Night Sweats

 Sleep Hyperhidrosis

 Night sweats or sleep hyperhidrosis involves profuse sweating occurring during sleep. The sweat may be so profuse as to cause the person to awaken due to the discomfort of wet clothing. This type of sweating may be due to bacterial infections such as endocarditis or osteomyelitis.  

Others may be troubled by this condition during the course of their lives without any accompanying disease process being involved, this is referred to as idiopathic hyperhidrosis for there is no known cause. Night sweats commonly start in young adulthood, but may occur at any age. Night sweats are drenching sweats, so severe as to necessitate a change of clothing or bed linen, sweats which are unrelated to external climatic conditions. 

There are many possible causes for night sweats, however, without a detailed medical history it is not possible to determine the underlying cause. Many diseases may cause night sweats, any febrile illness is likely to produce excess sweating during sleep, tuberculosis is commonly associated with night sweats, as is human immunodeficiency virus. Most patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related lymphoma have a history of fever, weight loss, and night sweats. AIDS-related infections might also cause night sweats, including Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection and cytomegalovirus (CMV) syndromes.

Hodgkin's Disease has night sweats as one of its symptoms as does other lymphomas. NIght sweats may occur in cases of hyperthyroidism, however, the sweating may not only be during sleep, but at other times as well. Lesions in the anterior part of the hypothalamus can result in increased body temperature resulting in increased sweating which may occur at any time.

Around the time of menopause excessive nightime sweating may be one of many symptoms occurring at this time. Other more serious endocrine conditions  may be accompanied by excessive night sweats, pheochromocytoma, a benign tumour of the adrenal medulla has sweating as one of its many symptoms.Malignancies, hypoglycemia, carcinoid syndrome and diencephalic epilepsy can all cause sleep hyperhidrosis. Cerebral and brain stem strokes may also cause night sweats.

 Drugs which cause night sweats include thyroid hormone, antipyretics, morphine, antihypertensives, antidepressant drugs and other psychiatric drugs, as well as alcohol and heroin. 

The cause of night sweats or sleep hyperhidrosis may not always be apparent, in some cases it may be idiopathic with no known cause, and in others it may be a symptom of a serious underlying disease process, the cause can only be found from a detailed history, a thorough physical examination, and in some cases extensive laboratory tests and radiographic studies. Treatments for night sweats or sleep hyperhidrosis will vary according to the underlying disease state.

Read more:Nocturnal Cramps