Is sweating on the chest while awake called night sweats?

Night sweats are actually a symptom of an unhealthy body or illness. Generally speaking, night sweats occur during sleep. If you sweat on your chest when you are awake, it cannot be called night sweats. So, why do our bodies experience night sweats? Next, we will introduce the causes of night sweats from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine. You can check whether you have these problems.

Sweat is a type of body fluid and is closely related to blood. There is a saying that blood and sweat have the same origin. Spontaneous sweating and night sweats are symptoms of abnormal sweat leakage due to imbalance of yin and yang and loose pores. Sweating during the day without being affected by external environmental factors and getting worse with each movement is called spontaneous sweating. Sweating during sleep that stops upon waking is called night sweats.

"Lingshu·Five Strokes and Body Fluids" says: "When it is hot, if you wear thick clothes, your pores will open, so you sweat... When it is cold, your pores will close, and the qi and moisture will not flow. Water will stay in the bladder, causing urination and gas." "Ji Sheng Fang·Various Sweat Chapters" says: "Human qi and blood correspond to yin and yang. If they are harmonious, they are balanced. If they are unbalanced, they will get sick. When yin is deficient, yang must be combined, so you get fever and sweat spontaneously; when yang is deficient, yin must take over, so you get fainting and sweat spontaneously. Moreover, colds, heatstroke, dampness, joy and anger, palpitations, sexual intercourse, fatigue, rheumatism, intestinal carbuncle, phlegm and fluid, and puerperal diseases can all cause it."

Ma Yuanqi believed that the clinical treatment of sweating syndrome should focus on distinguishing the yin and yang, deficiency and excess. Generally speaking, most sweating syndromes are caused by deficiency. Spontaneous sweating is mostly caused by Qi deficiency and disharmony between the Ying and Wei systems, while night sweats are mostly caused by Yin deficiency and internal heat. For patients with a long course of illness or severe illness, there will be a mixture of yin and yang. Prolonged spontaneous sweating can damage Yin, and prolonged night sweats can damage Yang, resulting in symptoms of Qi and Yin deficiency or Yin and Yang deficiency. Therefore, the treatment should be based on different symptoms to invigorate Qi, nourish Yin, replenish blood, and harmonize Ying and Wei.

Typical medical cases

Chen, female, 58 years old, first visited the hospital on July 26, 2012.

Chief complaint: "Fear of wind and cold, spontaneous sweating for 3 months and worsened for more than 10 days." The patient underwent colectomy for colon cancer six months ago and then intermittent chemotherapy. Three months ago, he developed swelling and numbness in his fingers, which gradually led to tingling all over his body. He felt that the symptoms were alleviated after he put on more clothes to keep warm. Therefore, he still wore thick clothes and cotton shoes in hot weather, and then sweated profusely, and his clothes were soaked. However, his fear of wind and cold became worse day by day, and he felt pain all over his body, especially his hands and feet, which were cold, painful and numb. He had to wear thick gloves to open the refrigerator to get things, and he felt weak and said that he wanted to die in pain. Since the onset of the disease, the patient's diet has been bland and his bowel movements are normal. The tongue is red, the tongue coating is white, and the pulse is thin. The prescription is Yupingfeng Powder combined with Guizhi Decoction with added ingredients.

Prescription: 30 grams of Astragalus, 15 grams of Atractylodes, 12 grams of Saposhnikovia, 15 grams of cinnamon twig, 15 grams of white peony root, 10 grams of roasted licorice, 20 grams of calcined dragon bone, 20 grams of calcined oyster, 30 grams of floating wheat, 3 slices of ginger, and 5 dates.

Decoction in water, one dose per day, divided into two times. Ask him to take off his clothes until he stops sweating.

The patient came back for a follow-up visit on August 2, 2013 and found that his sweating had significantly decreased, his fear of wind and cold had improved, and he no longer had body aches, though he occasionally had numbness in his hands. He continued with the previous treatment to invigorate Qi, consolidate the exterior, and harmonize the Ying and Wei systems. The patient recovered after one month.

Note: This patient had weak Wei Qi after the operation and was unable to consolidate the exterior, so he felt afraid of wind and cold. In addition, he wore too many clothes, sweated profusely, and body fluids leaked out, damaging Yin. As a result, the Ying Yin could not be guarded inside, and the Ying and Wei were out of harmony. This vicious cycle caused sweating to increase, making him more susceptible to invasion by wind evil.

"Yi Fang Kao" says: Once the Wei Qi is deficient, it is insufficient to consolidate the body fluids, and they leak out on their own, resulting in spontaneous sweating. Atractylodes macrocephala and Astragalus membranaceus are used to invigorate Qi, but the sweet ones are slow in nature and cannot reach the surface quickly, so they are supplemented with Saposhnikovia divaricata. Li Dongyuan said that the effect of Astragalus membranaceus becomes greater when combined with Saposhnikovia divaricata, as they are mutually reinforcing. The function of Wei Qi is to warm the flesh and fill the skin, nourish the pores and control opening and closing. Only Astragalus can nourish the three burners and strengthen the Wei, and is the key to Xuanfu's ability to resist wind. It can induce sweating when there is no sweat and stop sweating when there is sweat. It is a wind medicine among tonics. Atractylodes macrocephala strengthens the spleen and stomach, warms the flesh, and nourishes the soil to calm the wind. Fangfeng is good at dispelling wind. It has Astragalus to consolidate the exterior and Atractylodes to consolidate the interior. Therefore, the outside is protected and the inside is supported, and the wind evil will go away and will not come back.

Guizhi Decoction is the first prescription in "Treatise on Febrile Diseases", so Ke Yunbo said that Guizhi Decoction is the best among all prescriptions. Guizhi Decoction can harmonize the Ying and Wei externally, and the Qi and blood internally, as well as the spleen and stomach, and the Yin and Yang. When the Yin and Yang are balanced, the spirit will be cured, which embodies Zhang Zhongjing's idea of ​​treating diseases.