal activities, but you will need to take steps to prevent another heart attack.
Shock is a severe condition that occurs when not enough blood flows through the body, causing very low blood pressure, a lack of urine, and cell and tissue damage.
Heat emergencies are of three types heat cramps (caused by loss of salt), heat exhaustion (caused by dehydration) and heat stroke (shock). Remove the victim from the heat and have him lie down. Apply cool compresses, elevate the feet, drink fluids and use a fan to blow cool air. Get medical help if needed.
Considerations
Clammy skin may be an emergency. Call your health care provider or 911 or the local emergency number.
Causes
Causes of clammy skin include:
- Anxiety attack
- Heart attack
- Heat exhaustion
- Internal bleeding
- Low blood oxygen levels
- Medicine reaction
- Sepsis (body-wide infection)
- Severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)
- Severe pain
- Shock (low blood pressure)
Home Care
Home care depends on what is causing the clammy skin. Call for medical help if you are not sure.
If you think the person is in shock, lie them down on their back and raise their legs about 12 inches (30 centimeters). Call 911 or the local emergency number or take the person to the hospital.
If the clammy skin may be due to heat exhaustion and the person is awake and can swallow:
- Have the person drink plenty of (non-alcoholic) fluids
- Move the person to a cool, shaded place
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Seek immediate medical help if the person has any of the following signs or symptoms:
- Altered medical status or thinking ability
- Chest, abdominal, or back pain or discomfort
- Headache
- Passage of blood in the stool: black stool, bright red or maroon blood
- Recurrent or persistent vomiting, especially of blood
- Possible drug abuse
- Shortness of breath
- Signs of shock (such as confusion, lower level of alertness, or weak pulse)
Always contact your provider or go to the emergency department if the symptoms do not go away quickly.
What to Expect at Your Office Visit
The provider will perform a physical exam and ask questions about the symptoms and the person's medical history, including:
- How quickly did the clammy skin develop?
- Has it ever happened before?
- Has the person been injured?
- Is the person in pain?
- Does the person seem anxious or stressed?
- Has the person recently been exposed to high temperatures?
- What other symptoms are present?
Tests and treatments may include:
- Airway support, including oxygen, breathing tube through the mouth (intubation), and breathing machine (ventilator)
- Blood and urine tests
- Chest x-ray
- ECG (electrocardiogram, or heart tracing)
- Fluids through a vein (intravenous or IV)
- Medicines to treat symptoms
The outlook depends on the cause of the clammy skin. Examination and test results will help determine immediate and long-term outlooks.
References
Angus DC. Approach to the patient with shock. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 26th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 98.
Marik PE. Endocrinology of the stress response during critical illness. In: Ronco C, Bellomo R, Kellum JA, Ricci Z, eds. Critical Care Nephrology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2019:chap 76.
Puskarich MA, Jones AE. Shock. In: Walls RM, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 3.
Version Info
Last reviewed on: 1/2/2023
Reviewed by: Jesse Borke, MD, CPE, FAAEM, FACEP, Attending Physician at Kaiser Permanente, Orange County, CA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
