Waking up drenched in sweat at week three after my hip. Normal healing or a sign of infection?

#1colin_walks(Joined Aug 2026 · 4 posts)October 6, 2026, 5:48 am

Up at quarter to six writing this because I've changed my T-shirt twice tonight.

Left hip, three weeks on Thursday. Recovery's been decent, out round the block twice a day on crutches, pain well under control. But the last three or four nights I've been waking up absolutely soaked. Pillow damp, the lot. During the day I feel fine, a bit tired. The wound looks the same as it did, clean and dry as far as I can tell, no redness I can see though it's hard to see round the back of your own hip.

My wife thinks it's the new duvet she bought so I'd be comfy. I've read that night sweats can mean infection and that infection in a new hip is the big one you don't want. Did anyone else get sweats in the early weeks?

#2trev_lefthip(Joined Jul 2025 · 19 posts)October 6, 2026, 8:20 am

Had sweats the first couple of weeks, I put it down to the painkillers and the fact I was sleeping in a recliner under a blanket like a pensioner. Stopped when I came off the strong tablets.

But I'd ring them, mate. Same as I said to Sylvia on her ankle thread: they'd rather a hundred normal calls than one missed one.

#3gardeninggwen(Joined Jan 2025 · 29 posts)October 7, 2026, 7:45 am

Get your wife to check the whole wound in good light, and take a photo so you can compare day to day. I couldn't see mine properly for weeks without a mirror and a lot of twisting I wasn't supposed to be doing.

#4Ms Priya RamanSurgical moderator(Joined Oct 2024 · 91 posts)October 7, 2026, 9:12 am

Colin, sweating at night in the first weeks after a hip replacement is common, and it often has an ordinary explanation: the body's response to surgery, some painkillers including opioids, a warmer bed than usual, and broken sleep all play a part. But Trev is right, and I would rather say it plainly. Night sweats are also one of the things we ask about when we are thinking about infection, so this is a call to your surgical team today, not a wait-and-see.

When they ask, these are the details that help. Have you got a thermometer, and have you had a raised temperature, or felt shivery or hot and cold? Is the wound changing: spreading redness rather than a thin pink line, more warmth or swelling, new or increasing pain around the hip after the first days, or any fluid leaking? Is the pain in the hip getting worse rather than steadily better? And how do you feel in yourself? Deep infection after a hip replacement is uncommon, about 1 in 100, but catching it early matters a great deal, which is why teams are so keen to hear from people.

I can't tell you from here which side of that line you are on. The people who can are the ones who can look at the wound, take your temperature and, if they think it is needed, check your blood. If you develop a high temperature, feel very unwell, or the wound becomes hot, red, and painful, do not wait for a call back; seek urgent care. The signs of infection, and the wider picture, are set out in hip replacement risks and complications.

#5colin_walks(Joined Aug 2026 · 4 posts)October 8, 2026, 6:30 pm

Rang the ward yesterday morning after reading this. They had me in the same afternoon. Nurse checked the wound properly, temperature normal, surgeon's registrar had a look and they took bloods to be safe.

Bloods came back today and they're happy. Their view is it's most likely the painkillers plus the bed. They've told me to keep a temperature diary for a week and ring straight back if anything changes. Felt a bit daft but mostly relieved.

#6colin_walks(Joined Aug 2026 · 4 posts)October 21, 2026, 7:04 pm

Closing this off. Temperature diary was boring all week. Tapered the strong painkillers as planned and the sweats stopped within a few days of the last one. The duvet has also been demoted to the spare room, which my wife says proves nothing.

Thanks for pushing me to ring. I wouldn't have done it on my own.