Dealing with hot flashes can be challenging under the best of circumstances, especially since they seem to strike without warning, leaving you drenched and uncomfortable.
This problem is one shared with millions of others — each year, about two million women in the United States enter menopause, and more than 80% of them struggle with vasomotor symptoms in the form of hot flashes and night sweats.
As experts on all things menopause-related, Dr. Chetanna Okasi and the team at Women’s Wellness MD focus on hot flashes in this month’s blog post.
While these sudden rises in body temperature may seem to come out of nowhere, many are triggered by outside influences. We discuss how to reduce your hot flashes and night sweats through hormone therapy.
Given how common menopause-related vasomotor symptoms are, it may surprise you to learn that researchers still don’t know exactly what causes them. Obviously, the sudden drop in reproductive hormones that comes with menopause is to blame, but we don't know the exact cause-and-effect mechanism.
Many believe hormonal changes lead to thermoregulation problems in the brain region that controls body temperature — your hypothalamus.
We also know that replacing lost hormones, namely estrogen, is the gold standard for reducing hot flashes and night sweats.
The connection between estrogen and hot flashes is apparent, but we’re not sure of the exact nature of the connection. We know that many women experience sudden temperature rises triggered by certain outside factors.
Some hot flashes and, obviously, night sweats, come and go without any rhyme or reason. However, if you’ve noticed that certain conditions bring on hot flashes, you’re not alone.
Common hot flash triggers include:
An initial way to address disruptive hot flashes is to identify and manage the triggers.
Replenishing low levels of the reproductive hormone through hormone replacement therapy is a beneficial solution. During Dr. Okasi’s years of experience, this has been the best solution in helping women navigate their bumpy menopause journey.
There are many ways in which we can deliver estrogen into your body, such as through:
While this approach to hot flashes is highly effective, we also point out that hormone therapy can help with other menopause symptoms, such as vaginal dryness and bone loss.
If you want to turn down the heat on your menopause journey, schedule an appointment with us today by calling one of our offices in Columbia or Greenbelt, Maryland, or by using our online booking feature.
