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What is "Night Sweats"

"Night sweats" is heavy sweating that occurs during sleep.

  • Night sweats usually drench bed clothing and bedding.
  • Night sweats can cause waking up because of discomfort due to web bed clothes or wet bedding.

Causes of night sweats:

  • Cancer: Night sweats are a symptom that often accompany chemotherapy.
  • HIV: Night sweats often accompany HIV. Sometimes night sweats are due to HIV and sometimes to a particular treatment.
  • In General: Night sweats can be caused by a variety of additional causes. One of the most common is menopause.

Treatment of night sweats:

  • There is currently no treatment that eliminates night sweats.
  • Living with night sweats can be made easier by:
    • Wrapping your mattress in a plastic covering to prevent the moisture from seeping into the mattress.
    • Bed clothes that wick away the moisture.
    • Some people find relief from drinking a cool glass of water.
    • Try a cooling pillow. To learn more, see: 

If you have night sweats:

  • Check your temperature in case the night sweats are caused by a fever. You can do this if you awake in the middle of the night, or you can do it during the day. Fever tends to be highest about 6:00PM.
  • Tell your doctor or other health care provider about your night sweats and other symptoms. For an easy to use chart to help keep track of symptoms between doctor visits, click here. When you are ready to go to the doctor, a push of a button turns the chart into easy-to-read graph format.. 

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