Throughout a woman’s life, there are many discomforts that come and go thanks to hormonal fluctuations. Ovulation and menstruation bring bloating, mood swings, breast tenderness, and lower back pain, among others. Pregnancy comes along with an even longer list of ailments. The whole roller coaster ride is capped off with menopause. Just when you think you’re free from everything reproductive-health related, along come hot flashes.
What Are Hot Flashes?
Hot flashes are exactly what the name states: You’re going about your day, feeling fine, when out of nowhere, you suddenly feel intense heat on your face, neck, and chest.
How Long Do Hot Flashes Last?
Once a woman starts feeling hot flashes, she may continue experiencing them for anywhere between several months to up to ten years.
Each episode can last between a few seconds to several minutes. Their frequency varies, with obese women feeling them more often.
When they happen overnight, they often cause women to wake up, drenched in sweat. As a result, it’s common for women experiencing hot flashes to also suffer from insomnia.
Symptoms of Hot Flashes
As if feeling overheated throughout your body weren’t bad enough, hot flashes often come accompanied with other symptoms, such as:
- Red or flushed face
- Rapid heart rate
- Perspiring
- Tingling in the fingers
What Causes Hot Flashes?
As with everything relating to reproductive health, hot flashes are caused by a fluctuation in hormones. Therefore, there isn’t much you can do to fully prevent them. However, certain lifestyle factors do contribute to their intensity or may act as triggers.
Some of these include:
- Eating spicy foods
- Being in a hot environment
- Caffeine
- Alcohol intake
- Stress
- Smoking
5 Remedies for Hot Flashes
1. Keep cool. If you’re in a hot and humid environment, or if the air conditioner is not blowing hard enough in your home or car, the increased temperatures can trigger hot flashes.
2. Manage stress. When you are confronted with a situation that would typically cause you stress, practice breathing exercises or relaxation techniques. Meditation can also help to keep a sense of calm.
3. Herbal remedies. Herbal extracts that contain progesterone come in capsule form. These can help decrease menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes.
4. Hormone replacement therapy. This can come in tablet form, skin patch, gel, spray, or cream. Their purpose is to replace the estrogen that the body is no longer naturally producing after menopause.
5. Nerve block injection. This shot targets a group of nerves that are responsible for hot flash sensations. While women will still experience flashes, they become less intense.
If you are experiencing hot flashes and want some natural remedies to relieve the discomfort, check out our blog: Natural Remedies for Hot Flashes.
Call OB-GYN Women’s Centre of Lakewood Ranch to Relieve Your Hot Flashes
If you’re experience hot flashes due to menopause, we can help. We understand that menopause makes your body do some wild and crazy things. Explore your options to relieve hot flashes, night sweats and anything else you may be experiencing. Call us at OB-GYN Women’s Centre of Lakewood Ranch! We are happy to help!
