What STD Causes Night Sweats? Top Tips

Sweating is a normal bodily function. Often, it’s the body’s preferred method of thermoregulation, and the occasional damp forehead isn’t a reason for concern. However, night sweats can indicate something more serious. 

Unlike a normal sweat in high temperatures, night sweats are recurring and excessive, often to the point of soaking through your nightclothes and bedsheets. Night sweats are usually a symptom of an underlying condition, which can range from reactions to a medication or to a range of diseases or illnesses. Some STDs may include night sweats as a symptom. In this article, let’s discuss what STD causes night sweats.

What Are STD Night Sweats?

Discomfort in warm weather isn’t uncommon, but remember that the cause of night sweats is usually not temperature or overheating. While you may feel hot or feverish, the cause of the sweating relates to other internal symptoms rather than your external environment. 

To distinguish normal sweating from troublesome night sweats, pay attention to your circumstances when the sweating occurs. Suppose your bedroom isn’t overly warm and you aren’t performing an activity or wearing clothing that would warrant a rise in body temperature. In that case, your night sweats likely stem from an underlying condition. 

Night sweats aren’t always indicative of an STD, as other conditions can cause similar symptoms. However, if you recently engaged in sexual activity and you or your sexual partner began experiencing night sweats not long after, it’s essential to note any other symptoms that develop. 

Common symptoms that may accompany STD-related night sweats include: 

• Weight loss
• Fever
• Loss of appetite
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Joint pain
• Nausea 

If you are experiencing recurring night sweats alongside any of the above symptoms, you may need to seek medical care. If you begin having night sweats following a sexual encounter, consider reaching out to us to receive a rapid STD test and determine which STD might be causing night sweats in your case. 

With our same-day STD testing, you can receive a 10-panel STD test and access your results immediately to confirm your status. Doing so may provide you with a diagnosis more quickly and assist your doctor in deciding treatment, whether you have chlamydia, gonorrhea, or HIV.

Night Sweats and STDs: Does Chlamydia Cause Night Sweats?

Chlamydia is a bacterial infection that takes root in the genital tract. Some people infected with chlamydia experience no initial symptoms. However, it’s common to experience penile or vaginal discharge, vaginal itching, abdominal pain, and painful urination if symptoms do occur. 

Chlamydia also shares symptoms with HIV and gonorrhea, including night sweats and diarrhea, making self-diagnosis more difficult. If you’re experiencing diarrhea caused by an STD, you may want to visit your doctor or contact us at Rapid STD Testing to check your status. 

However, while night sweats may accompany other chlamydia symptoms, chlamydia isn’t known to cause excessive sweating as commonly as other conditions, such as HIV.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and Night Sweating

Sweating is one of the body’s primary methods of thermoregulation. It’s also an indication that the body is enduring emotional or physical stress. Conditions like HIV cause the body’s infection-fighting mechanisms to work harder, resulting in excessive sweating as it attempts to regulate itself while fighting the infection. 

Much of the body’s internal restoration occurs while we sleep, so excessive sweating associated with HIV often happens at night while the body works to mend itself. That said, night sweats alone aren’t necessarily a sign of an HIV infection. 

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services labels the first two to four weeks after contraction of HIV as the “acute phase.” During this time, infected persons are likely to experience night sweats along with many other symptoms, such as: 

Abnormal weight loss

• Fever
• Chills
• Diarrhea
• Genital warts
• Mouth sores
• Persistent fatigue 

Night sweats are a common symptom of HIV, but night sweats alone may not be cause for a diagnosis. HIV infections will almost always present other symptoms. If you are experiencing night sweats and no other symptoms are present, it may indicate an illness or condition of a different kind.

Other Conditions That Cause Night Sweats

Before you ask your doctor what STD causes night sweats, remember that there are many potential causes for night sweats unrelated to sexual health.

Medications

Some medications list night sweats as a potential side effect. Most commonly, medications such as antidepressants, oral diabetes medications, medications used in hormone therapy, and some forms of aspirin may cause night sweats. 

If your night sweats persist due to your medication, consider talking to your doctor about trying something new or adjusting your dosage.

Anxiety Disorders

The body may produce excessive sweat due to emotional distress. Anxiety disorders often increase heart rate and rapid breathing and cause the muscles to tense, creating extra work for the body’s internal processes. 

If you’re always anxious during the day, nighttime may be the only opportunity your body has to focus its energy on restoration, which may cause night sweats due to the stress.

Drug Addiction

Using drugs or participating in heavy drinking can also create stress for the body. Drugs and alcohol can slow internal restoration and ordinary bodily functions. The physical distress may cause excessive night sweats, among other symptoms, depending on usage and frequency.

Menopause

Women generally enter menopause in their late 40s or early 50s. Your period will stop, and the decrease of estrogen in the body often causes hot flashes and excessive sweating. However, premenopausal symptoms can occur in women in their early 40s who still have a period. 

If you’ve recently entered menopause and are experiencing night sweats, talk to your doctor about how you can improve your symptoms and minimize night sweats. 

If you still have a period and are concerned your night sweats may be a symptom of an STD, reach out to Rapid STD Testing. We can help you navigate STD testing if you are on your period and rule out possible causes of your night sweats.

Knowing the Cause and Getting Relief from STD Sweating

Night sweats are uncomfortable and disturb sleep, negatively impacting your everyday life. Total relief may not be possible without a diagnosis. Still, some small ways you can combat night sweats and make yourself more comfortable include: 

• Changing your sheets regularly
• Taking a cool shower
• Investing in waterproof padding to avoid soaking your mattress
• Placing a fan in your room or near your bed
• Slightly adjusting the temperature in your bedroom, either by dialing down the thermostat or opening a window to create air circulation 

Still, to accurately determine what STD causes your night sweats, you must get testing for HIV and other STDs that cause inflammation. Given the prevalence of night sweats in STD symptoms and the overlap of symptoms in conditions like HIV, chlamydia, and gonorrhea, a diagnosis will likely require STD testing to pinpoint the cause of your symptoms. 

Occasional night sweats may not be cause for concern. If you experience persistent night sweating accompanied by other symptoms, you should get a comprehensive STD panel to determine your status. Rapid STD Testing can provide convenient, confidential, and immediate results that will help you get to the bottom of your symptoms and find relief.

Know Your Status: Contact Rapid STD Testing Today

What STD causes night sweats? Many STDs can cause excessive sweating in the early stages. Contact Rapid STD Testing today at (866) 872-1888 to find out your status.