You may have heard a woman complain about having “hot flashes” and had visions of her head suddenly going up in flames or perhaps you thought she was having brilliant flashes of inspiration for that next greatest product. Hot flashes are actually a symptom some women experience as they go through menopause. Not all women experience them, but enough do that it is a very commonly heard phrase for women in their fifties to hear and to utter – “I am having hot flashes!”. Women going through the life change referred to as “menopause” will experience different symptoms that may be linked to the declining hormone levels in their bodies. Some women experience insomnia, others will swear they have more joint pain then they previously experienced. Many will experience the phenomena known as “hot flashes” which makes them feel flushed, they perspire and feel very warm all in a span of about 30 seconds to several minutes and then it is gone, until the next time it occurs.

The cause of hot flashes has not yet been determined so it is not entirely understood yet what is happening to these women, but the fact that hot flashes makes them feel uncomfortable is understood. Scientist believe that hot flashes may be the result of hormonal and biochemical fluctuations within the woman’s body that is brought on by the decline in her estrogen levels.

The symptom, hot flashes can actually begin for some women (40% of menstruating women) as early as their forties; approximately 10 years before menopause. Most women (80%) who experience hot flashes will see them end within five years. Unfortunately there are the unlucky 10% who will continue to experience the uncomfortable feeling of hot flashes for 10 years.

As if hot flashes were not enough some women who experience them also experience night sweats. Night sweats are when they wake up during the night drenched in wet, uncomfortable sweat! This of course will seriously disturb her sleep and lead to daytime tiredness.

Doctors have traditionally treated the women who experience hot flashes with oral or transdermal (patch) forms of estrogen to replace the declining levels. This is called hormone therapy (HT) or hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or simply postmenopausal hormone therapy (PHT). What ever you chose to call it the oral and patch form are available by prescription only so it is necessary to make a doctor’s appointment in order to receive this type of treatment. Women have reported receiving some relieve using these treatments at least in that the frequency of hot flashes were reduced. Studies showed that the frequency could be reduced as much as 80 to 90% so this kind of therapy can bring relief.

The downside to hormone therapy is that women being treated with both estrogen and progesterone therapy experienced an increase in the risk for heart attack, stroke and breast cancer as compared to women who did not undergo hormone therapy. Women receiving only estrogen therapy were only at a higher risk for endometrial cancer (lining of the uterus) in those women who had not had their uterus surgically removed.

Given the risks of hormone therapy each woman who experiences hot flashes and is uncomfortable enough to seek medical help must carefully weigh the benefits of the therapy against the risks. Her decision should be guided by the medical advice of her doctor who can share the latest studies and statistics with her. Her medical history will be a deciding factor as it may influence her particular risk factor.

Women who do decide to use hormone therapy to combat hot flashes should be started out at the lowest possible dosage that will be effective for her to help minimize the risk.

There are alternative medications to hormone therapy they include:

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) – low does of this class of drug has been shown to decrease the occurrence of hot flashes. Some of the drugs tested to show relief are: Effexor, Paxil, Paxil CR and Prozac.

Clonidine, which decreases blood pressure, also has been shown to relieve hot flashes in some women and not in others.

Megestrol acetate is a type of progesterone female hormone that has been shown to be effective in reducing hot flashes, but can only be used short-term. This drug has resulted in weight gain in women who have tried this therapy.

Gabapentin is moderately effective in treating hot flashes but may cause drowsiness in some women.

Women who suffer the symptom of hot flashes should seek medical advice and consider carefully the risk of certain treatments before they start them. As bad as hot flashes are to endure, having to be told they have breast cancer or are suffering from a cardiac condition would be worse as these things may cause permanent health issues where hot flashes will eventually go away.

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