What Causes Night Sweats In Women |
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Night sweats means sweating profusely during night. The sweating is so bad that it can drench the bed linen as well as the sleepwear of the person. At times, night sweats can occur when the room temperature is too high. This is not a cause for concern. However, in many cases, there is invariably an underlying medical problem that causes the night sweats.
It has been seen that women often complain of night sweats. So, what causes night sweats in women? There are several reasons for women suffering from night sweats and some of them are mentioned below:
Women who are entering the perimenopausal or menopausal phase of their lives often complain of night sweats. During the day, these women may suffer from hot flashes, and in the night with night sweats. This can cause the woman to wake up from sleep and after changing the night clothes and the bed linen, the woman might find it difficult to go back to sleep. In addition, along with the night sweats, the woman may also suffer from nausea, headache and fast or irregular beating of the heart. In perimenopausal and menopausal women, the night sweats are caused due to fluctuation of estrogen. This fluctuation causes the region of the brain that controls the body temperature to get stimulated and this results in night sweats. The condition can be further aggravated by drinking caffeine or alcohol or eating spicy food before retiring to bed.
Another cause of night sweats in women is infections and diseases. Often, tuberculosis is one of the symptoms of the disease, but night sweats in women can also be caused due to swelling of the heart valves, known as endocarditis; swelling of the bones, known as osteomyelitis; tonsillitis, appendicitis, diverticulitis, HIV and AIDS.
Women suffering from diabetes and taking insulin to control their blood sugar levels can suffer from night sweats when their blood sugar levels drop. This condition is known as hypoglycemia and is seen in women suffering from both Type 1 as well as Type 2 diabetes. In addition, thyroid problems, like hyperthyroidism, as well as certain cancers, like lymphoma, can cause night sweats in women.
There are also many medications that women may take for other health conditions that can have night sweats as a side effect. Anti-depressants are notorious for causing night sweats. Even corticosteroids like prednisone can result in night sweats. High doses of niacin, or Vitamin B3, can cause a flush that feels very similar to sweating. Also, some types of medications used to manage blood pressure can also result in causing flushing that feels very similar to night sweats.
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