Why do I get night sweats?

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First, separate sweating because your bedroom is warm from real night sweats, which the NHS defines as sweating so much your night clothes and bedding are soaking wet even though where you are sleeping is cool. The common causes are mostly manageable: menopause hot flushes top the NHS list, followed by anxiety, certain medicines (some antidepressants, steroids, and painkillers), low blood sugar, alcohol or drug use, and a harmless tendency to sweat a lot called hyperhidrosis. If a medicine is the suspect, a GP can often swap it - that is a quick win worth asking about. The causes that matter more come with company, and the NHS check-it lines are specific: night sweats that happen regularly and wake you up or worry you; night sweats with a very high temperature, a cough, or diarrhoea; and night sweats while losing weight without trying. Those patterns need a GP appointment, because infections and other conditions announce themselves this way. Practical steps while you work it out: keep the bedroom genuinely cool, switch to light bedding you can layer, avoid alcohol in the evening, and jot a two-week diary of sweats, medicines, and anything else you have noticed - that record turns a vague worry into a diagnosable pattern. Menopause-related sweats have their own treatments worth discussing. Pymander is a free AI doctor, 24/7 by text, that can help you map your pattern before the appointment.

Why do I get night sweats?

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