Night Sweats
TCM views on night sweats
Night sweats is a perspiration disorder that occurs during sleep and stops upon waking. People with night sweats are frequently awakened by damp sleepwear and sheets, leading to an interrupted sleep. The sweating can appear on a particular body region or over the entire body. Night sweats are quite common especially in elderly people and are not usually a significant cause for concern.
Consult a doctor if your night sweats occur regularly, or are accompanied with symptoms like fever, palpitation and weight loss. In most cases, finding the cause can help eliminate or reduce the frequency of night sweats, which usually appear in conditions such as menopause, infections, cancers, medication side-effects, and also nervous or endocrine disorders.
According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory, the lung disseminates protective qi over the exterior regions of the body, the not only forms a barrier against the invasion of exogenous pathogens, but also regulates the sweat pores, nourishes the skin, hair and muscles. At night, the protective qi enters the interior regions and attaches to the nutrient substances (yin aspect of body) during sleep, as a part of sleep-wake cyclical activities.
Night sweats occur:
- When the body is deficient in yin, protective qi loses its attachment and wanders internally during sleep. It will then agitate the relatively excess yang to generate fire which forces the body fluids to emerge out of the body. When awake, the protective qi flow backs to the exterior body, so the phenomenon will stop. Severe night sweats often accompanied by red cheeks, emaciation, hot flashes, warm palms and soles, thirst and a red tongue which indicate a consumptive and overheated state.
- A low level of qi (vital energy) can affect the opening and closing of the sweat pores. At night, protective qi entering internally will further weaken the sweat pores, and thus leads to night sweats.
Generally, enriching yin is an important approach for the treatment of night sweats, TCM physicians also consider the affected systems (e.g., heart, kidney and liver), depleted substances (e.g., blood and qi) as well as the accumulated pathogens (e.g., fire, damp-heat, blood stasis) when choosing remedies. Women with menstrual problems also have to reconsolidate both the Conception vessel and Thoroghfare Vessel. In the prescriptions, common ingredients for arresting the sweating are oyster shell, shriveled wheat, ephedra root, schisandra, root of glutinous rice straw, processed rhemannia rhizome and gallnet of Chinese sumac.
Herbal prescriptions for night sweats
Based on the four examination techniques, the TCM physician tallies up the symptoms of the individual and a particular Disharmony pattern can be diagnosed to guide the treatment. Below are typical disharmony patterns in night sweats.
Yin deficiency with flaming fire
Frequent night sweats, late afternoon fever, warm palms and soles, red cheeks, thirst, yellowish scanty urination, constipation, a red tongue, and the pulse is thready and rapid. The remedy should enrich yin, clear fire and arrest sweating.
Sample prescription: Chinese Angelica and Six-Yellow Decoction plus wolfberry root-bark, anemarrhena rhizome and tortoise shell. For serious night sweats, oyster shell, shriveled wheat or root of glutinous rice straw can be added; while hot flashes can further add gentiana macrophylla root (qin jiao), starwort root (yin chai hu) or blackened swallowwort root (bai wei).
Insufficiency of heart blood
Night sweats, palpitations, easily awake, paleness, breath shortness, fatigue, a pale tongue and weak pulse. The remedy should invigorate the heart, nourish the blood and arrest sweating.
Sample prescription: Restore the Spleen Decoction plus fossil bone, oyster shell, schisandra and shriveled wheat. If blood is seriously depleted causing dizziness, pale lips and pale nails, and vivid dreams, then processed rhemannia rhizome, fleeceflower root and Chinese wolfberry are added to replenish the blood.
Deficiency of qi and yin
Night sweats, palpitations, irritability, hot flashes, breath shortness, thirst or dry mouth, fatigue, a red small tongue, a weak or floating pulse. The remedy should replenish qi to reconsolidate the exterior body, and enrich yin and clear heat.
Sample prescription: Pulse Activating Powder plus astragalus root, root of glutinous rice straw, and oyster shell
Blood stasis
Excessive sweating that is worse at night, irritability, skin numbness, insomnia or dream-disturbed sleep, lusterless complexion and nails, mouth dryness, a dull-red tongue and a deep or hesitant pulse. The remedy should activate and cool the blood, resolve stasis, and arrest sweating.
Sample prescription: Peach Pit and Safflower with Four-Substance Decoction plus Oyster Shell Powder
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| oyster shell | processed rhemannia rhizome | white peony root |
Acupuncture therapy for night sweats
According to TCM theory, the heart rules the blood and sweat is the fluid of the heart system. Blood and fluid are important yin components of the body, and night sweats are associated with depletion of heart yin and hyperactive of heart yang. People often exhibit a heat disharmony pattern including excessive sweating, hot flashes, warm palms and soles, palpitations, irritability, insomnia, red cheeks, mouth dryness and a red tongue. Acupuncture not only can arrest excessive sweating, it can also promote the body to restore itself to harmony. Some essential acupoints to treat night sweats are:
- Yin xi (Ht 6): this is the cleft point of the heart meridian, stimulating the point can enrich the heart yin and clear heart fire.
- Hou xi (Si 3): this is the stream point of the small intestine meridian, stimulating the point promotes body fluid production, which in turn helps restore the yin and yang balance of the body.
- Nei guan (Pc 6) and shen men (Ht 7): these points regulate the heart and calm the spirit inside it, which help ease palpitations and irritability.
