What to do if you wake up in a cold sweat? Let's figure it out.
Situations when a person suddenly develops cold sweat may indicate the presence of serious pathologies, including quite dangerous infectious diseases. However, they are not the only cause of persistent sweating. In adolescents and infants, such manifestations can be triggered by a group of some age-related causes. Therapy for cold sweat attacks should be aimed not only at eliminating unpleasant symptoms, but also at the causes that provoked this condition.
So the person woke up in a cold sweat, what does that mean?
Causes of cold perspiration
It is known that the process of sweating allows you to cool the body in case of stress, tension, after heavy physical activity, with increasedtemperature. However, in some cases, the presence of cold perspiration can indicate serious disturbances in the functioning of the body. It is important to determine the cause.
"Wake up in a cold sweat" is a common complaint of patients. Doctors tend to associate the regular occurrence of cold sweat with the presence of the following conditions and pathologies:
- Cervical osteochondrosis. This pathology is accompanied by increased secretion of cold sticky sweat and weakness in the legs.
- Vegetative-vascular dystonia. With the appearance of weakness in the lower extremities, dizziness, nausea, you should think about the state of the vessels.
- Stressful situations. When stressed, hormones are released into the bloodstream, provoking the instant appearance of sticky sweat.
- Medications. Some fever medicines, insulin, antidepressants can cause excessive sweating.
- Withdrawal. Nausea, dizziness, cold sweat are frequent companions of the withdrawal syndrome when a person stops drinking alcohol and drugs. In some cases, sweat is so large that the person has to change underwear and bedding.
- Heart attack, stroke, sudden fluctuations in blood pressure.
- Diabetes. With a sudden release of insulin, there is a sharp decrease in the amount of sugar in the blood. The result is hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating).
- Migraine. Pathology is characterized by the development of severe headaches, nausea, weakness. At the onset of an attack, a significant amount enters the bloodadrenaline, causing heavy sweating.
- Viral, bacterial infections (influenza, mononucleosis, tuberculosis and others). Cold sweat in such diseases is often accompanied by nausea, fever, dizziness, trembling.
It is very important to determine the reasons for waking up in a cold sweat as quickly as possible in order to determine the necessary therapy.
Causes of cold sweat in men
In men, increased separation of cold sweat during sleep can occur for several reasons:
- Hormonal failure. This problem is often found in adolescent boys, in men with impaired sexual function.
- Idiopathic hyperhidrosis. Idiopathic hyperhidrosis is a condition in which men sweat excessively for no reason. That is, increased sweating occurs on its own, and not under the influence of any factors and pathologies. A similar phenomenon very often occurs after a strong emotional overload, stress, conflict in personal life or at work. Over time, hyperhidrosis itself can cause anxiety in a man. For example, constantly cold and wet palms can interfere with normal work and life. When a man wakes up in a cold sweat, the doctor must determine the reasons.
- Headaches. With regular migraines, a significant amount of adrenaline is constantly released into the blood of a man, causing increased sweating. Cause of headachepain can be found in a wide variety of pathologies - from the common cold to severe systemic diseases.
- Excessive consumption of alcohol. Alcoholic beverages can cause increased sweating in men during sleep, in particular with a hangover syndrome. When using even a small amount of ethanol, its adverse effect on the body's thermoregulation can manifest itself, causing hyperhidrosis or chills.
- Low blood pressure, blood loss, disorders of the heart, vascular functionality.
Women often complain about waking up in a cold sweat.
Causes of cold sweat during sleep in women
The female body has its own characteristics. Most often, excessive sweating in a woman is physiological in nature, for example:
- The period before menopause. Before menopause, the female body undergoes multiple hormonal changes, which can result in hot flashes - unexpected and unreasonable bouts of increased sweating. As a rule, this happens in a dream. In this life period, they are often very worried, they often have stress, which provokes increased sweating.
- Pregnancy. During pregnancy, it is not uncommon for women to sweat while sleeping, especially during the first three months. Pregnancy causes global changes in the female body, and heavy sweating is considered to be a normal phenomenon that should not bother a woman. In case whensweating is excessive and interferes with sleep, you can consult a doctor. Why do I wake up at night in a cold sweat, the woman asks. We continue to understand.
- A certain period of the menstrual cycle. Most often, sweating during sleep increases in women a few days before the onset of menstruation. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that during this period the amount of estrogens in the blood increases, weakness, fatigue appear, at night the body begins to unpredictably react to the slightest stresses endured by a woman during the day.
Pathological changes
However, a woman can wake up at night in a cold sweat due to some pathological changes:
- Intoxication of the body.
- Long-term use of drugs such as phenothiazines, antipyretics, and BP-lowering drugs.
- Systemic connective tissue pathologies - arthritis, rheumatism and others.
