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Hot Flashes & Night Sweats
Hot flashes is a very common symptom in menopausal and peri-menopausal women. Almost all women can expect to experience hot flashes at some point in their lives. Hot flashes are usually characterized by the feeling of being hot and a flushed or reddened complexion, all due to a drop in body temperature. These symptoms may also occur with sweating, palpitations, and a feeling of panic or anxiety. A hot flash may last anywhere from a few seconds to ten minutes, and occur as often as every hour to several times a week. More than three in four women experience hot flashes during menopause, and a third of post-menopausal women will have symptoms lasting five years or longer.
Hot flashes occur more often in women with low hormonal levels, low body weight, smokers, African-American women and those who engage in very little physical activity. For most women who undergo hot flashes the symptoms are almost unbearable, and at the very least, an irritation..
Cause
Scientists have noted that the symptoms associated with hot flashes occur because of a decrease in hormonal levels. This decrease can affect neurotransmitters in the brain that control the body’s temperature. Researchers are not still exactly certain how the decrease in hormonal levels is able to achieve this effect. They have found, however, that progesterone is effective in reducing hot flashes when given as a skin cream, or oral tablet or vaginal gel. In studies, hot flashes were reduced two to five times more often than with a placebo.
Prescription vs. Natural
HRT, or Hormone Replacement Therapy, is the process frequently employed by doctors to treat women who are experiencing the effects of menopause and/or a decrease in their hormonal balance. Such hormone treatment, while effective, carries with it several side effects. For example, progesterone and the male hormone androgen, while proven to be effective in reducing hot flashes, can promote weight gain, bloating, blood clots in leg veins, vaginal bleeding (in as much as thirty percent of women on the hormone therapy), acne, and hair growth on the face and body. Other prescription drugs used to treat hot flashes have been shown to cause dry mouth, dizziness, fainting, constipation, headaches, nausea and other unpleasant symptoms.
There are alternative treatments. They are not as publicized, nor are they typically prescribed from a doctor’s office because they are a natural alternative to prescription drugs. There have been studies done to show that these alternatives have proven more effective than any placebo, and in effect mimic the beneficial effects of estrogen or progesterone, and other hormones.
There are choices available to individuals suffering from hot flashes, night sweats and other menopausal symptoms. You can increase the support you give your body in a natural way, without the risks of prescription drugs, and still experience relief with long-lasting benefits.