Men's Health: Complicated and Benign Night Sweats

Night sweats leave many women and men in a very confused and anxious-filled time in their lives, especially when the cause and origin of the night sweats is not known. For women, the complication could very simply be related to hormonal fluctuations but, for men, the presence of night sweats may mark a more severe medical condition.

While we all, at some point, sweat in our sleep, it is the man who sweats so profusely that a change of clothes is required, who may have a concern in terms of health complications. For men who suffer from fever, cough or aches and pains, the night sweats may simply be attributed to an infection that will resolve, either through time or through use of antibiotics.

But, for those men who do not experience viral or bacterial infection, the onset of night sweats can be an indication of a far more severe complication. To determine the cause of your underlying night sweats, your healthcare professional will want to conduct a variety of diagnostic studies, including checking vital signs, running blood work and even conducting a chest x-ray as, in some cases, night sweats may be attributed to tuberculosis.

As a man, your blood work will provide an insight into such conditions as diabetes, which can lead to night sweats through the development of nocturnal hypoglycemia, and complications associated with the thyroid gland; all of which lead to complications in sleep, including sleep disorders.

In the most complex diagnosis of night sweats, even after all other testing has come relatively normal, it is possible that you may be experiencing night sweats in response to an underlying malignancy or pre-cancerous complication. Such complications, for men, may include silent neoplasm, which can be diagnosed through CT scans.