Night Sweats In Children

A night sweat, or Hyperhidrosis, is a condition in which a child sweats excessively at night and you might even find the child’s night sheets and clothing, drenched the next morning. This is quite common in children, and does not necessarily mean that there is something seriously wrong. However, there might be some cases, wherein an underlying medical problem could be the cause of night sweats. These cases need to be addressed with the utmost urgency. It is quite difficult to find out, whether the underlying cause of night sweats is due to the child just feeling too hot, or whether it is due to a medical problem. One way to find out is to check, whether the child’s skin is moist before he/ she is put to bed. If you notice that the skin is already moist, then the problem could be due to a medical condition. In these cases, the child might experience accompanying symptoms such as diarrhea and fever. Read on to know more about night hyperhidrosis in children.

Causes Of Night Sweats In Children

The child becomes, over heated while sleeping. This could be due to the weather or too many covers on the bed.
Some pajamas have feet on them to keep the child warm. These can induce excess sweating even in winter.
Autoimmune diseases. Accompanying symptoms could be fever and coughing up of blood.
Cerebral palsy. Other symptoms could be mental impairment, movement problems, seizures, hearing disorders and developmental delay.
Cancer, especially lymphoma, liver tumors, and malignant melanoma can cause night sweats.
Diabetes Insipidus is a metabolic disorder associated with the liver, and the kidneys. Bed-wetting and excessive urination accompany night sweats in this case.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Diseases, where there is a regurgitation of the gastric juices, causing night sweats, heart burn, difficulty in swallowing and even chest pains.
Hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid gland, can be a cause of night sweats in children. Apart from night sweats, accompanying symptoms could be weight loss, abdominal pain, and fatigue.
Tuberculosis. High fever and coughs are accompanying symptoms in this case.
HIV or AIDS can be a cause if there are flu-like symptoms accompanying the night sweats. Although it is difficult to entertain the idea that a child could have contracted HIV, the possibility exists and should be investigated.

Treatment

If there is no underlying medical condition, lower the temperature before putting the child to bed. You could also remove all excess clothing from the child in order to ensure that the child is not overwhelmed by blankets and clothes.
Keep the child well hydrated, and ensure that the child does not run around before going to bed.
If there is an underlying medical condition, there are no home remedies that can be followed. Since the medical causes of night sweats are not really minor, it should be treated with the seriousness it deserves. Medical suggestions should be followed meticulously.

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