Night sweats in men is a pathological increase in sweating at night, which causes discomfort to a person. Frequent causes of increased sweating are a decrease in the amount of testosterone and other endocrine diseases, the use of alcohol and drugs, chronic infections, and damage to internal organs. To establish the origin of night sweats, laboratory tests, ultrasound and x-ray imaging, and a neurological examination are prescribed. The elimination of sweating disorders is carried out by treating the underlying disease.
A common cause of nocturnal hyperhidrosis in men over 45-5 years old is a physiological decrease in testosterone production, which disrupts autonomic regulation and periodically increases the work of the sweat glands. Attacks of sweating in male menopause occur several times a night. Sweat profusely covers the face, scalp, upper half of the body. Hyperhidrosis is accompanied by reddening of the skin, "tides" of blood to the face. If manifestations occur rarely, they are considered a variant of the norm, with an increase in episodes of night sweats, the development of insomnia, you should consult a doctor.
Increased sweating can be triggered by the action of nicotine on the sweat glands and peripheral nerve endings, so people suffering from nicotine addiction often complain of profuse sweating at night. The symptom is aggravated by sleeping in a stuffy room, the man sleeps restlessly, snores heavily or talks in his sleep. When a large amount of sweat is released, stains remain on bedding and underwear. Similar signs are observed when eating heavy fatty foods at night, especially in combination with alcohol intoxication. Patients complain of sleep disturbances, nightmares.
Short-term pauses in breathing during sleep, accompanied by sweating in men, periodically occur in every fifth patient after 35-4 years. Increased sweating occurs 1-2 hours after falling asleep during deep sleep, while the person snores heavily. Suddenly breathing stops for a few seconds, then resumes again, sweating profusely. Sleep apnea attacks can recur up to several dozen times during one night. The causes of night sweats are an increase in pressure in response to hypoxia, dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system.
With a sharp cessation of the intake of alcoholic beverages in people suffering from alcoholism, there is a disruption in the functioning of all body systems, massive intoxication is observed, which causes night sweats. A similar picture is observed in patients with drug addiction. Profuse sweating is characteristic: bed and underwear gets completely wet, trickles of sweat with a sharp unpleasant odor flow down the face and body of a man. Hyperhidrosis is accompanied by restless sleep, frightening dreams, frequent nocturnal awakenings.
With a severe form of withdrawal, which can turn into a delirious disorder, insomnia sets in, frightening visual and auditory hallucinations haunt at night, the whole body is covered with sticky cold sweat. In the case of hypotension, the color of the skin becomes pale, drops of sweat appear on the forehead, neck and torso, palpitations are noted, and hyperthermia is possible. A patient with alcoholic delirium is able to injure himself or others, therefore, emergency hospitalization in a specialized hospital is necessary.
If sweating at night is observed in a man for 1-2 months, this may be a sign of infection with the Koch stick. A person develops a syndrome of tuberculous intoxication, which provokes increased sweating. Usually, hyperhidrosis does not cause sleep disturbances. In the morning, sweat stains are noticeable on bedding, due to increased night sweating of the head, the man’s hair looks “greasy”. In tuberculosis, this symptom is often combined with a decrease in working capacity, a slight increase in body temperature, possibly a dry cough and chest pain.
Most infections are accompanied by the development of inflammatory reactions, fever. Such changes in the body lead to endogenous intoxication, disruption of the thermoregulatory center, which provokes increased sweat production. Sweating is more pronounced before bedtime and at night, which is associated with a decrease in fever, dysfunction of autonomic regulation. Hyperhidrosis is provoked by the following infectious causes:
Dysfunction of the sweat glands in men and increased sweating are caused by various hormonal causes. Excessive night sweats occur in diabetes mellitus, a symptom due to a sharp drop in blood glucose levels in the early morning hours. The man has restless sleep, erratic movements of the arms and legs. Thyrotoxicosis is characterized by increased sweating with especially strong sweating of the face and scalp. Sweating is combined with redness of the skin, constant nocturnal awakenings, and a subjective feeling of heat.
The process of formation of a malignant neoplasm causes the accumulation of toxic metabolites and cell decay products in the body, which causes sweating at night. The occurrence of night sweats can be one of the first clinical manifestations of tumors of any location, especially lymphoid tissue neoplasia. In men, excessive sweating is most often caused by such oncological causes as:
Finding out the cause of sweating at night in men is done by a general practitioner or a general practitioner. During the examination, the work of internal organs is evaluated, the most common diseases that occur with nocturnal hyperhidrosis are excluded. The diagnostic search scheme includes instrumental imaging methods and laboratory tests. The most informative are:
Night sweats require a comprehensive examination
To reduce night sweats associated with bad habits, a man should follow several rules: avoid heavy meals and alcohol at night, stop smoking if possible, and normalize sleep patterns. To eliminate skin irritation, it is necessary to take a shower regularly, change bed linen more often. If sweating is accompanied by other unpleasant symptoms, you should visit a doctor to rule out or confirm more serious causes of the disorder.
Medical tactics depend on the etiological factor. Most often, etiotropic therapy is carried out to eliminate the underlying disease, while there is a decrease in pathological sweating. If hyperhidrosis is due to withdrawal, addiction treatment is carried out in specialized centers and involves a combination of medications with psychotherapeutic help. For the treatment of the cause of severe sweating at night in men, the following groups of drugs are used:
To eliminate the cause of severe forms of sleep apnea, adenoidectomy, septoplasty is performed. If after these surgical interventions the symptoms do not disappear, they resort to uvulopalatopharyngoplasty. With pheochromocytoma, a total unilateral adrenalectomy is indicated, in the case of a combination of a tumor with multiple endocrine neoplasia, a bilateral operation is performed. In lymphoproliferative processes, removal of the neoplasm is required in combination with radiation and polychemotherapy.