Severe Night Sweats in Men

Sweating, whether during the morning or night, is a natural response of the body to keep its temperature in the normal range. When the weather is hot, and a person sweats, it is the body's way to get the excess heat out. It is also one of the ways, in which, the body excretes toxins.

Night sweats in males, which occur due to hot environmental conditions are considered normal, and there is nothing to worry about it. However, if someone sweats profusely, even when the weather is normal, then the reasons behind it should not be ignored. Given here are some of the possible causes of severe night sweats in men.

When men are in between the ages of 40 and 55, certain hormonal changes take place inside their bodies. The levels of testosterone, a male hormone, reduces considerably. When these hormonal changes take place, a man experiences sweating, accompanied by hot flushes.

The problem of night sweats could also be due to medications. Certain drugs, especially antidepressants are known to cause sweating in a number of patients. Some other medicines are nitroglycerine, niacin, hydralazine, prednisone, and tamoxifen.

A person suffering from this health condition sweats profusely. In this condition, the nervous system signals the body to produce more than the appropriate amount of sweat.

Men, who suffer from neurological conditions, such as, dysreflexia, syringomyelia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and autonomic neuropathy, become prone to experiencing sweating while sleeping.

If a man is suffering from some work related or personal stress, or is under some sort of depression, he may experience sweating during nighttime.

Consumption of certain foods, such as, onion, garlic, red meat, and other spicy foods, may trigger severe sweating at night in some people. Those who are suffering from a digestive disorder, such as irritable bowel syndrome, experience sweating when they eat spicy food.

Hypoglycemia is a condition, in which, the sugar levels in the blood decline. If a man is suffering from this condition, it can cause severe night sweating in him. People who are suffering from diabetes, and are on medication, may also have low blood sugar, as the medication cause the sugar levels in blood to fall considerably.

Night sweats and alcohol abuse go hand in hand. People who drink heavily often experience sweating while sleeping. People who are trying to quit alcohol, suffer from alcohol withdrawal symptoms, such as, hallucinations, tremors, nightmares, and excessive sweating in the night.

One of the rare causes of night sweating in males could be an underlying serious disease such as cancer and AIDS. They are one of the many symptoms of these two diseases. Certain bacterial and viral infections, such as brucellosis may produce this symptom too. Endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and tuberculosis, are some other health conditions, which cause this condition.

A person suffering from night sweating should take a number of precautions. Firstly, he should avoid eating spicy food. Secondly, he should wear only loose and comfortable clothes made from natural fibers such as cotton, while sleeping. Taking a shower before going to bed will help as well.

However, if after making all these changes, excessive sweating still persists, and is accompanied by some other serious symptoms, such as, fever, pain in the chest, shortness of breath, weight loss, etc., a doctor should be contacted for proper diagnosis and treatment.