Night sweats

True night sweats are drenching episodes that wake you and require changing clothes or bedding — distinct from feeling warm in an over-heated room. They reflect dysregulated thermoregulation and have a wide differential: peri- and post-menopause are the commonest causes in women 40+; hyperthyroidism; nocturnal hypoglycaemia in patients on insulin or sulfonylureas; obstructive sleep apnoea; chronic infections (tuberculosis, endocarditis, HIV); lymphoma (classically Hodgkin's, with weight loss and fever); medications (antidepressants, opioids, tamoxifen); alcohol withdrawal; chronic anxiety. The presence of weight loss, fever or lymph-node enlargement substantially raises the suspicion of serious causes.

• Menopause / perimenopause — most common female cause >40.
• Hyperthyroidism — together with weight loss, palpitations, heat intolerance.
• Nocturnal hypoglycaemia — diabetics on insulin or sulfonylureas; wake feeling shaky or with headache.
• Obstructive sleep apnoea — snoring, daytime fatigue.
• Chronic infection — TB, HIV, endocarditis.
• Lymphoma — classical 'B symptoms' triad: fevers, night sweats, unintentional weight loss.
• Medications — SSRIs, opioids, hormone-blocking agents.
• GORD, anxiety, alcohol withdrawal — common benign drivers.

First-line panel: CBC (anaemia, infection), CRP, TSH, HbA1c and fasting glucose, comprehensive metabolic, LFTs. Add HIV screen and chest imaging if infection is plausible. LDH and peripheral smear if lymphoma is in the differential. Mediora.AI interprets the laboratory pattern; B-symptom triads warrant in-person evaluation rather than self-interpretation.