Hot flashes

Description

A hot flash is a sudden feeling of heat in the upper part of the body. It most often affects the face, neck and chest. A hot flashes can also cause sweating. Some people may feel cold after a hot flash due to the loss of heat.

The night sweats are hot flashes that occur at night. They can disrupt sleep.

The moment is when the menstrual periods get less regular, and then stop, called the menopause, is the most common cause of hot flashes. And the hot flashes are the most common symptom of this change of life.

There are treatments for hot flashes that cause discomfort and make you feel uncomfortable.

Symptoms

A hot flash may include:

  • A sudden feeling of heat through the dissemination of the chest, neck and face.
  • The skin is red and blotchy.
  • Fast heart beat.
  • Sweating, especially in the upper part of the body.
  • Cold feeling as the hot flash lets up.
  • Feelings of not being comfortable, it's called anxiety.

How often hot flashes happen differs from person to person. But most of the people who have hot flashes have on a daily basis. One of hot flash may last from 1 to 5 minutes.

On average, people who have hot flashes have them for more than seven years. Some people have more than 10 years.

Hot flashes may be mild. Or may be so severe that they disrupt daily activities. Occur at any time of the day or night. The night hot flashes, also called night sweats, you might wake up from your sleep and can cause long-term loss of sleep.

When to see a doctor

If hot flashes affect your daily activities or sleep, talk with your health care professional about treatments.

Causes

Changing hormone levels before, during and after the menopause are the most common causes of hot flashes. It is not clear how to hormonal changes cause hot flashes.

But most of the research suggests that hot flashes happen when you lower estrogen levels cause the body heat manager, also called the hypothalamus, to respond to small changes in the temperature of the body. When the hypothalamus is believed that the body is too hot, it starts a chain of events in the form of a shame for it to cool down.

Rarely, something that the menopause causes hot flashes and night sweat. Other causes include medication side effects, thyroid problems, certain types of cancer and the side effects of cancer treatment.

Risk factors

Not all people who go by the change of life have hot flashes. factors that may increase the risk of having them include:

  • The habit of smoking. People who smoke are more likely to get hot flashes.
  • Being obese. A high body mass index, also called BMI, is associated with the fact of having more hot flashes.
  • Of the race. More Black people to report having hot flashes during menopause that people of other races. Asian report hot flashes with less frequency.

Complications

Hot flashes can affect daily activities and quality of life. The night hot flashes, also called neart sweats, you can wake him from his sleep. With time, this can cause long-term loss of sleep.

The research suggests that people who have hot flashes may have a higher risk of heart disease and a greater loss of bone mass that people who don't have hot flashes.

Hot flashes

Diagnosis

A health care professional can diagnose the hot flashes based on their symptoms. You may have blood tests to see if your periods are to stop or to find other causes of your hot flashes.

Treatment

The best way to relieve hot flashes is to take estrogen. But take this hormone carries risks. If the estrogen is right for you and you start within the first 10 years of your last menstrual period or before 60 years of age, the benefits can outweigh the risks.

Medications such as antidepressants and anti-seizure medications can also help to relieve hot flashes. But don't work as well as the hormones do.

Talk with your health care professional about the pros and cons of the treatments for hot flashes. If hot flashes does not bother you much, it is likely that you do not need to treatment. For most people, hot flashes, disappears little by little, even without treatment. But you can take several years for that to stop.

Hormone therapy

Estrogen is the main hormone health professionals who prescribe to relieve hot flashes. Most of the people who have had their uterus removed, called a hysterectomy can take estrogen alone. But those who still have a uterus, most often need to take progesterone with estrogen. This is to protect against cancer of the lining of the uterus, called the endometrium cancer.

Guidelines suggest using the lowest dose of estrogen that manages the symptoms. How much time of use, the treatment depends on how well does hormone therapy work for you and your risks. The goal is to give you the best quality of life.

Some people who take progesterone with estrusgene therapy the side effects of progesterone. For people who can't take progesterone by mouth, a mix of medicine of bazedoxifene with conjugated estrogens (Duavee) also can treat the symptoms of menopause.

As progesterone, taking bazedoxifene with estrogis you can avoid the increased risk of endometrial cancer which can be obtained from estrogen-alone. Bazedoxifene also can protect your bones.

If you have had or are at risk of breast cancer or endometrial cancer, heart disease, stroke, or blood clot, talk to your health care professional about whether you can take estrogen therapy.

Antidepressants

The Food and Drug Administration only approves a treatment that does not use hormones to hot flashes. The treatment is a low dose of paroxetine (Brisdelle).

Other antidepressants that have been used to treat hot flashes are:

  • Venlafaxine (Effexor Xr).
  • Paroxetine (Paxil).
  • Citalopram (Celexa).
  • Escitalopram (Lexapro).

Antidepressants do not work as well as the hormonal therapy for the strong of hot flashes. But it can belp people who can't use hormones. Possible side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping, or the feeling of drowsiness, weight gain, dry mouth, or difficulty having sex.

