Question Title: Night Sweats

A friend of mine who is not computer literate has asked me to try to obtain your comments and guidance on her condition. She is a female who is well past menapause with normal eating habits, reasonably good health, age estimated at 65-70 yrs, well educated but suffers from night sweats that have a periodicity of every one and one half to two hours each night . The condition produces a drenching of her nightgown and sheets. Evidently this occurs on a periodic basis every night. The condition has existed for serveral years. She has sought any and all medical assistance but with little success. Hopefully you can suggest an area of investigation that may yield a clue to the problem. Thanks for your interest.

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Sorry about the late response. We have got a bit behind and I am trying to catch some of the older posts.

Night sweats don't necessarily signal neurologic disease. Usually, there is something of a systemic nature - endocrine (eg menopause), infectious disease (eg TB), even some types of tumors. Night sweats may not mean anything sinister at all.

As you can see, because of the wide variety of interpretations, careful evaluation of other associated symptoms, signs, and laboratory findings must be done in order to properly interpret the significance.

I would start with your primary doctor (an internist or family practitioner). If your friend hasn't seen one recently, it is a good idea anyway (especially at age 65).

I hope this helps. As you know, this information is provided for your medical education. Specific diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options must come from your doctor after appropriate evaluation. CCF MD mdf.

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