It is essential to classify spontaneous sweating and night sweating into yin, yang, deficiency and excess types. Generally, deficiency types are more common than excess ones. Cases of spontaneous sweating are usually attributive to qi deficiency or yang deficiency while those of night sweating attributive to yin deficiency generating internal heat. If sweating is due to hyperactivity of liver fire or accumulation of damp heat, it is of the excess type.

The treatment for the deficiency type should aim at replenishing qi, nourishing yin, consolidating the body surface and checking sweating; for the excess type, clearing away heat in the liver and dissipating dampness to regulate ying qi should be adopted. As for the case with coexistence of deficiency and excess, it must be first determined whether deficiency or excess is predominant and consideration should be given to both in the treatment.

According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, there are some patterns of syndrome that lead to sweating syndrome.
1. Weakness of the Lung and Weiqi
2. Disharmony between Ying Oi and Wei Qi
3. Insufficiency of Heart Blood 
4. Deficiency of Yin and Hyperactivity of Fire   
5. Accumulation of Pathogenic Heat