It can start as a slight feeling of warmth and within minutes you are in the tropics and we all know how uncomfortable, and sometimes embarrassing, that hot red face and sweaty body can be.
What causes hot flashes?
You need never feel alone with this as it is estimated that they occur in more than two-thirds of women during perimenopause/menopause and almost all women with a surgically induced menopause from a hysterectomy or those who have gone into premature menopause for medical reasons.
The truth is that although we can put a man on the moon we don’t actually really know for certain what causes a woman to have a hot flush, but it may be related to changes in circulation. They happen when the blood vessels near the skin’s surface dilate to cool and this is what is responsible for that red, flushed look in the face. In addition to the face, the body can start sweating to cool you down and sometimes women also experience a rapid heart rate or chills.
If you were hoping they were confined to menopause this sadly is not true – many pregnant women for instance also experience them – as one cause is clearly the fluctuation of hormones in the body. Unfortunately although some luck women only experience them for a very short time during others have them — at least to some degree — for life but generally they are less severe as time passes.
What can make flushes worse?
Every woman will have their own personal triggers, but there are some that are common to most of us.
1 Stress is the major culprit, and ironically just worrying about having a flush can bring one on. If certain situations always stress you, interviews, arguments, trying to do too much can all play havoc with your hormones so identify the problem and take preventive action where you can.
2 What you eat and drink can also make a huge difference to whether you are gong to experience a hot flush. Some are obvious, like avoiding spicy, hot food – however much you love Indian or Thai food – but others are not always so clear.
Alcohol certainly affects many women and brings on a flush as does caffeine so avoiding coffee is not difficult, but there are many other sources such as chocolate and colas, many of which are very high in caffeine.
If you are a smoker too you are more likely to experience hot flushes and there has also been a link suggested between diet pills and hot flushes as menopausal women try to shift the extra weight that can come at this time.
3 The environment also makes a difference as being in a too warm room, particularly the bedroom, can trigger a flush as can wearing clothing that is too tight so that heat is trapped against the body.
Possible treatment
There are certainly no shortage of medications that are being used for hot flushes, but many women find them unacceptable because of their side effects.
You may be offered HRT, blood pressure medication, birth control pills, antidepressants, ibuprofen, synthetic hormones or (in the USA at least) an anti-seizure drug.
For most women the most effective method is to get oestrogen dominance under control and then to rebalance their hormones with bioidenical progesterone or a combination cream of progesterone and oestrogen if flushes are severe.
Herbal and homoeopathic supplements and vitamins can also help so include B complex and vitamin E and a specially designed menopause herbal supplement like Harmony which can be used alone or to enhance the effect of bioidentical creams.
There are also now a range of products specifically designed to help ease flushes such as cooling gel pillows and mattresses, but for a portable solution you could try Physicool. Their research shows that 60% of menopausal women suffer hot flushes over four times a day so Dr Heather Currie, Associate Specialist Gynaecologist has developed a pioneering Cooling Mist that alleviates the discomfort of hot flushes and night sweats instantly and with long-lasting results of well over an hour. This clinically-approved natural product combines calming peppermint oil and aloe vera with advanced rapidly-evaporating alcohols that together draw heat away from the skin and reduce skin temperature, while softening, hydrating and calming redness. As it is non-medicated, it can be reapplied as often as you need to.
Helpful information:
http://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2014/06/06/what-signs-of-oestrogen-dominance-do-you-have/
http://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2010/03/15/the-three-main-reasons-why-women-get-hot-flashes/
http://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2012/12/17/progesterone-helps-flushes-in-post-menopausal-women/
http://creativecatalyst.co.uk/product/hot-tips-for-hot-flushes/ An ebook by AnnA Rushton