Why does the child sweat during nap?

Many children sweat profusely when they sleep, and most parents will become worried. Some children often sweat during sleep, and the sweat soaks their clothes and pillowcases. This phenomenon is called night sweats in traditional Chinese medicine. Many parents are worried about this and seek medical treatment everywhere, but to little effect. There are many reasons why children sweat excessively when sleeping at night, both physiological and pathological. Now let me tell you the reasons why children sweat during their naps.

For normal children, parents do not need to worry even if they sweat too much, because children's sweat glands are more developed. The secretion of sweat glands is controlled by the autonomic nervous system (vagus nerve). After a child falls asleep, the vagus nerve becomes excited, causing excessive sweating. Sweating usually occurs mostly on the head and face, but it will subside within one or two hours after sleeping. At this time, you can use a dry towel to wipe off the sweat in time; change underwear frequently to prevent catching a cold due to excessive sweating; let your child take a bath frequently, and expose the bedding or sleeping bags to the sun frequently to keep them dry, and sterilize them at the same time.

Infants and young children have an active metabolism and are active and lively. Some of them cannot rest even after going to bed at night, so they may sweat on their heads after falling asleep. The so-called physiological hyperhidrosis refers to sweating during sleep when the child is well-developed, healthy, and has no disease. Parents are often accustomed to deciding the best environmental temperature for their children based on their own subjective feelings, and like to cover their babies with more blankets and keep them tightly covered. Because children's brain and nervous system are not yet fully developed and they are in the growth and development period, their body metabolism is very active. Coupled with the stimulation of overheating, they can only regulate normal body temperature by sweating to evaporate the heat in the body. In addition, drinking milk, malted milk or eating chocolate before going to bed can also cause sweating in children. Some parents give their children milk, malted milk, etc. before they go to sleep. After the child falls asleep, the body produces a large amount of heat, which is mainly dissipated through sweating through the skin. In addition, too high room temperature or excessive warmth can also cause children to sweat while sleeping, which are all physiological sweating.

Pathological sweating occurs when the child is in a quiet state, such as sweating caused by rickets, which manifests as obvious sweating on the child's head in the first half of the night after falling asleep. Because the pillow is irritated by sweat, babies often shake their heads and rub against the pillow when they sleep, resulting in sparse hair and loss of hair on the pillow, forming typical annular hair loss on the pillow, which is medically known as "occipital baldness". It is an early manifestation of rickets in infants. As long as vitamin D and calcium are supplemented in time, rickets can be controlled and sweating will stop by itself.

If a child sweats not only in the first half of the night but also in the second half of the night and before dawn, it is usually a sign of illness, the most common of which is tuberculosis. Tuberculosis also has other symptoms, such as low fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, flushed cheeks, etc. Children with tuberculosis tend to sweat easily during daytime activities, which is called spontaneous sweating, and sweating at night is called night sweats. If you suspect your child is infected with tuberculosis, a lung X-ray or a tuberculin test should be done for timely diagnosis and treatment.

Heart disease, diabetes (hypoglycemia), tuberculosis or breathing problems during sleep, because the internal pressure (lesions) of the body causes the sympathetic nerves to be in a state of tension all the time, may also cause "night sweats" or "cold sweats on hands and feet". This is a long-term symptom. If parents are worried, they can take the baby to a pediatric clinic or hospital for examination, listen to the heartbeat for abnormalities, feel the belly for lumps (tumors), check whether the upper respiratory tract is unobstructed or whether the baby has allergies, etc., to eliminate doubts in their hearts.

The above are some of the reasons why children sweat. For children suspected of pathological sweating, it may be autonomic nervous system dysfunction, and some may be caused by calcium deficiency. You should go to the hospital for examination in time and take appropriate treatment measures. As the symptoms improve, the night sweats will naturally disappear. Children's sweating during sleep should be carefully distinguished. If necessary, take the child to the hospital to check trace elements and treat any abnormalities in time.