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Medical Edge Newspaper Column from Mayo Clinic
CHILD’S NIGHT SWEATS COULD INDICATE A SERIOUS CONDITION
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I have a 5-year-old grandson who has been having
night sweats after he falls asleep. He does not run fever during the sweats,
but his head gets so wet it’s unreal. The doctors here cannot tell me
what is causing his body to do this. Can you provide an explanation and
let me know what we can do about this problem? I’m really concerned about
it. — Lafayette, La.
ANSWER: Your concern is justified, and it is good that your grandson
has seen doctors to check out the night sweats. While its cause may be
quite benign, several serious conditions can also be associated with unusual
sweating at nighttime.
Night sweats can result from chronic infections — tuberculosis or blastomycosis,
for instance — though in such cases they are usually accompanied by fevers,
cough or other symptoms. Still, night sweats can be an initial presentation
of these diseases. Blastomycosis, a fungal infection occasionally seen
in the eastern half of the United States, is particularly common in some
parts of your state, Louisiana. Chest X-rays and skin tests can be useful
in its diagnosis, and in detecting tuberculosis as well.
A physician will further suspect tuberculosis — a non-pulmonary version
— if the child has enlarged lymph nodes, especially in the neck. But that
finding could also indicate lymphoma, as night sweats are an initial symptom
in children. Here too, chest X-rays assist in the diagnosis.
In infants, excessive sweating can be a clue of heart disease, especially
when it occurs with feeding. Heart trouble, however, would not likely
cause isolated night sweats in an otherwise active and healthy 5-year-old.
If the night sweats persist for months and doctors have not identified
another medical problem, it could be that your grandson just has a sensitive
autonomic nervous system, which regulates bodily functions — such as heart
rate and perspiration — that we do not consciously control. Alternatively,
some people are simply more prone to sweat than others or have an over-sweating
condition called hyperhidrosis. Such sweating is usually limited to the
hands, feet and armpits, but some individuals have hyperhidrosis of the
head and face as well. Pediatricians and dermatologists can help with
medications for this condition.
— Philip R. Fischer, M.D., Pediatrics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
Additional Resources:
Night Sweats
Pediatric
Appointment Information
More
Information on Night Sweats
READERS: Imagine you’re starting to climb out of bed and suddenly
the room is spinning. You could be experiencing the most common form of
vertigo, which is known as benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo.
Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource offers an overview of this condition.
While it’s not harmful, it can be very troubling.
BPPV can be triggered by movements as simple as rolling over in bed or
tipping your head back to look up. In addition to dizziness, the signs
and symptoms can include loss of balance, nausea and vomiting. Symptoms
can come and go, with some episodes lasting only seconds. BPPV typically
lasts for a few days or weeks, recurring as brief episodes of movement-induced
vertigo.
While BPPV can occur after head trauma, more often it starts spontaneously
for no apparent reason. Because it becomes more common as people grow
older, BPPV is often thought to be a natural result of aging. It occurs
when tiny particles of calcium carbonate crystals, which help maintain
balance, break loose inside your inner ear and fall into the wrong part
of the inner ear canal.
If your head is spinning after movement, check with your doctor. A simple
treatment has been shown to have a success rate as high as 90 percent.
It consists of making a series of simple head movements to move loose
particles in your ear to a place where they won’t cause dizziness and
where they can be reabsorbed into inner ear fluids.
Additional Resources:
Treatment of Benign
Paroxysmal Positioning Vertigo
Appointment
Information
More
Information on Benign Paroxysmal Positioning Vertigo
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Medical Edge from Mayo Clinic is an educational resource and doesn’t
replace regular medical care. To e-mail a question, go to www.mayoclinic.org,
or write: Medical Edge from Mayo Clinic, c/o TMS, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite
114, Buffalo, N.Y., 14207. For health information, visit www.mayoclinic.com.
© 2004 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
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