The medical term for night sweats is sleep hyperhidrosis or nocturnal hyperhidrosis, referring to excessive sweating during sleep not caused by a hot environment, often soaking clothes and bedding. While it can be a primary condition, it often signals an underlying issue like menopause, infections, or certain medications, with general excessive sweating also called hyperhidrosis, and intense sweating from a secondary cause termed diaphoresis.
Other causes of night sweats in males and females include:
Antidepressants are a common medication that can lead to night sweats with as many as 22% of people taking antidepressants reporting night sweats as a side effect (especially sertraline and venlafaxine). Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) medications may also induce night sweats as a side effect.
More serious infections that can cause night sweats include tuberculosis or other bacterial infections, fungal diseases and conditions that are unusual and more chronic, such as disorders of the nervous system or in the body's hormone-producing glands (endocrine system).
It's also possible for your blood sugar to go too low while you're asleep. If this happens, it can make you feel sweaty, tired and confused when you wake up.
Medications that can cause night sweats
Hypoglycemia—Since hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, can cause sweating, people who are taking medications to lower blood sugar, like insulin and oral anti-diabetics, may experience sweating at night. Hormone disorders—Night sweats can be a result of problems in the hormone-producing glands (endocrine system).
Leukemia and lymphoma are among the cancers associated with night sweats. Those associated with leukemia usually occur in conjunction with symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss, or excessive bruising. Leukemia-related sweats may also result from daytime fevers.
Functional vitamin B12 deficiency is common and a major cause of morbidity. It can manifest with a wide variety of symptoms including fatigue and drenching night sweats. Low threshold should be kept to measure markers of vitamin B12 deficiency in patients presenting with these symptoms.
There are many possible reasons for waking up drenched in sweat at night. You could be suffering from anxiety and stress, or you could have a medical condition, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or sleep apnoea. If you are a woman in your 40s or 50s, you may be going through the menopause.
Certain SSRIs appear more likely to cause sweating than others. Sertraline and paroxetine show higher rates of hyperhidrosis in research studies, while fluvoxamine, interestingly, appears to have lower rates.
Common side effects of sertraline include:
Several groups of drugs are known in the literature that can cause BO through excessive sweating such as antidepressant medications (bupropion hydrochloride, venlafaxine hydrochloride ect.), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ketoprofen and naproxen), analgesic (codeine), omega-3-acid ethyl esters, leuprolide ...
If the history and physical examination are not diagnostic, initial tests should include a complete blood count, purified protein derivative or quantiferon assay for tuberculosis, thyroid-stimulating hormone, HIV, C-reactive protein level, and chest radiography.
Autoimmune Diseases
Excessive sweating is a common symptom of autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, and lupus. Those with lupus are at higher risk of additional autoimmune diseases.
It all starts in a part of your brain called the hypothalamus, which controls your body temperature. Within it are KNDy neurons, which are tiny but powerful cells that respond to changes in hormone levels, especially oestradiol.
Hormonal changes are one of the most common — and most frustrating — causes of night sweats. Menopause and perimenopause can bring hot flashes that strike at any hour, and pregnancy often throws body temperature regulation off balance, too. “Estrogen helps regulate your body temperature,” says Dr. Banerjee.
Symptoms of vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia
Research has shown vitamin E can reduce hot flushes and night sweats. Food sources: evening primrose oil, almonds, sunflower seeds, avocado, spinach, chard, squash, trout. Vitamin C is used to help to improve collagen synthesis to keep blood vessels dilated.
Common signs and symptoms of lymphoma
stage 4. B symptoms (unexplained fever that doesn't go away, drenching night sweats and unexplained weight loss)
Night sweats are heavy sweating during sleep. This kind of sweating is different than the occasional sweating people have from sleeping deeply, being in a warm room, or having too many blankets. Night sweats are often so heavy that your clothing and sheets are soaked to the point that you have to change them.
Symptoms of hyperglycaemia
The Early Warning Signs
Fezolinetant (Veozah)
Fezolinetant is a new FDA-approved medication developed to treat moderate to severe hot flashes and night sweats. It works by reducing the effects of changing estrogen levels on the brain area that regulates body temperature. This medication is taken once a day at the same time each day.