Severe Night Sweats in Men

Sweating, whether during the morning or night, is a natural response of the body to keep the temperature of the body normal. 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 the excess toxins. Night sweats in men which occur due to hot environmental conditions are considered very normal and there is nothing to worry about them. However, if someone sweats profusely, even when the weather is normal, then the reasons behind it should not be ignored. Below are some of the possible causes behind severe night sweats in men.

Andropause
When men are in between the ages of forty and fifty five, certain hormonal changes take place inside their body. The levels of testosterone, a male hormone, reduce considerably. When these hormonal changes take place, a man experiences sweating, accompanied by hot flushes.

Medication
It could be due to some medication. Certain drugs, especially anti depressants are known to cause sweating in a number of patients who take them. Some other medicines are nitroglycerine, niacin, hydralazine, prednisone, and tamoxifen.

Idiopathic Hyperhidrosis
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.

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

Stress and Anxiety
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.

Foods
Consumption of certain food such as onions, garlic, red meat and other spicy food may trigger severe sweating at night in some people. People suffering from a digestive condition such as irritable bowel syndrome, experience sweating when they eat spicy food.

Low Blood Sugar Level
Hypoglycemia is a condition in which the sugar levels in the blood decline. If the man is suffering from this condition, it can cause severe night sweating in him. People who are suffering from diabetes and are taking its medicine may experience this too as these medication cause the sugar levels in blood to fall considerably.

Alcohol Abuse
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 at night.

Diseases and Health Conditions
One of the rare causes of night sweats in men could be an underlying serious disease such as cancer and AIDS. Night sweats 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 of the other health conditions which cause this condition.

A person suffering from it 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 too. However, if after making all these changes, excessive sweating still persists, and is accompanied by other some other serious symptoms as well such as fever, pain in chest, shortness in breath, weight loss etc, a doctor should be contacted for proper diagnoses and treatment.