Menopause causes many possible symptoms, but only one affects 75% to 80% of all women, and that’s hot flashes.
Sometimes, hot flashes are mild, infrequent, and tolerable. But all too often, women’s daily lives are disrupted by frequent, severe hot flashes.
No one should have to endure the sudden, agonizing heat and excessive sweating, especially considering hot flashes last seven years on average and can continue for up to 10 years.
At Women’s Wellness MD, Chetanna Okasi, MD, specializes in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, a treatment that’s safe for most women and eliminates hot flashes.
Are you curious to know why menopause causes hot flashes and how hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can help? Here’s what you need to know.
As estrogen circulates through your body, it binds to receptors on cells, triggering specific reactions. These estrogen receptors exist throughout your body, including in your brain. That’s where hot flashes begin.
A drop in estrogen levels (when they fluctuate before menopause and dramatically decline when menopause begins) affects the part of your brain that regulates body temperature (the hypothalamus).
The loss of estrogen makes the hypothalamus hypersensitive to slight changes in body temperature. As it perceives an increase in temperature (no matter how small), it tells the brain that the body is overheating.
Then, your brain sends instructions to help the body cool down. It signals blood vessels to expand, sending blood to the skin’s surface to release heat. It also activates sweat glands to help you cool down.
As blood rushes toward your skin, you experience a hot flash. Hot flashes cause an intense feeling of heat and a sudden rise in temperature, most often affecting the face, neck, and chest.
Your skin becomes hot, red, and flushed. You also sweat in your upper body. These sudden changes can quickly cool your internal body temperature, causing chills and shivering as your body tries to retain warmth.
Hot flashes may last only a minute or continue for up to five minutes. Though they’re brief, a severe hot flash feels like it lasts much longer.
What’s worse than how you feel is the way a hot flash can disrupt your day. When hot flashes occur at work, they can be embarrassing and undermine your hard-earned reputation.
If you have mild hot flashes, you can dress in layers or carry a handheld fan to use when the heat begins.
But if you’re like most women and have moderate to severe hot flashes, you need more than lifestyle options to stop your symptoms from disrupting your life.
Hormone replacement therapy eliminates hot flashes by restoring healthy estrogen levels. As you regain hormonal balance, estrogen once again does all its vital jobs, including supporting your brain.
We offer bioidentical hormone replacement therapy because these hormones are produced from natural plant-based estrogen and have the same chemical structure as your body’s natural hormones.
That means your body responds to bioidentical hormones just like it would to estrogen produced in your ovaries.
Don’t put up with hot flashes, especially if they’re severe. We understand your challenges and offer safe treatments that can end your discomfort.
Call Women’s Wellness MD or book an appointment online to learn more about how to overcome hot flashes.
