Sleep hyperhidrosis is a condition that can lead to severe discomfort for a person who suffers from the same. What exactly is this condition and what does it involve? In the following article, we will focus on getting answers for these questions.
Have you ever woken up all sweaty in the morning? Maybe you had a bad dream and that got you sweating like that. Maybe there wasn’t enough ventilation. The point being, it’s not a good feeling to be awoken with that icky feeling of sweat all over your body. Water dripping down your back and trapped in the clumps of hair. The covers all tainted with sweat and the clothes sticking to you like that. So, what if you went through this profuse excessive sweating every night? What would you do? And I’m not talking about being plagued by nightmares or having less ventilation.
I’m talking about a condition called sleep hyperhidrosis, which in laymen terms is referred to as night sweats, and of which you might probably be better acquainted. Night sweats or sleep hyperhidrosis (sometimes also referred to as nocturnal hyperhidrosis) is a condition that is characterized by excessive sweating through the night. People who suffer from this condition may or may not sweat excessively in day-to-day life. In that way, one is not co-dependent on the other.
Can you imagine the feeling of waking up like so every morning? Not considering the yuck factor (which is of course there) and the discomfort that comes about, this condition could be an indication of certain severe underlying disorders. In the following sections, we will try and understand the factors that cause sleep hyperhidrosis and the ways in which it can be treated.
The Symptoms that Follow
Sweating will manifest in severe patterns. There will be instances of sweat dripping, clamminess of palms and feet, soaking of clothes through and through and more of the same. It can get to be very distressing because it directly affects the way in which one sleeps. The discomfort that it causes can lead to restlessness and lack of sleep.
Why Does it Come About
What are the varied causes of this condition? There are several of the same and these range over a wide variety that covers certain very simple and other very serious factors.
■ Fever
When one has fever, the temperature of the body rises. To bring the temperature to a normal level, the body will produce excessive sweat, which will then cool the high temperatures. Sleep hyperhidrosis is one of the most common factors when the body is plagued with fever.
■ Manifestation of Underlying Conditions
There are several health conditions that can lead to the night sweats. Of these, the most common are – Diabetes, migraine, hyperthyroidism, stroke, cerebral palsy, head and neck injuries, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, epilepsy, cancer, familial dysautonomia and other conditions related to digestion like acid reflux, indigestion, acidity, heartburn and GERD. All these conditions can cause night sweats.
■ Menopause and Menstruation
Menopause is a condition that can lead to severe hormonal imbalance in women. So is the case with menstruation. Excessive hormonal imbalance is one of the main factors that can lead to this condition and cause for night sweats in women.
■ Anxiety and Stress
Anxiety and stress are conditions that not merely affect the mental status of a person but also manifest in several physical symptoms as well. Of these, excessive night sweating is one of the prime symptoms.
■ Infections
Certain infections that are caused by viruses and bacteria can lead to the emergence of this condition. These include: the common flu and cold, HIV and AIDS, endocarditis, osteomyelitis and similar other conditions.
■ Side Effects of Medication
It has been seen that there are several medication forms that can lead to sleep hyperhidrosis as a side effect. These include: anti depressants, high blood pressure medication forms and antipsychotics.
■ Unhealthy Lifestyle
Other than these reasons, night sweats in men (especially) could be caused by excessive smoking and drinking, as well as eating spicy foods and keeping late nights.
What Can be Done About It
The treatment for this condition becomes extremely important to follow through. This can be done by learning what the factors that cause for this condition to come through are. A diagnosis of the underlying factors needs to be carried through in consultation with the doctor. When the specific treatment for each condition is undertaken and a solution for the same found, the symptoms that sleep hyperhidrosis produces should be dealt with like so.
Other than this, the other treatment forms that can be looked into include: altering one’s lifestyle and switching over to a more healthy one, consuming certain medication types that are produced especially with the objective of treating night sweats and as a last resort, carrying forth surgery, whereby the overactive sweat glands are removed.
Excessive sweating while sleeping is a condition that is an indication of something abnormal taking place in the body. That is why there is a need for the condition to be thoroughly studied and the corresponding solutions for the same brought into the picture. Don’t ignore it and do not relegate it to being ‘nothing’.
