Doctors often hear their patients complain of night sweats as they have become highly common. Night sweats means any excess sweating which occurs during the night. In order to distinguish night sweats causes that arise due to medical causes from those which occur because one's surroundings are very warm, doctors refer to these true night sweats as severe hot flashes which occur at night that can drench sleepwear as well as sheets. These are not linked to an overheated environment.
In fact they can be one of the menopausal symptoms .The perception of excessive sweating at night is quite common. It is important to note that a warmth and redness of the face or trunk can also be difficult to distinguish from the true night sweats.
The night sweats causes are different and varied. In order to determine the night sweats causes in a particular patient, a doctor has to obtain a detailed medical history as well as order tests in order to decide if an underlying medical condition is responsible for these night sweats, or it is one of the menopausal symptoms.The hot flashes which accompany the menopausal transition may occur at night and tends to cause sweating.
This is one of the most common causes of night sweats in the perimenopausal women. It is important to remember that these night flashes as well as other symptoms of the perimenopause can precede the actual menopause by several years.
Taking certain medications can also lead to night sweats. Antidepressant medications are a type of medication that can lead to night sweats.
All kinds of antidepressants can cause night sweats as a side effect. Medicines which are taken to lower fever such as aspirin as well as acetaminophen can also lead to sweating. Thus there are varied causes to night sweating.