Sometimes I wake up drenched in sweat and must change my bedclothes.
QUESTION:
Am I having night sweats? There seems no pattern to it, although I wonder if I’m just sleeping under too many blankets and getting too hot. I’m a healthy female of average weight, in my late 30s. I’m not taking any medication, but I do have a stressful job. Could this be early menopause? Or something more sinister? I’m too busy to go to the doctor unless it’s necessary. I don’t feel sick.
ANSWER:
There are many causes for night sweats, some are benign and some are more serious. As a female the commonest cause is menopause and a simple blood test will reveal whether this is the case for you. Stress and anxiety is another cause of night sweats.
More serious causes can include blood related disease such as leukaemia and lymphoma. Problems with the thyroid may also cause night sweats. It can occur in nerve related diseases such as autonomic neuropathy. Infection, such as tuberculosis, is another cause. Sleep disorders have been identified as a cause as well.
It is therefore important for you to see your local doctor to work out what is going on. Your health is very important and therefore you need to take the time investigate the cause of the night sweats. As the old saying dictates, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.
Submit Your Questions
Family Forum is a panel of general practitioners, medical specialists, lawyers, therapeutic and financial counsellors to discuss each letter before the appropriate professional answers it. The panel is appointed by Relationships Australia SA.
Have you got a question you’d like us to tackle?
Fill out the form below or send questions to Family Forum, The Advertiser, 31 Waymouth St, Adelaide 5000.
We treat communications in strict confidence except when the law demands otherwise, as in child abuse.