Night sweat

German: Nachtschweiß

	Table of contents
	1. Definition 2. Symptoms 3. Causes 4. Therapy

Definition

The term night sweat describes an unphysiologically excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis) during bed rest. Night sweat is classified under general symptoms.

ICD10 Code: R61.9

Symptoms

The characteristics of night sweat can widely differ and ranges from a continuous film of sweat on the skin to a drenching of the bedclothes. Intensive night sweat frequently leads to sleep disturbances, since the patient wakes up due to sweating during the night.

Causes

Night sweat has various causes. Among others, the main causes are:

• Infectious diseases
  • Acute infectious diseases
    • Influenza
  • Chronic infectious diseases
    • Tuberculosis
    • AIDS
    • Malaria
    • Osteomyelitis
• Malignoma
  • Leukemias
  • Lymphomas
  • Carcinomas
• Autoimmune diseases
  • Collagenoses
  • Chronic polyarthritis
  • Wegener’s Granulomatosis
• Hormonal disorders
  • Hyperthyreosis
  • Menopause
• Metabolic diseases
  • Diabetes mellitus
• Psychological causes
  • Nightmares
• External causes
  • High environmental temperature
  • Hyperthermy
• Otherso
  • Sleep apnea syndrome
  • Food (hot spices)
  • Medicines

Night sweat that cannot be attributed to any cause is called idiopathic night sweat.

Therapy

The therapy is based on the triggering cause, which might be difficult to find sometimes in the absence of additional symptoms.