Hot Flashes in Women
Hot flashes are a hallmark symptom of perimenopause and menopause…because so women have them. But how often and for how long varies from woman to woman. Some women will have hot flashes for just a short amount of time during and/or shortly after perimenopause. But for others, they can persist indefinitely.
Facts
- Hot flashes usually come on quickly and pass within a few minutes.
- Some women will experience sweating, flushing, a rapid heart rate, nausea, dizziness, and chills in conjunction with their hot flashes.
- Night sweats are simply hot flashes that occur at night while sleeping.
- Some women have hot flashes infrequently (once a week or less), while others have them on and off all day.
Causes of Hot Flashes
While the precise mechanism behind hot flashes isn’t well understood, we do know that the root cause is a decline in estrogen and progesterone during perimenopause and menopause.
This decline in estrogen and progesterone causes the hypothalamus (which controls body temperature) to malfunction.
While hormone decline is almost always the underlying cause of hot flashes, they can be exacerbated by stress, poor eating habits, weight gain, and insufficient physical activity.
Treatment for Hot Flashes
Hot flashes are kept at bay by returning estrogen and progesterone to optimal levels. Our physicians can prescribe individualized bioidentical hormone therapy that will eliminate hot flashes once your hormones are balanced. Just think what a relief that will be. Let’s get started.