Night Sweats, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Night Sweats, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

The main thing that I remembered about night sweats as a medical student was that it is one of the signs of Tuberculosis.
The other thing about night sweats was that it occurred very frequently in menopause.

Night sweats are episodes of perspiration that happen at night while the patient is sleeping.
People who have this disorder normally report waking with wet bedclothes or sheets, having a fast heart rate, and chills for 1-4 minutes.
Menopause or a fever are leading causes of night sweats, but they can also be related to some cancers or be a side effect of certain cancer treatments
If the patient keeps the bedroom temperature unusually hot or the patient is sleeping in too many clothes, the patient may sweat during the sleep, which is normal.
In order to differentiate night sweats that develop from medical causes from those that happen because one's surroundings are too warm, doctors normally indicate that true night sweats as severe hot flashes happening at night that can drench sleepwear and sheets, which are not linked to an overheated environment.
It is important to know that flushing (a warmth and redness of the face or trunk) also may be difficult to differentiate from true night sweats.
Night sweats are recurring events of extreme perspiration that may soak the nightclothes or bedding and are linked to an underlying medical disorder or illness.
Most frequent causes are:
1. Women in peri menopause or menopause;
2. Medicines,
3. Hormone disorders,
4. Low blood sugar, and
5. Neurological disorders.
The patient depending upon the cause may have other symptoms like:
1. Chills, or shaking with a fever,
2. Vaginal dryness, or
3. Mood changes
Less frequent causes of night sweats are:
1. Infections such as Tuberculosis
2. Cancers.
Depending upon the underlying cause of the night sweats, other symptoms may happen together with the sweating.
1. Certain infections and cancers
2. Shaking and chills can occasionally happen if the patient has a fever.
3. Unexplained weight loss due to lymphoma.
4. Night sweats due to the menopausal period are normally associated with other symptoms of menopause such as vaginal dryness, daytime hot flashes, and mood changes.
5. Night sweats that happen as a side effect of medications can be followed by other medicine side effects, depending upon the specific drug.
Diagnosis
It is important first to find out whether the cause is primary or secondary and a methodical history will help to distinguish that.
If a secondary cause is implicated, the doctors should request:
1. Full blood count,
2. Basic metabolic panel,
3. Thyroid-stimulating hormone,
4. Sedimentation rate,
5. ANA,
6. HbA1c.
7. Chest x-ray
These tests will help in excluding diseases which can all be linked with night sweats:
1. Infection,
2. Kidney dysfunction,
3. Malignancy,
4. Diabetes mellitus,
5. Thyroid disease,
6. An inflammatory disorder, or
7. Connective tissue disease.
Treatment
The treatment for night sweats is dependent upon the underlying cause
There are steps the patient can take that may help better regulate body temperature and relieve the symptoms of night sweats:
1. The patient can use sheets and bedclothes made from natural fibers, like cotton.
2. The patient might also wish to try wick-away fabrics that absorb moisture
1.First-line therapy for night sweats is aluminum chloride hexahydrate 20% (Drysol) applied for 3 to 4 nights then nightly as needed.
2.Oral anticholinergic medicines may reduce sweating
3.Iontophoresis and botulinum toxin A injections may help
4.Invasive treatment measures such as sympathectomy or local excision may be used as a last resort

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Night Sweats<

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Nov 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463431474

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Night Sweats,

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2019 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Night Sweats, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Night Sweats)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 e-Books.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Night sweats

The main thing that I remembered about night sweats as a medical student was that it is one of the signs of Tuberculosis.

The other thing about night sweats was that it occurred very frequently in menopause.

What are night sweats?

Night sweats are episodes of perspiration that happen at night while the patient is sleeping.

People who have this disorder normally report waking with wet bedclothes or sheets, having a fast heart rate, and chills for 1-4 minutes.

Menopause or a fever are leading causes of night sweats, but they can also be related to some cancers or be a side effect of certain cancer treatments.

Doctors in primary care often hear their patients complain of night sweats because they are frequent.

Night sweats indicate any excess sweating happening during the night.

If the patient keeps the bedroom temperature unusually hot or the patient is sleeping in too many clothes, the patient may sweat during the sleep, which is normal.

In order to differentiate night sweats that develop from medical causes from those that happen because one's surroundings are too warm, doctors normally indicate that true night sweats as severe hot flashes happening at night that can drench sleepwear and sheets, which are not linked to an overheated environment.

It is important to know that flushing (a warmth and redness of the face or trunk) also may be difficult to differentiate from true night sweats.

Night sweats are recurring events of extreme perspiration that may soak the nightclothes or bedding and are linked to an underlying medical disorder or illness.

The patient may occasionally awaken after having perspired excessively, especially if the patient is sleeping under too many blankets or if the bedroom is too warm.

While uncomfortable, these episodes are normally not labeled as night sweats and normally are not a sign of a medical disorder.

Generally, night sweats are also linked with:

1. Fever,

2. Weight loss,

3. Localized pain,

4. Cough,

5. Diarrhea, or

6. Other symptoms of concern.

Incidence

Night sweats affects about 3% of the U.S. population and is most frequent in patients between the ages of 20 to 60.

There has been no evidence indicating that either men or women are at higher risk of this disorder.

What are the causes of night sweats?

Causes

Night sweats, or excessive sweating during sleep, are a frequent symptom in women and men.

Many medical disorders and diseases can produce them.

Most frequent causes are:

1. Women in peri menopause or menopause;

2. Medicines,

3. Hormone disorders,

4. Low blood sugar, and

5. Neurological disorders.

The patient depending upon the cause may have other symptoms like:

1. Chills, or shaking with a fever,

2. Vaginal dryness, or

3. Mood changes

Less frequent causes of night sweats are:

1. Infections and

2. Cancers.

Pathophysiology

Sweating is the body’s normal method for controlling the body’s temperature.

When night sweats happen, the body’s thermostat is receiving conflicting messages.

Night sweats requires the hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system inducing excessive secretion of acetylcholine from the nerve ending.

Acetylcholine will stimulate the epidermal eccrine sweat glands as a physiologic response to core body temperature control