23 Drugs that Cause Excessive Sweating

Are you wondering if your excessive sweating is due to a medication you just took? Here is a list of medications known to cause sweating.

Summary: The medications most likely to cause sweating are antidepressants, antipsychotics, medications for Parkinson’s or dementia, antibiotics, medications affecting endocrine function, and pain medications.

Why do some medications cause sweating?

When you exercise, it’s hot, or you’re stressed, your body needs to maintain a comfortable temperature to function properly. When your body starts to heat up, your brain sends a message to your nervous system to cool down.

Your nervous system then triggers the production of sweat. When this sweat evaporates from the surface of your skin, it takes heat with it, helping to cool your body.

And all of these mechanisms are regulated by hormones: adrenaline, aldosterone, thyroid hormones, etc.

Some medications affect hormones, the nervous system, and your body’s cooling system!

🚨 Some medications can affect hormone levels in the body, which can also influence sweating.

🚨 Some medications can affect the body’s metabolism.

Metabolism is how your body uses the food you eat to get energy and to maintain the basic functions necessary for life.

If this metabolism increases, it can lead to an increase in body heat and, consequently, an increase in sweating to regulate temperature.

When a medication triggers excessive sweating that did not exist before taking the medication, it is called secondary hyperhidrosis. This means that the person sweats excessively because of this medication.

Secondary hyperhidrosis remains rare because 90% of people have primary hyperhidrosis: they do not sweat too much because of something like a medication, but for unknown reasons, likely genetic.

The list of 23 medications that cause sweating

There are hundreds of medications that have sweating as a possible side effect. Here are the most common categories of these medications.

These are not their brand names, but their medical names.

😞 Antidepressants.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as citalopram Tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline.

I have also written a comprehensive article on Which Antidepressants Cause Excessive Sweating.

💊 Antipsychotics

For example, haloperidol and clozapine.

🧠 Medications for Parkinson’s or dementia

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, such as donepezil or benztropine.

They increase sweating by directly stimulating receptors in the sweat glands.

🦠 Antibiotics and antimicrobials

Cephalosporins (for example, ceftriaxone or cefuroxime).

Quinolone antibiotics (for example, ciprofloxacin)

Antivirals (aciclovir or ribavirin).

⚙️ Medications affecting endocrine function and hormones.

Contraceptive pills.

Systemic corticosteroids, thyroid medications.

Diabetes medications such as glipizide and insulin.

⚡ Pain medications.

Opioids, such as morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, and tramadol.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as celecoxib and naproxen.

Sources at the end of the article.

How to tell if your excessive sweating is due to medication?

Here are the criteria that most characterize sweating triggered by medication rather than something else.

☑️ You may sweat on only one side of the body.

☑️ You sweat more all over the body rather than from a specific part of the body.

☑️ You sweat a lot, especially at night.

☑️ You had no issues with bothersome sweating in the weeks, months, and years before taking the medication.

While sweating tends to decrease at night in patients with primary hyperhidrosis, it can occur during sleep in drug-induced hyperhidrosis.

There are no specific characteristics that increase the risk of developing excessive sweating when taking a medication. It can start at any age and affect people of all races [3].

Of course, you can discuss all of this with your general practitioner or another specialist (endocrinologist, neurologist, etc.). See: which doctors specialize in sweating?

Does sweating stop when you stop taking the medication?

Some people may decide to stop the treatment they believe triggered the sweating. In this case, I recommend discussing this with your doctor: stopping certain medications can be dangerous, especially antidepressants or antiepileptic drugs.

After stopping the medication, it usually takes the body several weeks or even months for sweating to return to normal. Even if you no longer have the medication in your bloodstream: your body needs time to function hormonally and neurologically as it did before.

Especially if you have taken this medication for a long time (months or years).

✅ In some people, stopping the medication stops excessive sweating.

❌ In others, unfortunately, this side effect does not go away with the discontinuation of the medication, even months or years later.

I haven’t found specific numbers on this: be optimistic! 😊

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Do you have any comments or questions? Your comments are welcome 🙂 !

You may also like:

• Antidepressants and excessive sweating
• Medications for hyperhidrosis’sufferers
• List of diseases causing excessive sweating

 📚 SOURCES

Dermnet, here 

SweatHelp, Drugs/Medications Known to Cause Hyperhidrosis, 2005, here

[3] Hyperhidrosis: Who gets and causes. American Academy of Dermatology. 2020. Available from: www.aad.org/public/diseases/a-z/hyperhidrosis-causes