Night sweats | |
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Other names | Sleep sweats, nocturnal hyperhidrosis |
Specialty | Infectious disease, oncology |
Night sweats or nocturnal hyperhidrosis [1] 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]
The condition may be a sign of various disease states, including but not exclusive to the following:
Endocrinology is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental events proliferation, growth, and differentiation, and the psychological or behavioral activities of metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sleep, digestion, respiration, excretion, mood, stress, lactation, movement, reproduction, and sensory perception caused by hormones. Specializations include behavioral endocrinology and comparative endocrinology.
Giant cell arteritis (GCA), also called temporal arteritis, is an inflammatory autoimmune disease of large blood vessels. Symptoms may include headache, pain over the temples, flu-like symptoms, double vision, and difficulty opening the mouth. Complications can include blockage of the artery to the eye with resulting blindness, as well as aortic dissection, and aortic aneurysm. GCA is frequently associated with polymyalgia rheumatica.
Menopause, also known as the climacteric, is the time when menstrual periods permanently stop, marking the end of reproduction. It typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55, although the exact timing can vary. Menopause is usually a natural change related to a decrease in circulating blood estrogen levels. It can occur earlier in those who smoke tobacco. Other causes include surgery that removes both ovaries, some types of chemotherapy, or anything that leads to a decrease in hormone levels. At the physiological level, menopause happens because of a decrease in the ovaries' production of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. While typically not needed, a diagnosis of menopause can be confirmed by measuring hormone levels in the blood or urine. Menopause is the opposite of menarche, the time when a girl's periods start.
Perspiration, also known as sweat, is the fluid secreted by sweat glands in the skin of mammals.
Hyperglycemia or hyperglycaemia is a condition in which an excessive amount of glucose (glucotoxicity) circulates in the blood plasma. This is generally a blood sugar level higher than 11.1 mmol/L (200 mg/dL), but symptoms may not start to become noticeable until even higher values such as 13.9–16.7 mmol/L (~250–300 mg/dL). A subject with a consistent fasting blood glucose range between ~5.6 and ~7 mmol/L is considered slightly hyperglycemic, and above 7 mmol/L is generally held to have diabetes. For diabetics, glucose levels that are considered to be too hyperglycemic can vary from person to person, mainly due to the person's renal threshold of glucose and overall glucose tolerance. On average, however, chronic levels above 10–12 mmol/L (180–216 mg/dL) can produce noticeable organ damage over time.
Morvan's syndrome is a rare, life-threatening autoimmune disease named after the nineteenth century French physician Augustin Marie Morvan. "La chorée fibrillaire" was first coined by Morvan in 1890 when describing patients with multiple, irregular contractions of the long muscles, cramping, weakness, pruritus, hyperhidrosis, insomnia and delirium. It normally presents with a slow insidious onset over months to years. Approximately 90% of cases spontaneously go into remission, while the other 10% of cases lead to death.
Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), sometimes known as acne inversa or Verneuil's disease, is a long-term dermatological condition characterized by the occurrence of inflamed and swollen lumps. These are typically painful and break open, releasing fluid or pus. The areas most commonly affected are the underarms, under the breasts, perineum, buttocks, and the groin. Scar tissue remains after healing. HS may significantly limit many everyday activities, for instance, walking, hugging, moving, and sitting down. Sitting disability may occur in patients with lesions in sacral, gluteal, perineal, femoral, groin or genital regions; and prolonged periods of sitting down can also worsen the condition of the skin of these patients.
Hot flashes are a form of flushing, often caused by the changing hormone levels that are characteristic of menopause. They are typically experienced as a feeling of intense heat with sweating and rapid heartbeat, and may typically last from two to 30 minutes for each occurrence.
Hyperhidrosis is a medical condition in which a person exhibits excessive sweating, more than is required for the regulation of body temperature. Although it is primarily a physical burden, hyperhidrosis can deteriorate the quality of life of the people who are affected from a psychological, emotional, and social perspective. In fact, hyperhidrosis almost always leads to psychological as well as physical and social consequences. People suffering from it present difficulties in professional fields, more than 80% experiencing a moderate to severe emotional impact from the disease and half are subject to depression.
Late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) or testosterone deficiency syndrome (TDS) is a term for a condition in older men characterized by measurably low testosterone levels and clinical symptoms mostly of a sexual nature, including decreased desire for mating, fewer spontaneous erections, and erectile dysfunction. It is the result of a gradual drop in testosterone; a steady decline in testosterone levels of about 1% per year can happen and is well documented in both men and women.
Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is a syndrome experienced as pain or stiffness, usually in the neck, shoulders, upper arms, and hips, but which may occur all over the body. The pain can be sudden or can occur gradually over a period. Most people with PMR wake up in the morning with pain in their muscles; however, cases have occurred in which the person has developed the pain during the evenings or has pain and stiffness all day long.
Macroglossia is the medical term for an unusually large tongue. Severe enlargement of the tongue can cause cosmetic and functional difficulties in speaking, eating, swallowing and sleeping. Macroglossia is uncommon, and usually occurs in children. There are many causes. Treatment depends upon the exact cause.
Hypoestrogenism, or estrogen deficiency, refers to a lower than normal level of estrogen. It is an umbrella term used to describe estrogen deficiency in various conditions. Estrogen deficiency is also associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and has been linked to diseases like urinary tract infections and osteoporosis.
Trichobacteriosis axillaris is a superficial bacterial colonization of the hair shafts in sweat gland–bearing areas, such as the armpits and the groin. It is a trivial disease of worldwide occurrence that is believed to be caused by the genus Corynebacteria.
Hypohidrosis is a medical condition in which a person exhibits diminished sweating in response to appropriate stimuli. In contrast with hyperhidrosis, which is a socially troubling yet often benign condition, the consequences of untreated hypohidrosis include hyperthermia, heat stroke and death. An extreme case of hypohidrosis in which there is a complete absence of sweating and the skin is dry is termed anhidrosis. The condition is also known as adiaphoresis, ischidrosis, oligidria, oligohidrosis and sweating deficiency.
AA amyloidosis is a form of amyloidosis, a disease characterized by the abnormal deposition of fibers of insoluble protein in the extracellular space of various tissues and organs. In AA amyloidosis, the deposited protein is serum amyloid A protein (SAA), an acute-phase protein which is normally soluble and whose plasma concentration is highest during inflammation.
Urologic diseases or conditions include urinary tract infections, kidney stones, bladder control problems, and prostate problems, among others. Some urologic conditions do not affect a person for that long and some are lifetime conditions. Kidney diseases are normally investigated and treated by nephrologists, while the specialty of urology deals with problems in the other organs. Gynecologists may deal with problems of incontinence in women.
Adrenal gland disorders are conditions that interfere with the normal functioning of the adrenal glands. Your body produces too much or too little of one or more hormones when you have an adrenal gland dysfunction. The type of issue you have and the degree to which it affects your body's hormone levels determine the symptoms.
Palmoplantar hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating localized to the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. It is a form of focal hyperhidrosis in that the excessive sweating is limited to a specific region of the body. As with other types of focal hyperhidrosis the sweating tends to worsen during warm weather.