Hot Flashes – Common Symptom Faced by Menopausal Women | heart disease

Hot Flashes – Common Symptom Faced by Menopausal Women

The period leading to menopause is called perimenopause and the period after menopause is called post menopause. Perimenopause is the period when most of the women face worst symptoms of menopause. There are thirty-five symptoms to menopause that includes dry vagina, erratic periods, depression, urinary inconsistency, hot flashes etc.

HOT FLASHES:

Although hot flash is the most common symptom faced by menopausal women, it can also be caused by medication and lifestyle.

· Occurrence of Hot Flash: Estrogen is the hormone that directly effect’s the part of the brain known as hypothalamus. This part is responsible for controlling appetite, sleep cycles, sex hormones, and body temperature. Decline in estrogen confuses the brain into believing that the body is over-heated. Subsequently the brain signals to heart to pump more blood and to sweat glands to release more sweat. Hence the woman feels a sudden flush of heat and then unpleasant and unnecessary sweating.

· Hot Flash Triggers: Many women find that their hot flash is triggered by some external elements. Stress is the top reason of triggering a hot flash. And to counter hot flash one would need to counter stress by relaxing. Other known triggers for hot flash are spicy foods, hot foods, alcohol, smoking, caffeine or diet pills.

· Lifestyle Changes to reduce Hot Flash: Increasing the level of activity can reduce hot flashes and have a positive impact every other symptom attributed to menopause and growing older such as, insomnia, fatigue, mood swings, loss of libido or elevated cholesterol levels.

· Fighting Stress to deter Hot Flashes: Usually it is not easy to deal with stress in a fast paced world. There different ways of tackling stress such as yoga, massage, meditation, breathing exercises or relaxing exercises.

· Diet as prevention to Hot Flash: A low-fat diet helps some women with hot flashes. Losing excess weight helps, but losing too much weight can worsen symptoms. Too spicy or too hot meals should also be avoided. Variety of fruits should be routinely consumed.

· Herbs for Hot Flash: Herbs such as Black Cohosh are rich in phytoestrogens which can replace human estrogens. However, these herbs have proven negative side affects with regard to breast cancer. Macafem is a herb that induces body to produce estrogens naturally.

· Using medications against Hot Flash: Mild sedatives, blood pressure lowering medicines or antidepressants can be used to tackle hot flashes as well.

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