Night Sweats
- Night Sweats Overview
- Night Sweats Causes
- Night Sweats Symptoms
- When to Seek Medical Care
- Exams and Tests
- Night Sweats Treatment
- Medical Treatment (Medications)
- Next Steps
- Follow-up
- Prevention
- Outlook
- Synonyms and Keywords
- Author and Editor
- Viewer Comments: Night Sweats - Describe Your Experience
Night Sweats Overview
Doctors in primary care fields often hear their patients complain of night sweats. Night sweats refer to any excess sweating occurring during the night.
In one study of 2267 patients visiting a primary care physician, 41% reported experiencing night sweats during the previous month, so the perception of excessive sweating at night is fairly common.
Night Sweats Causes
Night sweating can arise from harmless situations or serious disease. If your bedroom is unusually hot or you are using too many bedclothes, you may begin to sweat during sleep - and this is normal. In order to distinguish night sweats that arise from medical causes from those that occur because one's surroundings are too warm, doctors generally refer to true night sweats as severe hot flashes occurring at night that can drench sleepwear and sheets, and that are not related to an overheated environment. It is important to note that flushing (a warmth and redness of the face or trunk) may also be hard to distinguish from true night sweats.
There are many different causes of night sweats. Some of the known conditions that can cause night sweats are:
- Menopause:
The hot flashes that accompany the menopausal transition can
occur at night and cause sweating. This is a very common cause of night sweats
in women at or near menopause.
- Idiopathic
hyperhidrosis: a condition in which the body chronically
produces too much sweat without any identifiable medical cause.
- Infections: Classically,
tuberculosis is the
infection most notoriously
associated with night sweats. However,
bacterial infections, such as
endocarditis (inflammation of the
heart valves),
osteomyelitis
(inflammation within the bones), and abscesses all may result in night sweats.
Night sweats are also a symptom of
AIDS virus (HIV) infection.
- Cancers: Night sweats are an early symptom of some cancers. The most
common type of cancer associated with night sweats is
lymphoma. However, people
who have an undiagnosed cancer frequently have other symptoms as well, such as
unexplained weight loss and fevers.
- Medications: Taking certain medications can lead to
night sweats. Antidepressant medications are a common type of medication that
can lead to night sweats. All types of
antidepressants can cause night sweats as
a side effect, with a range in incidence from eight to 22% of persons taking
antidepressant drugs. Other psychiatric drugs have also been associated with
night sweats. Medicines taken to lower
fever such as
aspirin and
acetaminophen can sometimes lead to sweating. Other types of drugs can cause
flushing, which, as mentioned above, may be confused with night sweats. Some of
the many drugs that can cause flushing include
niacin (taken in the higher doses used for
lipid disorders),
tamoxifen (Nolvadex),
hydralazine (Apresoline), nitroglycerine, and
sildenafil (Viagra).
Many other drugs not mentioned above, including
cortisone medications, such as
prednisone and
prednisolone, may also be associated with flushing or night
sweats.
- Hypoglycemia: Sometimes low blood
glucose can cause
sweating. People who are taking insulin or oral anti-diabetic medications may experience hypoglycemia
at night that is accompanied by sweating.
- Hormone disorders: Sweating or flushing can be seen
with several hormone disorders, including pheochromocytoma, carcinoid syndrome, and
hyperthyroidism.
- Neurologic conditions: Uncommonly, neurologic conditions including autonomic dysreflexia, post-traumatic syringomyelia, stroke, and autonomic neuropathy may cause increased sweating and possibly lead to night sweats.
Next: Night Sweats Symptoms »
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Night Sweats - Describe Your Experience
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