Night Sweats In Children

Night sweats are common in both adults and children. Sweating occurs when your body is naturally trying to cool itself down. Sweating usually happens when you are too hot, or have been exercising.

Night sweats can happen to children at any age. They are very common and are usually harmless. Your child may experience night sweats regularly, or they may only happen occasionally. Night sweats can be a sign of an underlying condition in some cases.

Your child may have night sweats for a number of reasons. There are two different types of night sweats.

Primary sweating, which is when you sweat for no reason at all or because the room is too hot.
Secondary sweating is when sweating occurs all over the body because of another health reason.

If your child is waking up covered in sweat your first thing you will want to check is the temperature in their room, the bedding they are using, and the pajamas they are in. All of these can cause your child to be too hot and cause night sweats. If you see that their room is an appropriate temperature, their blankets are too toasty, and they have on light breathable pajamas then you may be wondering what is causing your child to wake up covered in sweat.

Night sweats can have local sweating or general sweating.

Local sweating is when the sweating is localized to one spot. This could be the scalp, head, face, or neck. The pillow is usually drenched but the rest of the bed or body is not. This type of night sweats are common in children of any age. Older children may experience local sweating under their armpits.

General sweating is when the sweat is all over their body. The sheets and pillow are damp, and your child hasn’t wet the bed. Usually pajamas or clothing is soaked through. Along with either local or general sweating your child may experience a red or flushed face, warm hands or body, or shivers and clammy skin from drying sweat.

Night sweats can cause sleep disturbances in some kids, waking them up in the middle of the night because their pillow is wet and they are uncomfortable. This can cause grumpiness and sleepiness.

Night sweats can happen for no reason. Your child has more sweat glands per square foot on their body than adults do. So they may produce more sweat. Their little bodies are also learning how to balance their body temperature effectively. This could also lead to night sweats. If you have night sweats, your child may have night sweats as well. It can be because of genetics in some cases.

Causes Of Night Sweats

Viral infections are another cause for night sweats. If you suspect your child has a cold then don’t be alarmed if they wake up a little sweaty. Other symptoms they may have are fever, stuffy nose, sinus congestion, or cough.

Night sweats are also common in children who have allergies, asthma, runny nose, eczema, sleep apnea, tonsillitis, hyperactivity, or anger problems.

Lung inflammation or hypersensitivity pneumonitis is another condition that can cause night sweats. It is similar to allergies, and is caused from breathing in dust or mold. Other symptoms that go along with this condition are cough, shortness of breath, fever, chills, and fatigue.

Hormone changes can be another cause. The main thing to look for if you suspect hormone changes being the culprit, is if there is now body odor that goes along with the sweating. Puberty brings on the smell of sweat. Puberty can happen as early as 8 years old in girls, and 9 years old in boys.

Night terrors, or intense nightmares can cause night sweats. Night terrors can cause a child to scream, cry, thrash around and be hard to console. The fear is very real for the child during the night terror, but they seldom will remember what the dream is about.

In very rare instances can night sweats be a sign of children’s cancers. Lymphomas can cause night sweats and children under the age of 10 can get certain types of lymphomas. Other cancer symptoms would be fever, poor appetite, nausea, vomiting, weight loss, difficulty swallowing, difficulty breathing, or coughing. If your child only has night sweats, rest assured they probably don’t have cancer. There would be other signs and symptoms present.

Diagnosing

It is important to talk with your child’s pediatrician if you feel like the night sweats are a sign of concern. Usually they are harmless. Your doctor will be able to evaluate your child with a physical exam, and medical history.

There are two different sweat tests your doctor may want to run to check your child’s sweat, they are a starch iodine test and a paper test. If your doctor suspects your child may have an underlying health issue they may also want to draw some blood to check for infections.

See your doctor if your child has night sweats accompanied by any of the following, snoring, noisy breathing, wheezing, mouth breathing, shortness of breath, ear pain, stiff neck, floppy head, weight loss, severe vomiting, or diarrhea.

Preventing Night Sweats In Children

Things you can do at home.

Make sure you assess their room, is it cold enough, is their bedding appropriate, are they in lightweight breathable pajamas.

Keep their room cooler by turning on a fan or keeping windows open. On hotter days placing an ice pack under their pillow. Look into a cooling mattress pad.

Have your child take a cold shower before bed.

During the day have them drink cold water, this helps them stay hydrated which helps their body regulate their temperature better.

Avoid spicy foods.

During the night if they wake up place a cold rag on their forehead.

If they have an underlying condition, treat and maintain treatment for those.

If your child has an infection, usually once the infection clears up then the night sweats will go away.

In some cases your child may be a regular at having night sweats. In that case, finding out how to make them the most comfortable to stop sleep disturbances is the best treatment.