Other prescription drugs

Other medicines that may offer relief to some people include:

  • Gabapentin (Neurontin, Gralise, others). This anticonvulsant medication helps to relieve hot flashes. Side effects can include drowsiness, dizziness, or tiredness and swelling in the arms and legs, called edema.
  • Pregabalin (Lyrica). This is another anti-seizure medication that can help relieve hot flashes. Side effects can include drowsiness and dizziness, difficulty concentrating, and weight gain.
  • Oxybutynin (Oxytrol). This is a pill, or the patch is most often used for the treatment of urinary diseases like the overactive bladder. It can also help to relieve hot flashes in some people. Side effects may include dry mouth, dry eyes, nausea, and constipation, and dizziness.
  • Clonidine (Catapres-TTS-1, Nexiclon Xr, others). This pill or the patch is mostly used to treat high blood pressure, it might give a bit of relief from the hot flashes. The side effects include dizziness, drowsiness and constipation, and dry mouth.
  • Fezolinetant (Veozah). This daily pill is the menopause hot flashes without hormones. It works by blocking a pathway in the brain that helps control your body temperature.

Side effects include abdominal pain, diarrhea, trouble sleeping, back pain, hot flashes, and the most elevated liver enzymes, which may be a sign of liver damage. The majority of healthcare professionals do not prescribe this medicine people with liver disease.

Nerve block procedure

A procedure called a stellate ganglion block has shown promise for the treatment of moderate-to-strong of hot flashes. Which involves shooting an anesthetic into the nerve cluster at the neck.

Healthcare pro -fessionals have used the treatment for the management of pain. The side effects include pain and bruising at the injection site. More research is needed.

Self-care

If your hot flashes are mild, you could try to make life style changes. The north American Menopause Society nor more suggests that the majority of these, because there are not enough studies to prove that they work. But in addition, they are not harmful.

You can try the following:

  • Keep in a cool place. The body temperature rises a little bit can cause hot flashes. Dress in layers so that you can remove clothing when you feel hot. Open the windows or use a fan or air conditioning. Lower the temperature of the room, if you can. If you feel a hot flash coming, enjoy a cold drink.
  • Careful with what you eat and drink. Hot and spicy foods and drinks with caffeine and alcohol can cause hot flashes.
  • The practice of mind-body therapies. Some people get relief from mild hot flashes through meditation; slow, deep breathing, techniques for stress management and guided imagery. Even if these approaches don't help your hot flashes, they might do something good, as a help to sleep better.
  • Do not smoke. Smoking is linked to more hot flashes. By not smoking, you may relieve hot flashes. You can also reduce your risk of serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke and cancer.
  • Lose weight. If you are overweight or obese, losing weight can help relieve your hot flashes. The north American Menopause Society says that weight loss can improve hot flashes for some women.

Alternative medicine

Many people use alternative medicine to help relieve hot ftabs. But there are few well-designed studies on complementary health practices for hot flashes.

The mind and the body approaches

The studies suggest that certain methods that can help to relieve hot flashes, including:

  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy, also called CBT. The North American Menopause Society suggests that this type of counseling works to facilitate long hot flashes and night sweats annoying.
  • Hypnosis. The north American Menopause Society suggests hypnosis for the treatment of hot flashes. The research shows that hypnosis might of as much help to their frequency of hot flashes and how bad they are.
  • Mindfulness meditation. This type of meditation, you have to focus on the moment. There is little evidence that mindfulness relieves hot flashes. But mindfulness could alleviate much flushing, upset meor.
  • Acupuncture. Some studies show that acupuncture can reduce the frequency of hot flashes and how bad they are. Other studies show that acupuncture does not help the hot flashes.

Dietary supplements

People think that dietary supplements as natural and causing no harm. But all those supplements can have side effects that can be harmful. And supplements can also affect the medications you take for other medical conditions. Talk with your doctor about any supplements you take.

The dietary supplements of the people use often to the menopausymptoms include:

  • Plant estrogens. Some plants have substances like the hormone estrogen. Examples are soy, red clover, and flax seed. But the studies have often found that the plant estrogens help the symptoms of menopause little, or nothing at all. Research is in progress.
  • Black cohosh. Many people use black cohosh to relieve the symptoms of menopause. Studies of how black cohosh works have had mixed results. And it's rare, but there may be a link between black cohosh and liver damage.
  • The Ginseng. Studies have found that ginseng to relieve hot flashes.
  • Dong quai. Studies have not found dong quai to work for hot flashes. Also, take dong quai with blood thinners can cause bleeding problems.
  • Vitamin E. Taking a supplement of vitamin E may relieve mild hot flashes. In high doses, may increase the risk of bleeding.

Preparing for your appointment

For hot flashes, it is likely to start by seeing your primary health care provider for professional or by a specialist in conditions of the female reproductive system, called a gynecologist.

What you can do

Before your appointment, make a list of:

  • Its symptoms, including the number of hot flashes you have a day and how bad they are.
  • The medicines, herbs, vitamins, and supplements you are taking, including the dosage. A dose is the amount you take.
  • Questions to ask your health care professional.

Some basic questions to ask include:

  • Do I need any tests?
  • What treatments may help with symptoms?
  • What else can I do to relieve the symptoms?
  • Do you have printed informa- tion that I can have? What websites do you suggest??

Be sure to ask all the questions that you have.

What to expect from your doctor

Your health care professional may ask the following:

  • Do you still have time?
  • When was your last period?
  • What is the frequency of its symptoms bother you?
  • How much of their symptoms, bother you?
  • Nothing seems to help?
  • Does anything make your symptoms worse?
Symptoms and treatment of hot flashes