Menopause: Managing hot flashes
What do I need to know about hot flashes?
If you have experienced hot flashes, you're already well aware that they are sudden sensations of intense body heat, often with heavy sweating and reddening of the head, neck, and chest or the entire body. At night, they commonly cause drenching "night sweats," making them a cause of sleep problems for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.
During a typical hot flash, your skin temperature rises. Although you may feel very warm during a hot flash, because of the heat lost by your body's cooling mechanism (perspiration), your body temperature may actually drop. Some women feel chilly after a hot flash, and some women feel the chill without the flash.
The biochemical cause of hot flashes is not well understood. However, they are linked to declining estrogen levels, and they do seem to be made worse by stress, heavy alcohol use, and cigarette smoking. Although menopausal hot flashes can be disruptive, frustrating, and at times embarrassing, they are medically harmless. They are not a sign of a medical problem, nor do they cause medical problems.
It is normal for hot flashes to:
- Happen in women of all ages when they are upset or embarrassed.
- Happen during the perimenopausal years before menopause, when estrogen levels fluctuate. They are most common, most frequent, and most intense during the 2 years following menopause (postmenopause), when estrogen declines.
- Be accompanied by mild to severe heart palpitations, anxiety, or irritability. In rare cases, panic attacks are triggered at the same time as hot flashes, usually in women who have a history of panic attacks.
- Be especially severe in women who become menopausal from chemotherapy, antiestrogen treatment for breast cancer, or surgical removal of the ovaries.
- Subside within a couple of years after menopause. But some women do continue to have hot flashes for years after menopause. There is no reliable method for predicting whether, when, or how long you will have hot flashes.
Hot flashes are uncommon in various places around the world. Further research is necessary before experts can identify specific factors about American women's environment and lifestyle that make hot flashes a common problem.
Test Your Knowledge
Hot flashes are a normal part of perimenopause and postmenopause and are caused by declining estrogen levels.
My doctor will be able to tell me how long I can expect to have hot flashes.
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| Author: | Robin Parks, MS | Last Updated: May 19, 2008 |
| Medical Review: | Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine Kirtly Jones, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology | |
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