My husband says he is sweating at night and waking up with clothes and bedding is damp. This is new. I suggested maybe it was an accident? "Oh, no accident. It’s from sweating."
There is no strong odor of urine but a slight odor. He has an Alzheimer's and vascular dementia diagnosis. 4 years since diagnosis. The house temperature has not been changed. I’m not sure if this is the beginning of incontinence.
This will determine the actual cause of the dampness.
My dad denied any incontinence and it was easily treatable when I brought it to the doctors attention. It was unfortunate that he struggled with "hiding" his incontinence for years when an honest consult cleared it up in a few months.
I know my dad was utterly ashamed of that problem and it was a few really hard conversations about wearing briefs that only he knew about versus wet pants, that was obvious to anyone that saw him.
Does he have any new medications?
Is he wearing absorbent briefs at night? (Depends or another brand? )
If he is not wearing absorbent, disposable or washable underwear at night it might be time to start.
I would say if all the clothing is damp and all the bedding is damp it might be sweat, usually with urine bedding and clothing will be more than damp.
I would switch to a waterproof mattress cover though even if it is sweat that can damage a mattress just as much as urine will.
Here is a link to an excellent product called Extrasorbs that soak up a LOT of fluid:
https://www.amazon.com/Medline-EXTSB3036A350-Extrasorbs-Disposable-DryPads/dp/B00BL6FUX4/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2BR9XC08H72FA&keywords=medline+extrasorbs+premium+underpads&qid=1646165031&s=industrial&sprefix=medline+extrasorbs%2Cindustrial%2C234&sr=1-7
A doctor's appointment is a good idea, as has been recommended, b/c if it's really night sweats DH is having, that can be caused by a wide variety of things you're best of eliminating asap.
Good luck!
As an aside for your piece of mind in my experience anyway there is a difference in both the amount and location of wetness. With incontinence especially without underwear for that purpose, the soaking usually concentrates in one area and spreads from there, the top half of his body and that area of his bed remain dry. With night sweats usually a bigger area is less soaked in that if you were to put a towel down and sit on it the towel wouldn’t soak up the wetness as quickly, it doesn’t spread from a particular area it’s evenly wet.
2. Get him Depends in his size.
3. Get bed pads either disposable or washable.
4. Clean him every morning.
Night sweats are entirely different than incontinence.; ITRR is correct it can come from plastic mattresses and pads, and I didn't mention that. that would be the first thing to try. Get that plastic well covered with cotton, or out if that is possible, covered with mattress cover material. But night sweats soak the FRONT of tee shirts worn to bed, etc. And it is always clear that this isn't from incontinence.
DrBenshir adds another possible to the long list of medical conditions that can cause this.
JanBro, you haven't been back. Did you speak to MD? What was the outcome?
And make sure the temps at night are cooler. We set our thermostat at 67 degrees for night. Day time thermostat is too warm when under the covers. You may even want to consider a table top fan that blows a breeze onto him a few feet away. I know I need to use one in the summer.
What type of clothing does hubby wear at night? If he wear flannel pj's, time to change over to light weight short sleeve and short pj's of cotton.
And as others have mentioned, it could be medication. There are some meds that will give the guys hot flashes.
I put a towel over the damp sheet and change nightie. Usually the top sheet isn't too bad. Sometimes, I put my fan on the folded back top sheet for a minute. It makes the bed cold, but my electric blanket and body will rewarm it quickly.