night sweats

Introduction



Doctors in primary care fields of

medicine often hear their patients

complain of night sweats as they are

common. Night sweats refer to any excess sweating

occurring during the night. However,

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, which are

not related to an overheated environment.



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.

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.





What are the causes of night sweats?



There are many different causes of night sweats.

To determine what is causing night sweats in a

particular patient, a doctor must obtain a

detailed medical history and order tests

to decide if an underlying medical condition is

responsible for the night sweats.



The following are some of

the known conditions that can cause night sweats.



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 perimenopausal women. It is important to

remember that hot flashes and other symptoms of the perimenopause can precede

the actual menopause (the cessation of menstrual periods) by several years.