What do you do when you suffer hot flashes? Ask most women and
they will agree that the most common and irritable symptom of
menopause are hot flashes. Some women refer to it as a “flash”
because women report a flushed feeling about the face and neck.
Those feeling usually came together with sweats.
Current theory proposes that certain brain chemicals called
catecholamines and opiates may mediate hot flashes. It’s now
believed that the hypothalamus, one of the glands affected by
estradiol withdrawal, somehow releases a trigger substance that
results in thermoregulatory instability. The body’s signals get
mixed, triggering a warming and sweating sequence, in an effort
to stabilize what it perceives as a change in body temperature.
To help you with that situation, here are 7 tips to cope with
hot flashes which you might need.
1. Dress in layered clothing, preferably cotton, since natural
fibers allow your skin to breathe. Then when you feel a flash
coming on, you can simply shed layers to cool off. Since some
flashes are followed by chills, it can be helpful to have a
sweater to put back on.
2. Limit or eliminate altogether substances that may act as
triggers: caffeine; alcohol; hot, spicy foods; diet pills; hot
tubs; stress.
3. Drink plenty of water. Keeping well hydrated can help
modulate your body temperature.
4. Keep a supply of ice water nearby – even at night beside your
bed.
5. Use lighter blankets or a fan near your bed to deal with hot
flashes at night.
6. Limit your intake of red wine, chocolate, and aged cheeses,
which contain a chemical that can affect your body’s thermostat
and trigger a hot flash.
7. Make use of other coping behaviors. Psychological or
behavioral coping techniques are getting more attention from the
scientific community. For example, a small study conducted by a
professor of psychiatry, Robert R. Freedman, Ph.D., at the
Lafayette Clinic and Wayne State University School of Medicine
in Detroit found that regular, practiced breathing reduced hot
flashes by 50 percent in the study’s 33 participants.
Other self-help behavioral methods include practicing
self-acceptance (remind yourself, out loud if necessary, that
this is a temporary symptom of menopause and perfectly normal),
tracking the emotions and situations that precede a flash (thus
putting some degree of self-control back into the equation), and
trying to keep a sense of humor (share funny moments with
friends who are also going through the transition).