What symptoms are hot flashes and night sweats?

Our bodies sweat daily. In fact, there are several types of sweating. For example, night sweats—also known as “steal-sweating”—are a pathological manifestation reflecting an underlying health condition. Once night sweats occur, patients must seek timely medical treatment and understand the associated disease characteristics and underlying causes. So, what exactly are hot flashes accompanied by night sweats?

What Symptoms Characterize Hot Flashes with Night Sweats?

Common symptoms of hot flashes with night sweats include heat sensations in the palms, soles, and epigastric region; insomnia; irritability; and dry mouth. Treatment focuses on nourishing kidney yin—for instance, using the traditional Chinese medicine formula Zhizhi Dihuang Wan (Anemarrhena-Phellodendron-Rehmannia Pill). Night sweats do not persist continuously; rather, they typically occur during sleep, when profuse sweating causes bedding and nightclothes to become soaked. Upon waking, patients often discover their sheets and garments drenched. Generally, patients do not sweat excessively during daytime hours—making night sweats particularly noticeable. If a patient frequently wakes up in the morning drenched—both body and bedding soaked—they should promptly undergo medical evaluation to determine the underlying cause and initiate appropriate treatment to alleviate and resolve the night sweats.

Night sweats arise from underlying medical conditions. They rarely occur without cause; instead, they usually signal an undiagnosed illness already affecting the patient’s internal health balance. Tuberculosis—caused by infection with *Mycobacterium tuberculosis*—is a classic example, frequently presenting with night sweats, sometimes alongside other systemic symptoms. Similarly, kidney deficiency (kidney yin or yang deficiency) may also trigger night sweats. Therefore, patients should proactively undergo diagnostic evaluation and receive targeted treatment for the root cause.

Patients are advised to consume cooling, yin-nourishing, and fluid-generating foods—such as watermelon, pear, citrus fruits (e.g., tangerines and oranges), apple, persimmon, loofah, lily bulb, tomato, fresh lotus root, tremella fungus (silver ear), lotus seed, and soft-shell turtle—while avoiding spicy, pungent, and stimulating foods.