Impact of primary hyperhidrosis on the life of physical education academics of a university in the Brazilian Northeast

Abstract Aim: To assess the prevalence, quality of life (QoL), and the damages caused by PH, in the professional and personal scope of Physical Education academics with Primary Hyperhidrosis (PH). Methods: A descriptive, exploratory, qualitative and quantitative cross-sectional study was carried out. Twenty-five students from the physical education course at Tiradentes University, Aracaju-SE, were interviewed from August to November 2017. Validated questionnaires were used on PH's influence in academic activities and QoL. absolute and relative frequencies in the case of categorical variables and measures of trend and central variability in the case of numerical variables. Results: The prevalence of PH in students of Physical Education was 11.11%, mainly in combined sites, such as palmoplantar, and with no difference between the sexes. The symptoms started mostly during childhood and adolescence. Most of the interviewees (92%) reported difficulties with activities such as sports, use of personal protective equipment, handling of work equipment and instruments, and exacerbation in stress situations. They reported significant harm to QoL in situations of greeting people with handshakes, writing, wearing socks and dancing socially. Conclusion: Although PH is a disease that negatively impacts the QoL, it is still little known in the academic world with little demand for medical help. Therefore, it is necessary greater dissemination of the disease for its early diagnosis, related to the intensity of the sweating for a better therapeutic approach.

A propósito del enigmático sudor inglés / Concerning the enigmatic English sweating disease

El sudor inglés fue una enfermedad de gran impacto sicológico y moral en la Inglaterra medieval y en el continente europeo, y misteriosa por su comienzo repentino, brevedad y súbita desaparición. En esta investigación se analizan diversos aspectos de esta enfermedad, otrora emergente, con base en documentos clásicos y en otros poco conocidos; se incluyen aspectos históricos, descripción de las epidemias, enfermedades afines, especulaciones sobre la etiología incluyendo los posibles agentes infecciosos responsables y los cambios conceptuales acerca de la enfermedad; se relacionan las dificultades de este tipo de ejercicio retrospectivo con los problemas de comunicación inherentes a la cultura médica de aquella época y con la incipiente semiología.

English sweating disease (Sudor anglicus) had a strong moral and psychological impact on medieval England and Europe. It was a mysterious and terrific illness because of its sudden onset, brevity and abrupt disappearance. Based on classical and less well-known documents, different aspects of this once-emergent disease are analyzed, among them: its history, the description of its epidemics, similar diseases, probable etiology including infectious agents, and conceptual changes about it. Communication problems inherent to mediaeval culture, and the incipient semiotics are among the reasons for the difficulties of this retrospective analytical exercise.