Causes

Medications that can cause night sweats

Night sweats are a common side effect of many medications, such as:

• Depression medications (antidepressants)
• Drugs used to treat diabetes (if the level of sugar in your blood gets too low) (hypoglycemic agents)
• Hormone-blocking drugs used to treat certain cancers (hormone therapy)

Medical conditions that can cause night sweats

Diseases and conditions that can cause night sweats include:

• Anxiety disorders
• Autoimmune disorders
• Autonomic neuropathy (damage to your autonomic nerves)
• Brucellosis (a bacterial infection)
• Carcinoid syndrome (a certain type of cancerous tumor in your intestines)
• Drug addiction (substance use disorder) or withdrawal (alcohol, opioids, cocaine, cannabis, benzodiazepines)
• Endocarditis (an infection of the inner lining of the heart)
• HIV/AIDS
• Hodgkin's lymphoma (Hodgkin's disease)
• Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid)
• Leukemia
• Myelofibrosis (a bone marrow disorder)
• Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Osteomyelitis (a bone infection)
• Pheochromocytoma (a rare adrenal gland tumor)
• Pyogenic abscess (a pus-filled cavity caused by an infection)
• Sleep disorders (such as obstructive sleep apnea)
• Stroke
• Syringomyelia (a fluid-filled cyst in the spinal cord)
• Thyroid disease
• Tuberculosis

Night sweats and hot flashes are very common among women around the time of menopause. If you are around age 50 and are having irregular or absent menstrual periods, and have no other symptoms, this is likely the cause of your symptoms.