What Causes Hot Flashes Throughout Menopause?
March 7th, 2010 | by Kim Allarie |Of the many problems resulting from menopause, hot flashes have to be the least loved symptom of them all. Although there are no authoritative conclusions regarding why hot flashes happen, it’s generally accepted that an imbalance of hormones inside your system is the cause.
Researchers believe that something occurs in your brain that causes the body’s thermostat to be modified. The end result is a hot flash, a sensation of excessive warmth if the body becomes just slightly overheated. In an effort to lower the heat, your body starts to sweat and the blood vessels expand, causing your skin to become pink or red. After a short time, perhaps two or three minutes, the heat disperses, causing chills.
According to current clinical studies on menopause, it was shown that various lifestyle and psychological factors can raise the quantity and severity of hot flashes that a woman endures. Actually, women who were assessed at a high degree of anxiety had nearly five times the quantity of hot flashes as those that were assessed at a low level. Women who smoked suffered from double the number. Being overweight resulted in a rise in distressing hot flashes, as well.
Hot flashes occasionally start with perimenopause, or they might not start till after the final menstrual period has occurred. Usually, they are 3 to 5 years in duration and are typically worse throughout the year following the last menstrual period. However, it has been observed that for some women, hot flashes can go on for years.
Although it’s a widespread belief that hot flashes are associated with a decline in estrogen, there are those who believe it is merely the imbalance of hormones that serves as the trigger. Before puberty, girls have low amounts of estrogen yet do not get hot flashes. Conversely, women in the late months of pregnancy could have hot flashes at a time when their estrogen levels are elevated.
One means by which to relieve hot flashes is taking hormone replacement therapy. However, we now know that HRT could have side effects which can have more cons than pros. Therefore, it is recommended that you first aim to ease your symptoms in a natural fashion in lieu of depending on prescription drugs. Countless women discover that with the proper lifestyle improvements, they can fix the imbalance of hormones that produces this uncomfortable sign of menopause.
Menopause is a difficult time for many women, and requires them to make a number of adjustments to their lifestyle in order to combat the symptoms. In particular, a well balanced menopause diet is important to stabilize your situation and prevent weight gain. Learn more at Menopause Symptoms.
