Should I be worried about night sweats?
Dr Mark Porter on what might be causing night sweats – and a useful thing you can do when you have one.
Image credit: Getty Images/Valeriia Mitriakova
Dr Mark Porter on what might be causing night sweats – and a useful thing you can do when you have one.
I am in my mid-seventies and in pretty good shape for my age, but over the past six months I have started sweating heavily when I am asleep. Not every night, but at least two to three times a week, and I feel fine during the day.
I did have some sweats when I went through the menopause, but that was over 20 years ago and this feels different. My bedroom is cool and I use a light duvet.
Night sweats are quite a common complaint. You have dismissed your bedroom temperature and an overly warm duvet, but you might be surprised by just how many people ignore these basics, particularly if they sleep with a partner who feels the cold more than they do.
The fact that the night sweats have been going on a while, and you are otherwise well, is somewhat reassuring, but there are a number of possible medical causes to consider.
So, please book an appointment to discuss your symptoms with your GP. And while you are waiting to see them, take a thermometer to bed with you. If you wake during the night when you are having a sweat, then take your temperature and note it down – and try to do this on more than one night to make sure you are not spiking a low fever. It will help your GP rule out fever/infection.
After examining you, they will almost certainly want to do a range of blood tests, and probably a chest X-ray, to whittle the list down and identify the most likely cause. We don’t always find one.
For more detailed information on the causes and investigation of night sweats, visit Patient.
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