What are Night Sweats?
These are incidences of sweating during the night – sweating so profusely that nightclothes or/and bedding are soaked even in the night when the bedroom is not extremely hot. Night sweats are a fairly common situation that many individuals, both male and female, experience from time to time. Although very uncomfortable, night sweats normally are not a sign or indicator of any medical problem.
Night Sweats Causes
This condition is fairly common and normally is not a cause for anxiety. In certain cases, sweating at night can be generated by situations as simple as several blankets on the bed or different drugs or medications. Numerous women have the night sweats while going thru menopause. But often night sweats may be triggered by some medical disorder. Cancer, infection, nervous system problems or body’s endocrine system all can cause sweating at night.
Medicines can often cause night sweats as well as being a normal side effect of many drugs. Some of these medications include:
- Antidepressants
- Hypoglycemic agents – drugs which decrease the level of glucose in the blood
- Antipyrectics – drugs that lower the body’s temperature
- Hormone therapy – drugs to regulate the quantity of hormones in the body
Medical situations that also trigger night sweats –conditions and diseases that might cause night sweats consist of:
- Brucellosis – bacterial infection
- Autonomic neuropathy – damage to the autonomic nerves
- Endocarditis – infection of the heart lining
- Carcinoid syndrome – syndrome caused from types of cancerous tumor
- Hodgkin’s lymphoma – Hodgkin’s disease
- HIV/AIDS
- Hyperthyroidism – thyroid that is overactive
- Myelofibrosis – a disorder of the bone marrow
- Menopause
- Leukemia
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Pheochromocytoma – rare tumor of the adrenal gland
- Osteomyelitis – bone infection
- Stroke
- Pyogenic abscess – pus-filled cavity produced by infection
- Tuberculosis
- Syringomyelia – fluid filled cyst located in the spinal cord
Make certain that your bedroom is at a temperature that is comfortable for sleeping – remove any extra blankets at night from the bed.
An individual needs to see their primary care physician if the night sweats:
- Keep interrupting sleep
- Start occurring on a regular basis
- Are linked to other symptoms such as fever or weight loss that is unexplained
Night Sweats in Men
The major cause of the night sweats in men is a condition known as andropause or often referred to as male menopause. The same as women experience a lessening in their hormone creation during menopause, there are studies that show that men also experience a lessening of dehydroepiandrosterone as well as testosterone during andropause. The kind of night sweats that men experience is often related with this condition.
There is some controversy in the medical community about the overall nature and situation of andropause and its relation to the night sweats men experience. Some medical professionals simply consider it a “state” or phase while others consider it a potential “disorder”. Simply put, there is not a cut and dry answer for what andropause means currently. Common symptoms of andropause consist of:
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- Excessive perspiration
- Hot flashes
- Loss of libido
- Anxiety
- Impotence
- Impaired memory
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Insomnia
- Lack of concentration
Of course there are some individuals who may not experience all of the above symptoms but might just have hot flashes as well as excessive perspiration. It is important to understand that these result from changes from hormones in the body and these changes affect the hypothalamus – which is the body’s thermostat. And while drastic as well as permanent hormone changes occur during andropause, it is not uncommon for males to experience an ebb as well as flow of hormones – this causes occasionally cold sweats or night sweats that are cold.
Night Sweats in Women
Aside from the environmental factor for instance such as clothing or room that is too warm, most night sweats in females are caused by the fluctuations of hormones during perimenopause or menopause.
Night sweats during perimenopause and menopause are so severe that they can drench the woman, her bed linens, as well as her sleepwear. These hot flashes can feel more severe than normal because the woman is asleep when the hot flash begins developing and when it peaks, she probably is bundled up in blankets and sheets. Night sweats may be tremendously infuriating as well as disrupt regular sleep. Like the hot flashes that happen during the day, they can be accompanied by rapid or irregular heartbeat as well as headaches, as well as nausea.
These night sweats occur when the estrogen levels fluctuate during perimenopause as well as menopause, before these hormone levels begin to be a steady and permanent reduction. This change in estrogen levels affects the area of the brain responsible for the regulation of the body temperature, causing physical reactions. These occurrences of night sweats may be worsened by eating spicy or hot foods, or the drinking of alcohol or caffeinated drinks before bedtime.
Night Sweats Treatment
The very best way to manage night sweats is to eradicate the underlying cause. It can be essential to go thru a list of probable causes as well as reject them one after another. If there is no underlying cause that appears to be imminent then you could be suffering from primary hyperydrosis as this is a complaint that can become so severe to restrict or interfere with daily activities and consists of not only night sweats but of extreme sweating during the day. If this is severe enough, your physician could suggest surgery for eliminating sweat glands.
Lifestyle changes that can help with this problem include avoiding alcohol and hot or spicy foods. Ask your physician about any drugs you are taking to find out if they could be part of the underlying cause. Sleep in a room that is cool and weather permitting leave a window open, or use a fan. If necessary get up and take a sponge bath or cool shower; change the bed linens and put on clean nightwear; have a cold drink such as fruit juice or water. A shower that is cool prior to bedtime could check an attack of night sweats before it can begin.
According to medical theory of the Chinese submits that the night sweats are linked with a yin essence – body essence. The diminishing of this state is owing to a decrease of body nutrients and fluids. The symptoms include warm soles as well as palms, flushed cheeks, dry mouth, small amounts of dark urine, a tongue that is red with minor coating, red lips, a rapid and weak pulse as well as low-grade fever. Chinese medicine further submits that if there is deterioration due to a degenerative disease, then yin deficiency is present. (For example, HIV disease is therefore usually referred to as a yin deficiency.) In other words, cause and effect – there is always some cause for the problem whether it is internal or external and that cause needs to be resolved for your nights to become more peaceful.
