The most frequent symptom of menopause, hot flashes or hot flushes can be annoying, embarrassing and even sleep disrupting if they happen at night. As a symptom of menopause, hot flashes will occur during the phases of peri-menopause and menopause. They will decrease in severity as you progress through menopause.
How do I know if I have hot flashes?
- Red, flushed faces
- Sweating
- Rapid Heart Rate
- Chills
How can I prevent hot flashes?
Avoid these triggers to help prevent hot flashes during menopause:
- Stress
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Spicy foods
- Tight clothing
- Heat
- Cigarette smoke
How can I treat hot flashes?
- Dress cooly, in layers, so that you can control your body temperature easily.
- Keep a personal fan at your side so you can cool off quickly.
- Ditch the PJ’s. You’ll be able to handle those night sweats a bit more easily.
- Keep a journal and figure out if there are any food triggers such as spicy foods or chocolate then avoid these.
- Relax! Relaxing will help to end the flash sooner and avoid drawing attention to it.
- Work on de-stressing in general. Stress can cause hot flashes even when you’re not in menopause.
- Increase your vitamin E intake, it has been shown to decrease hot flashes.
- Black cohosh is as effective as estrogen replacement.
- Flaxseed oil with Omega-3’s helps to reduce menopause symptoms.
- Chickweed in a tincture helps to reduce the number and severity of hot flashes.
- Red clover has phyto-estrogens which helps to control a number of menopause symptoms including hot flashes.
- Sage tea helps to reduce hot flashes, improve digestion, diarrhea and headaches.