- Colds accompanied by fever.
- Disturbances in the activity of the endocrine system, for example, hyperthyroidism.
Sometimes a lady complains: “I wake up in a cold sweat in the morning.”
Other pathologies and conditions
In addition, cold sweat can occur due to pathologies such as cancer, pneumonia, granulomatosis. In some cases, hyperhidrosis can be explained very simply - the woman is wearing very warm clothes, or the temperature in her room is very high. For some women, this problem may occur as a result ofconsumption of spicy or hot foods. When sweat appears for no apparent reason, it is important to seek the advice of a specialist.
When to go to the doctor?
You need to see a doctor in the following cases:
- Excessive sweating begins after prolonged exposure to high temperature indoors or in the sun.
- There is a possibility of the presence of the diseases described above.
- Anxiety often occurs for no reason, especially in women, accompanied by increased sweating.
- Cold perspiration appears every night.
Features of therapy
Currently, there are enough methods to combat excessive sweating. These include the use of special medications, Botox injections, surgical techniques, antiperspirants. Features of therapy will depend on the severity of the pathology and the causes of its occurrence.
The most difficult thing is diagnosing the causes of excessive sweating. Moreover, with physiological and psychological reasons, it is not always possible to single out a provoking factor. When sweating develops against the background of the use of medications taken by a person, therapy will consist in their cancellation or replacement with analogues. If the cause of hyperhidrosis is a psychological problem, such as a phobia, then its elimination will allow you to get rid of the disease and cope with unpleasant manifestations.
Which doctor should I contact?
When coldperspiration is a symptom of a disease, then a doctor should deal with therapy. Seek help from a dermatologist. He will examine the skin, advise to pass certain tests. The doctor then determines an acceptable treatment regimen and prescribes the necessary medications to eliminate night sweats.
Physiotherapy
If a person complains that he woke up in a cold sweat after sleep, he is shown the use of physiotherapy. Electrophoresis can be performed at home and in a medical institution. During therapy, you should periodically visit a doctor to monitor the result. After the provoking disease is cured, cold perspiration will cease to appear on its own. In some cases, treatment of provoking diseases is impossible. Then the medical impact is aimed at eliminating external manifestations. In this case, cold sweat may return periodically.
If it is impossible to determine the cause of the appearance of cold perspiration, then it is also impossible to fight the manifestation itself. In this regard, sometimes it is necessary to direct therapy not only to the cause, but also to the manifestation of the disease.
Why you wake up in a cold sweat, now I understand.
Drug therapy
To eliminate the manifestations of hyperhidrosis, you must first determine the cause of its development. In accordance with the diagnosed disease, complex therapy is prescribed:
- If the cause is an infection, the specialist will prescribedrugs that have a detrimental effect on the pathogen.
- For migraines, the use of medicines such as Acetaminophen, Aspirin, Ibuprofen is indicated.
- Women in menopause should be treated with hormonal medications.
- In case of stress, increased anxiety, the patient may need treatment from a psychotherapist.
- To treat sweating itself, drugs are prescribed that reduce the activity of the sweat glands. If indicated, sedatives may be used.
- Effective are physiotherapeutic procedures, for example, iontophoresis. During this procedure, a galvanic current is applied to the sweat glands, as a result of which their activity decreases.
- In some cases, patients are recommended to inject special preparations, for example, botulinum toxin. This substance blocks the nerve connections responsible for the functioning of the sweat glands.
That's why it's so important to find out why.
Waking up in a cold sweat at night is quite unpleasant. Learn how to avoid it.
Prevention measures
Hyperhidrosis is not a sentence, it is treated very successfully. However, such an unpleasant and delicate problem can be prevented by following some preventive measures:
- Hyperhidrosis can be triggered by metabolic disorders, so doctors urge to stop eating meat and fatty foods at night.
- Before going to bed, it is recommended to take a walk on a freshair. This will allow you to calm down and enrich the body with oxygen.
- In winter, you should regularly ventilate the bedroom, especially before going to bed.
- You need to take your choice of antiperspirants seriously. If you are prone to allergic reactions, you should give preference to hypoallergenic antiperspirants and deodorants.
- Some medications can cause cold perspiration. Therefore, it is important to consult a doctor before using them.
- Relaxation before going to bed is promoted by meditative practices. It is also recommended to reduce physical and mental stress for a while.
Conclusion
After reading the article, it should be clear what it means to wake up in a cold sweat and how seriously you need to take this problem. With the development of hyperhidrosis, it is important to seek the advice of a therapist in order to conduct a comprehensive examination, identify the cause of the unpleasant phenomenon and eliminate it.
It is important to remember that such problems should be de alt with immediately to avoid unpleasant consequences.
We looked at why people wake up in a cold sweat.
