Night sweats
| Night sweats | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Sleep sweats, nocturnal hyperhidrosis |
| Specialty | Infectious disease, oncology |
Night sweats, or also referred to as nocturnal hyperhidrosis (Hyperhidrosis - a medical term for excessive sweating [1] + nocturnal - night) is the repeated occurrence of excessive sweating during sleep.[2] The person may or may not also perspire excessively while awake.
One of the most common causes of night sweats in women over 40 is the hormonal changes related to menopause and perimenopause.[3] This is a very common occurrence during the menopausal transition years. Over 80% of women experience hot flashes, which may include excessive sweating, during menopause. [4]
Night sweats range from being relatively harmless to a sign of underlying disease. Night sweats may happen because the sleep environment is too warm, either because the bedroom is unusually hot or because there are too many covers on the bed.[2] Night sweats have been associated with a long list of clinical conditions.[5] However, there is very little evidence that supports clinical recommendations for this condition.[5]
Associated conditions
The condition may be a sign of various disease states, including but not exclusive to the following:
- Cancers
- Infections
- HIV/AIDS[6][8]
- Tuberculosis[6][7]
- Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infection[6]
- Infectious mononucleosis[6]
- Fungal infections (histoplasmosis, coccidioidomycosis)[6]
- Lung abscess[6]
- Infective endocarditis[6]
- Brucellosis[9]
- Pneumocystis pneumonia (most often - in immunocompromised individuals)
- Pneumocystis pneumonia
- Endocrine disorders
- Rheumatic disorders
- Other
- Drugs
- Antipyretics (salicylates, acetaminophen)[6]
- Antihypertensives[6]
- Anabolic–androgenic steroids, in particular trenbolone, and the nandrolones[6]
- Dinitrophenol - a common side effect
- Phenothiazines[6]
- Drug withdrawal: ethanol, benzodiazepines, heroin (and other opioids),
- Over-bundling[6]
- Autonomic over-activity[6]
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) - Crohn's disease/ulcerative colitis
References
- ^ "Hyperhidrosis - MeSH - NCBI". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Night sweats - Mayo Clinic". www.mayoclinic.org. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ T. F. Kruger; M. H. Botha (2008). Clinical Gynaecology. Juta and Company Ltd. p. 333. ISBN 978-0-7021-7305-9.
- ^ Bansal, Ramandeep; Aggarwal, Neelam (January–March 2019). "Menopausal Hot Flashes: A Concise Review". Journal of Mid-Life Health. 10 (1): 6–13. doi:10.4103/jmh.JMH_7_19. ISSN 0976-7800. PMC 6459071. PMID 31001050.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ a b Mold, James W.; Holtzclaw, Barbara J.; McCarthy, Laine (November–December 2012). "Night sweats: a systematic review of the literature". Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 25 (6): 878–893. doi:10.3122/jabfm.2012.06.120033. ISSN 1558-7118. PMID 23136329. S2CID 24179827.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af Viera, Anthony J.; Bond, Michael M.; Yates, Scott W. (1 March 2003). "Diagnosing Night Sweats". American Family Physician. 67 (5): 1019–1024. PMID 12643362. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ a b c Jonathan E. Teitelbaum; Kathleen O. DeAntonis; Scott Kahan (2004). In a page: Pediatric signs & symptoms. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-4051-0427-2.
- ^ Tao Le; Vikas Bhushan (2006). First Aid for the USMLE Step 2 CS. McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-07-147058-2.
- ^ "Night sweats : Causes". Mayo Clinic. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
- ^ Deecher, D. C.; K. Dorries (2007). "Understanding the pathophysiology of vasomotor symptoms (hot flushes and night sweats) that occur in perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause life stages". Archives of Women's Mental Health. 10 (6): 247–257. doi:10.1007/s00737-007-0209-5. PMID 18074100. S2CID 21865706.