Heavy night sweats are common during menopause. Night sweats that occur along with other symptoms can be a sign of an infection, diabetes or cancer.
The night sweats it can be a side effect of a drug you are taking. Talk to your treating physician. Once the cause of your symptoms has been diagnosed, your doctor will be able to recommend treatment to manage night sweats.
Night sweats are sweating so intense that it passes through clothes and sheets and disturbs sleep. Typically, sweating is a healthy cooling response that keeps your body temperature at a safe and comfortable level.
Sweat at night: watch out for these signs
Night sweats, on the other hand, are not comfortable at all. On the contrary, one can feel asudden heat wave that spreads throughout the body, followed by sweating, reddening of the skin and rapid heartbeat. You may wake up in a cold sweat, wondering what caused this bodily behavior.
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Night sweats often accompany the menopause. When night sweats are accompanied by other symptoms, it may be a sign of a condition that requires medical attention.
Night sweats can affect anyone, but are most commonly associated with people assigned female gender at birth. Hormonal changes related to reproductive hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, can cause unpleasant changes in body temperature that make you feel too hot. The body may react with a flush of heat (hot flash) to cool itself down, or it may sweat excessively (night sweats).
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Perimenopause and menopause
Night sweats are common during perimenopause and menopause. Menopause officially begins when you have no periods for 12 consecutive months. The mean age of onset is 51 years. Perimenopause is the period leading up to menopause. During perimenopause, the ovaries produce less estrogen, progesterone and testosterone and menstruation becomes irregular. Perimenopause usually occurs between the ages of 40 and 50.
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Changing hormone levels during perimenopause and menopause can cause problems with the hypothalamus (the part of the brain that controls body heat) regulating body temperature. This is an abnormality in the body’s internal thermostat. You may feel sudden warmth or a flush of heat on your face, neck and chest. In response, the body tries to cool itself by sweating too much.
People who suffer from primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) they may sweat at night for similar reasons as people in perimenopause and menopause. With POI, the ovaries stop producing estrogen before the age of 40.
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
Hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle can also cause night sweats. Estrogen levels decrease before menstruation, in the period most commonly associated with PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Although symptoms such as irritability and cramping are most commonly associated with PMS and PMS, night sweats can also occur.
Pregnancy
The fluctuation of hormone levels during pregnancy it can also cause night sweats. Pregnancy-related night sweats are most common during the first trimester (weeks 1 to 14) and the third trimester (weeks 27 to delivery). Sweating may continue for a few weeks after the baby is born as hormones adjust to pre-pregnancy levels.
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Are menopause, perimenopause, PMS, and pregnancy the only causes of night sweats?
No. Night sweats are a symptom of several conditions and a side effect of various medications. Night sweats can occur for many reasons that affect people regardless of gender. Other causes include:
- Infectious diseases: Including tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
- Bacterial infections: Including endocarditis (inflammation of the inner lining of the heart), osteomyelitis (inflammation of the bones/bone marrow), and pyogenic abscess (pus in the liver).
- Viral Infections: Including colds, flu, and COVID-19.
- Hormonal diseases: Including overactive thyroid, endocrine tumors and diabetes.
- Substance Abuse: Including alcohol, heroin and cocaine.
- Neurological disorders: These include autonomic dysreflexia, autonomic neuropathy (damage to the autonomic nerves), syringomyelia (cysts in the spinal cord), and stroke.
- Cancer: Including leukemia (cancer of the blood and bone marrow) and lymphoma (cancer of the blood cells).
- Behavioral Health Conditions: Including panic disorder and anxiety.
- Sleep disturbances: Including obstructive sleep apnea.
- Diseases of the digestive system: including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
- Side Effects of Cancer Treatments: Including aromatase inhibitors, tamoxifen, opioids, and steroids.
- Side effects of other medications: Including some antidepressants and diabetes medications, steroids, acetaminophen, aspirin, and high blood pressure medications.
Night sweats can also be related to hyperhidrosis, a condition involving excessive sweating for no apparent reason.