Prognosis

The different treatment approaches have led to a significant improvement in the prognosis of hyperhidrosis in recent years. The impression is that patients are now taken much more seriously by their treating physicians than was the case a few years ago. After the introduction of “minimally invasive” surgery, the surgery for hyperhidrosis has become much gentler. As a result, more and more patients are opting for surgical treatment where conservative methods have produced unsatisfactory results.

Sweating at night (night sweat)

There can be a number of causes for the occurrence of night sweats (sweating during the night). For most of those affected, night sweats are a natural reaction of the body to an excessively high ambient temperature.Especially people who tend to sleep in warm pyjamas and/or with the radiator fully turned on often complain about heavy sweating at night. In these cases, it is a completely harmless reaction that offers no indication of illness.

Furthermore, diet can also have a decisive influence on the production and secretion of sweat during the night. Especially hot spices and heavy meals eaten shortly before going to bed increase the night sweat production and lead to night sweat. The consumption of alcoholic beverages and various drugs also cause some people to sweat heavily at night.

In addition, there may be psychological causes that do not allow the organism to sink into a proper state of rest during sleep. The patients concerned often suffer from heavy sweating at night. Other reasons for the occurrence of night sweats are fever-reducing medication, antidepressants and a variety of hormone preparations.

However, people who very often suffer from heavy sweating at night or whose sweating is so pronounced that their clothing and/or bed linen needs to be changed regularly should urgently consult a doctor. In these cases, it is possible that a physical illness is the cause of night sweats. Among the most common diseases that lead to heavy night sweating are hormonal disorders, such as those that can be observed when the thyroid gland is malfunctioning.

Hormonal changes in the course of pregnancy or during the menopause can also lead to occasional night sweats, which can have an enormous impact on the affected women. If a patient suffers from such heavy sweating at night over a long period of time that even clothing and bed linen are soaked with fluid, a tumor disease may be the cause. Especially tumors of the hematopoietic system (leukemia) and the lymphatic organs often manifest themselves by heavy sweating at night.

In addition, the affected patients usually show a significant loss of weight and permanent fever. In medical terminology, this complex of symptoms consisting of night sweats, weight loss and fever is known as the “B-symptomatic”. In summary, these are the most common causes of heavy night sweating:

Thyroid gland diseases
Hormonal changes during pregnancy or menopause
Wrong diet
Alcohol and drugs
Mental diseases
Medication (for example antidepressants)
Basic diseases like diabetes mellitus
Infectious diseases (influenza, HIV, tuberculosis)
Tumor disease