- Bai hui (Gv 20) and feng fu (Gv 16): calm the spirit and promote sleep.
- Shen shu (Bl 23), gan shu (Bl 18), tai xi (Ki 3) and qi hai (Cv 6): stimulating the points benefit qi and nourish yin. The points are indicated when night sweats appear during menopause.
External herbal remedies to arrest night sweats
There are various external remedies available to relieve night sweating. Generally, people may react differently to the same remedy, you have to experiment and learn what is best for you.
1. Dressing on the umbilicus
Prescription (2): equal amount of gallnet of Chinese sumac and fossil bone (calcined)
Prescription (3): equal amount of gallnet of Chinese sumac, processed alum and amur corktree bark
Prescription (4): gallnet of Chinese sumac (60g), mulberry leaf (30g), ephedra (18g) and astragalus root (30g).
Pound the ingredients into a fine powder and put aside. Each night before going to bed, take 20g of the powder, mix with vinegar into paste form, place in the navel (umbilicus) and then cover by gauze or tape, keep the dressing overnight. Apply moxa heating for 20 minutes in winter.
2. Dressing on the nipples
Prescription (2): amur corktree bark (100g)
Grind into powder and put aside. Every night before going to bed, clean the nipples, take 10g of the powder and mix with honey, paste it on the nipples, cover with gauze and fix in place, keep the dressing on overnight.
3. Dressing on the soles
Grind into powder and put aside. Every night before going to bed, clean the nipples, take 20-30g of the powder and mix with water, paste it on the center of the soles, cover with gauze and fix in place. Afterward, press with fingers on the area for 30 minutes each, keeping the dressing on overnight.
4. Herbal powder to dry the body
Prescription (2): ephedra root (30g), sulfur (30g) and oyster shell (30g, calcined).
Prescription (3): equal amount of oyster shell (calcined) and glutinous rice (toasted).
Pound the ingredients until they are reduced to a fine powder. Every time before going to bed, clean and dry the body, dust on the powder and rub for a while.
5. Herbal solution to rub on the body
(2) Prepare 20g of turmeric root-tuber and boil into 50ml of solution. Every night before going to bed, rub the nipples with the solution for 20 minutes.
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| Schisandra | Gallnet of Chinese sumac | Fossil bone |
Tea and food recipes to arrest night sweats
As spicy and hot foods aggravate the internal heat condition of the body, people with night sweats should limit foods like pepper, mustard, ginger, mutton, fennel, cinnamon and lychee, and also cut smoke and alcohol. Cooling and nourishing foods can enrich yin and clear heat, and include white fungus, lily bulb, radish, lotus seed, honey, lotus root, pears, loquat fruit, orange, peach, Chinese yam, tomato, water chestnut, Chinese cabbage, soybean sprout, kelp, duck, oyster, animal liver, cuttlefish, sea cucumber, conch and eels. People may react differently to the same food, you have to experiment and learn your own “trigger” foods or “beneficial” foods. Below is a selection of simple recipes.- Smoked plum (10 pieces), shriveled wheat (15g), mulberry leaf (10g) and red dates (10 pieces), boil with 2000ml of water for one hour, and drink as a tea.
- Dried immature peach (15 pieces) and red dates (10 pieces), boil with 2000ml of water for one hour, and drink as tea regularly.
- Hairyvein agrimonia herb (xian he cao, 30g) and red dates (15 pieces), boil with 2000ml of water for one hour, and drink as a tea.
- Processed rhemannia rhizome (30g) and smoked plum (20g, squashed), boil with 500ml of water for 20 minutes, add honey to taste.
- Prepare fresh mulberry leaf 100g, bake to dry, grind into fine powder and put aside. Every night, eat 6g of the powder with a bowl of rice soup.
- Prepare white fungus (10g), lily bulb (30g) and rice (50g) and rock sugar (30g). Use a pot to boil 2000ml of water, add in the ingredients and simmer under low heat until the liquid thickens.
- Prepare black soybean (50g), shriveled wheat (30g), lotus seed (15g), red dates (10 pieces) and rock sugar 30g. Boil with 1500ml of water for one hour, drink the soup.
- Prepare black soybean (60g) and catfish (500g). Clean the fish and cut into big pieces. Add vegetable oil in a clay pot and heat, put in a slice of ginger and fish pieces and lightly stir-fry, put in the black soybean and fill with water to about 1cm from the top; bring to the boil quickly, then cook at a low heat for about 2 hours. Season to taste and serve hot. Drink the soup and eat the fish.
- Prepare blackbone chicken (500g), rehmannia root (150g) and malt sugar (100g). Cut the chicken in big pieces; soak the rehmannia root and then crush into pieces. Marinate the meat with the herb and malt sugar, ginger and soy sauce, steam under high heat for 30 minutes. Serve hot.
- Prepare rabbit meat (300g), coastal glehnia root (20g), fragrant Solomonseal rhizome (20g) and dried tangerine peel (4g), boil with 3000ml of water for 2 hours. Season to taste, drink the soup and eat the meat.
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| Smoked plum | Hairyvein agrimonia herb | Fragrant solomonseal rhizome |
For people with night sweats, it is important to maintain a balance between work and rest. Exercise daily to help the metabolism and minimize stress; keep the bedroom ventilated and cool; change clothes and bed sheets when they are soaked; take a cool bath before bed or when wake up hot and clammy, and drink water to rehydrate the body too.
