Some can see it coming while for others it is sudden, but for 75% of the American women undergoing menopause is part of their lives with no sure or safe cure. It is Hot Flashes.
Hot flashes are an intense hot feeling on the neck and head, accompanied by racing heartbeats, sweating, dizziness, headaches and anxiety, described as vasomotor symptoms. It creates a flushing or redness of the face. Its duration can vary from few minutes to an hour, and is followed by chilliness.
Besides menopausal women, some pregnant women, men undergoing hormone therapy, persons with hyperthyroidism, low blood pressure and low blood sugar suffer from hot flashes occasionally. Women under treatment for cancer suffer from hot flashes regularly.
During hot flashes, the blood vessels on the neck and head dilate and allow more than normal blood to flow through them. Though this process is well-documented, we do not know the cause. The suspicion is on the thermostat action of the hypothalamus, which somehow goes haywire. It may be mainly due to changes of hormonal levels.
Women start having hot flashes just before menopause and gradually stop having them after stabilizing in the post-menopausal period. A fraction, around 10%, have them in old age. The median time is around 3 to 8 years.
Women could live with mild hot flashes without much problem. The ones with moderate hot flashes may take some steps, such as healthy lifestyle changes, exercises and some over-the-counter drugs to manage them. But when the hot flashes are very severe, medical intervention is the only option. The common treatment for hot flashes is estrogen supplements. But with the scare of breast cancer and estrogen linked, other treatments are tried, with success in some cases and unsuccessful in some cases. It is mostly a trial-and-error procedure.
Another factor is very interesting: this condition affects mainly Western women. Studies done in Mexico, Japan, Hong Kong and Pakistan indicate that only about 10% of the menopausal women suffer from hot flashes. We still do know what makes the difference. A person needs to make a personal decision as to what type of treatment is acceptable, considering that the prescription drugs carry a risk and hot flashes are mostly a temporary condition.
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