What is the reason why children sweat a lot?

We often say: When children sweat at night, it is most likely caused by heat. Just turn on the air conditioner and it will be over. Why do babies sweat a lot? The truth is understandable. When it comes to your own children, you will always be afraid of \”small probabilities other than high probabilities.\” Indeed, heat is not the only factor that causes excessive sweating. Some hyperhidrosis is natural, while others are related to some diseases and symptoms. Which ones specifically? When should I worry about my child sweating a lot? Let’s talk about it in detail today. Idiopathic hyperhidrosis Idiopathic hyperhidrosis refers to excessive sweating without a known cause. It is usually not related to a disease, has no impact on physical health, and does not require intervention. To put it simply, you are born with excessive sweating and do not need treatment. Idiopathic hyperhidrosis can be systemic or localized. For example, some people are prone to excessive sweating on their face, feet, and hands. This may cause social embarrassment for some people. For example, when shaking hands with others, the palms of their hands become full. Being sweaty may appear rude. Currently, there are some targeted medical treatments for local hyperhidrosis, such as topical antiperspirants, iontophoresis, etc. Interested friends can learn about it on their own. However, for children, idiopathic hyperhidrosis generally does not require special treatment, let alone so-called \”kidney-tonifying and deficiency-replenishing\” prescriptions. Most of these prescriptions have complex ingredients and may harm the child if not careful. Obstructive sleep apnea Excessive sweating at night is one of the common symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea in children. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), as the name suggests, refers to interruptions in breathing during sleep. This is a sleep disorder that is more common in adults. The prevalence among children is about 1%-5%, and it is most common in babies aged 2-6 years old. In addition to excessive sweating at night, children with OSA may also experience symptoms such as snoring, mouth breathing, coughing, sleep talking, night terrors, and bedwetting when sleeping at night. When awake during the day, problems such as inattention, hyperactivity, and irritability are more likely than drowsiness. The most common cause of OSA in children is enlarged tonsils and adenoids, followed by obesity. Other factors may include maxillofacial and bite problems, nasal allergies, etc. If you suspect your child has OSA, it is recommended to take him to an otolaryngologist for a comprehensive evaluation and examination. If the diagnosis is confirmed, surgery may be required to remove the tonsils/adenoids. Night Terrors When a child has night terrors while sleeping, he or she may sweat. Night terrors are a kind of parasomnia that usually occurs 3-4 hours after the child falls asleep and usually lasts about 10 minutes. Most children with night terrors will suddenly experience fearful behaviors while sleeping, such as screaming, waving their arms, kicking, sitting up, etc.; they are also accompanied by other symptoms, such as accelerated heart rate and breathing, flushed skin, sweating, and pupil dilation, muscle tension, etc. At this time, they usually do not respond to their parents\’ comfort, and fall asleep after the attack. When they get up the next day, they have no memory of what happened the night before. Just sounds scary enough. However, parents do not actually need to do anything for their children. Note that this \”what to do\” includes but is not limited to \”forcibly wake up the child\”, \”discuss with the child the next day\”, \”give the child acupuncture\”, etc. Parents just need to be quietSpend these few minutes quietly with your child, and you won’t have to mention it to your child the next day. A child\’s occasional night terrors will not cause physical harm and does not require medical attention. When the following situations occur, you can seek medical treatment or consult a doctor in time to investigate other causes: ≥ 2 attacks per week leading to injury or near injury Night terrors accompanied by sleepwalking, obvious lack of sleep, or daytime drowsiness, poor physical condition, and the onset of night terrors Medications in adolescence or adulthood (never before) Some medications may also cause increased sweating and night sweats as they take effect. For example, diabetes patients take hypoglycemic drugs (such as insulin), drugs that regulate estrogen/androgens (such as aromatase inhibitors), antidepressants, etc. Some antipyretic drugs taken by children, such as acetaminophen and aspirin, may also cause sweating. These side effects are usually only temporary and return to normal once the effects of the medication wear off. Changes