Night sweats in women (nocturnal hyperhidrosis) is an increase in sweating that worries women at night. The symptom may be accompanied by weakness, fever, a feeling of heat and redness of the face. The main causes of hyperhidrosis are menopause and other hormonal disruptions in the female body, night sweats also occur with infectious diseases, rheumatic diseases. To determine the etiological factor, laboratory tests, ultrasound, and a neurological examination are performed. To reduce or completely eliminate unpleasant manifestations, it is necessary to act on the cause of increased sweating.
Increased sweating is one of the symptoms of "hot flashes", which are observed in 85% of women after 45-5 years. Night sweats are caused by changes in the brain center of thermoregulation due to inhibition of ovarian function and a decrease in the concentration of sex hormones in the blood. Patients may wake up due to profuse sweating, wetting of bed and underwear. After waking up, there is an agonizing feeling of heat that rises from the chest to the neck and face. With severe hyperhidrosis, drops of sweat flow down the face, the scalp sweats heavily.
In severe menopause, the number of attacks of sweating and fever reaches 5-7 times during the night. In the morning, one feels tired and weak, with chronic lack of sleep, concentration and working capacity decrease. Some patients report having hot flashes associated with spicy food or alcohol the night before. If such manifestations are disturbing several times a night, combined with severe headaches or clouding of consciousness, you should consult a doctor to rule out other causes of the painful condition.
The appearance of sweating during sleep in women is noted a couple of days before menstruation, since during this period the concentration of progesterone rapidly decreases, and the level of estrogen is still low. With severe hyperhidrosis, patients are forced to change clothes or bedding in the middle of the night, in case of moderate sweating, the woman continues to sleep, but in the morning she notices stains on the pillowcase or sheet. Increased sweating, as a rule, is accompanied by a change in the smell of sweat - it becomes stronger and sharper due to the increased work of the apocrine sweat glands.
Hormonal changes in pregnant women cause disruption of the thermoregulation center in the hypothalamus, which is manifested by increased sweat formation. The symptom is especially pronounced in the first trimester. Profuse sweating forces women to wake up at night to ventilate the room and change clothes. Normally, unpleasant manifestations decrease as we approach childbirth, and then completely disappear. If the disorder persists even after the provoking cause has been eliminated (after childbirth, with the onset of menstruation), a specialist consultation is necessary.
Common causes of nocturnal hyperhidrosis in middle-aged and older women are disorders of the peripheral endocrine glands, which are accompanied by general autonomic disorders and increased sweating. Night sweats are more often expressed moderately, sleep disorders are usually absent. Sometimes profuse sweating at night is the cause of awakening and is combined with a deterioration in well-being, palpitations, and weakness. Sweating at night in women is caused by such endocrine diseases as:
Systemic inflammatory processes are more common in women, due to the peculiarities of the immunological response of the female body and increased production of autoantibodies. Chronic inflammation in the joints, soft tissues and skin causes various autonomic reactions, one of which is increased night sweats. Collagenosis is characterized by complaints of restless sleep and frequent awakenings. In the morning sweat stains on bed linen are clearly visible, hair looks greasy and stuck together due to increased sweat separation.
Psychogenic reasons for the development of increased sweating at night in women are psychosis, depression, somatoform disorder. With these pathologies, nocturnal hyperhidrosis is accompanied by depression of mood, loss of interest in life and habitual activities. There is severe drowsiness, weakness and fatigue. Often night sweats are associated with disturbing dreams, nightmares. In addition to hyperhidrosis, patients present with many other complaints - abdominal pain, dyspepsia, feelings of "fading" of the heart, shortness of breath and a feeling of lack of air.
When a pathogen enters the body, fever appears, various toxins accumulate in the blood, which is associated with night sweats. By evening, body temperature may rise, and at night, when it decreases, sweat is plentiful. Hyperhidrosis occurs against the background of other nonspecific symptoms: arthralgia and myalgia, headaches, loss of appetite. The most common infectious causes of night sweats in women are:
Most often, profuse night sweats develop after excessive intake of antipyretic drugs, which is why there is a sharp decrease in body temperature to normal or subnormal. This is accompanied by great weakness and drowsiness, so that the patient does not wake up at night, even if the bed linen gets wet. Other medications can also cause hyperhidrosis:
To identify the causes of severe sweating at night, women most often turn to a general practitioner. The specialist organizes an initial examination, which includes laboratory tests and instrumental imaging methods in the presence of specific complaints. Diagnostic search is aimed at detecting the underlying pathology that causes night sweats. The most informative are:
If signs of organic lesions of internal organs are detected on ultrasound, a CT scan of the abdominal cavity and cervical region is prescribed. To assess the state of the thyroid gland, radioisotope scintigraphy is performed. If suspicious enlarged lymph nodes are found, a puncture is made under ultrasound guidance, then a cytomorphological analysis of biopsy samples is performed. Usually, a consultation with a gynecologist is required with an examination of the genital organs in the mirrors.
To find out the cause of profuse sweating at night, a woman needs to visit a doctor. To reduce discomfort before the diagnosis is verified, several rules should be followed: air the room before going to bed so that the temperature does not exceed 22 ° C, choose bed linen and pajamas made from natural fabrics, refuse strong coffee and tea in the evening. Impressive patients are advised to avoid watching horror films in the evening, heavy psychological dramas. Before going to bed, it is advisable to drink a cup of herbal tea (with chamomile, lemon balm, thyme).
Treatment of excessive sweating in women is carried out using medication and non-pharmacological methods.
Hyperhidrosis caused by physiological fluctuations in hormones or emotional reactions is successfully treated with the use of psychotherapy, physiotherapy methods aimed at strengthening the body, stimulating the nervous system. In other situations, the appointment of medications is required, which are selected according to an individual scheme, based on the cause of night sweats. Typically, treatment includes the following groups of drugs: