Menopause is a process whereby all women reach a certain age. It supposes a whole series of changes for the body of the woman, although some of them can go unnoticed. There are two fundamentals: the evidence that the fertile time is over and that you can not have children and on the other the hot flashes, the dreaded hot flashes.
Any woman who has passed the menopause phase, or is still in that moment, ensures that hot flashes are the worst. They are known by all, we know that they are practically inevitable and they annoy us greatly. Those small heat attacks come at the least expected time and are a symptom that something is changing.
We all know what the hot flashes associated with menopause are, but it is not entirely clear why they occur. In this article from Health Mentor, we have set out to try to answer all questions related to the appearance of hot flashes in women.
9 Symptoms pointing towards the arrival of menopause.
Are hot flashes related to hormones?
It is known that menopause occurs when a woman reaches a certain age, what she experiences is a decrease in hormones. In the climacteric, the appearance of the first hot flashes warns us of what is coming to us. They will soon be accompanied by another series of changes such as fatigue, depression, fatigue. All of them have been directly associated with that hormonal variation. Hot flashes too.
The easy answer and all logical is yes. But it really does not seem so clear. There is nothing that guarantees and in recent years the medical field has decided to expand the circle of research, coming to relate that sudden sensation of heat with the heart, even with cardiovascular diseases.
| A healthy diet and avoiding hot drinks help us to reduce hot flashes |
Hot flashes in menopause and heart
There are several studies and reports published recently that delves into this relationship. Perhaps the most important is the work done in the United States with about twenty women between the ages of 40 and 60 who were in menopause and postmenopausal and claimed to suffer daily hot flashes.
Their heart rate was monitored and it was discovered that while they suffered one of these sudden attacks of heat the parasympathetic nervous system did not operate in the usual way and there were certain variations. The heart rate changed depending on whether you had hot flashes at that time or not and when the women were in the same state.
Studies that relate hot flashes to possible heart problems do not quite convince the medical community, which is still looking at them suspiciously in the hope that new discoveries in the future will ratify or dismantle this theory.
Thus, to begin with, it is known that practically all women who go through menopause suffer from hot flashes, so their relationship with the cardiac system would mean recognizing that they all have some kind of cardiovascular disease. This would not only be shocking but also dangerous to women's health.
In addition, the hot flashes are also evident during the climacteric. In this way, they are a constant both before menopause, as during as later. It is a symptom that occurs for years, when the hormonal alterations occur. Hence, they have been more closely related to this variation of estrogens.
How long the hot flashes last?
One of the positive aspects of hot flashes, possibly the biggest, is the fact that, as time progresses, the symptom is losing strength and eventually disappears. Thus, when they are more frequent is in the climacteric and serve as a wake-up call to warn us that menopause is approaching. Once this is completed they tend to remit.
It is also in the phase of the climacteric when the sudden attacks of heat occur only at night, which adds to them the feeling of tiredness because they can not sleep and rest as they should. With the passage of time, they extend to other times of the day. Usually, the heat begins to feel in the chest and the neck, it rises to the head and from there it extends to the whole body.
The duration of hot flashes depends on the woman who suffers them. Some have more often and others have more staggered. Some only suffer in the climacteric and the menopause and others also in the time after this one.
The feeling of suffocating heat, which may be accompanied by a sensation of cold, usually lasts for about four or five minutes and occurs several times a day. Sometimes they can last for half an hour so that the palpitations, anxiety, and nervousness in those who suffer it increases considerably.
Fighting with Hot Flashes
As we have seen hot flashes are produced differently in women. There is no treatment today to completely eliminate this sudden sensation of heat, but what is possible is to try to mitigate it as much as possible.
Associated with a loss of hormones, receiving some of those lost estrogens with old age is a way to cope with hot flashes. It is a treatment supervised by a doctor, who has to report its correct use and possible side effects.
There are another set of issues that we can control so that the hot flashes are somewhat less tiring. So, try to be in environments not too hot and, if possible, something colder than usual. Dress in several layers of clothing to make it easy to remove some clothes or do not consume too hot drinks. That way when the hot flashes come, the sensation of heat will not be so overwhelming.
A healthy life, with constant exercise, no smoking, and a healthy diet, can also help reduce hot flashes, eliminate stress and ultimately find us better during menopause. There are a number of alternative techniques like acupuncture that can have beneficial effects.
Finally, there is a classic that never fails. The best way to combat hot flashes is to apply cold gauzes over your face. So during this stage of life, this tends to become the essential accessory for any woman.