in the endocrine system, which controls hormone levels in the body, may be related to night sweats, such as diabetes, abnormal sex hormone levels, and an overactive thyroid. Typical symptoms of an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) include heat intolerance and excessive sweating. Sweating may be the only symptom, or it may be accompanied by weight loss, rapid heartbeat, anxiety, etc. Hyperthyroidism in children and adolescents is mostly caused by Graves\’ disease, which is mostly caused by abnormalities in the autoimmune mechanism and may be related to genetics. Since it may affect growth and development, timely treatment is required once diagnosed. No matter whether the child has symptoms of suspected hyperthyroidism or not, I recommend that parents take their children for regular physical examinations every year. On the one hand, they can monitor their growth and development, and on the other hand, they can also help detect progressing diseases. Infectious diseases, both acute and chronic infections, can cause a low-grade fever in the body, causing the child to sweat profusely. Fever is the most common example, and parents can usually detect it immediately. At this time, you can add or remove clothes according to the actual situation. Turn on the air conditioner if necessary. There is no need to bathe with warm water. It is forbidden to bathe with alcohol (it may cause poisoning)! Some infectious diseases may also cause excessive sweating in children. However, most of these diseases are not easy to encounter in daily life. Parents can understand them appropriately but do not need to deliberately identify them. Brucellosis: usually occurs after eating unpasteurized dairy products and can cause unexplained fever, night sweats (with a distinctive, strong musty smell), joint pain, and other symptoms. Pure milk bought from the market has been sterilized, so generally you don’t need to worry too much. What you need to be wary of is raw milk, which has neither nutritional advantages nor infection risks. It is not recommended that you buy it for your baby. Some tick-borne diseases: those that are contracted by ticks, such as babesiosis, human ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis. These diseases can cause children to have fever, chills, sweating, and muscle pain. If the child has played in grass in the wild or been bitten by a tick in the past month or two, and has suspicious symptoms again, it is recommended to seek medical treatment. Bacterial infection: Subacute bacterial infections such as endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and purulent abscess may cause sweating or night sweats. However, these conditions are usually accompanied by fever, and there are some local signs or symptoms suggesting specific diseases, such as localized gum pain,Shows tooth abscess. To put it simply, excessive sweating is generally not the only symptom. Tuberculosis: Often accompanied by sweating, especially excessive sweating throughout the body during sleep (commonly known as \”night sweats\”). In addition, tuberculosis may be asymptomatic or may present symptoms such as severe cough, hemoptysis, chest pain, etc. Since parents usually do not have the ability to judge, it is recommended to leave it to a doctor to make a decision. There are also some infectious diseases (such as HIV, coccidioidomycosis, malaria, etc.) that can cause excessive sweating in children. If your child\’s hyperhidrosis does not appear suddenly, but has always been the case, then the possibility of this is relatively low. The doctor’s mother said that in addition to the above, there are also some dangerous conditions that can cause hyperhidrosis, such as malignant tumors, spinal injuries, diabetes insipidus, mercury poisoning, etc. Considering that they are extremely rare in reality, the probability of children suffering from hyperhidrosis is low. We will not discuss this in detail. To sum it up briefly, have you found that your children don’t seem to be up to par? In fact, for healthy children who eat well, drink well and sleep well, excessive sweating at night is either due to heat or is natural. Hyperhidrosis, which is related to disease, is rare and not difficult to detect. Parents can pay attention to observe whether the child has other abnormalities besides excessive sweating, such as snoring, fever, etc., or whether the child sweats profusely every night and interferes with sleep. If there is any suggestion, consult a doctor. Don\’t be anxious at home, find some inexplicable \”causes\” to put on your children (such as the classic \”calcium deficiency\”, \”spleen deficiency\”), and torture your children with various decoctions. To put it bluntly, this is either for the benefit of the children or for yourself. It is unreasonable and unfair to let children suffer in vain in order to relieve the anxiety that has nowhere to go.