Many women that I have asked and so far NO ONE LIKES HOT FLASHES”. While many of them have never experienced hot flashes before now wonder why they are “just getting a little hot today and different days”. Many people who are suffering reply that it's awful and bad to be polite about it, However, “HOT FLASHES” are sometimes very miserable!
One bit of good news though, although hot flashes are not normal/healthy, there are some solutions to decrease and even eliminate them completely!
Hot flashes are a warmth that may stay locally on the face and or chest, or even in the mid to upper back regions. They can be associated with red flushing or tingling or pin prick sensations, nausea, tiredness, sweating, rapid heartbeat and sometime a feeling of chills just before or just after the hot flash. However, it is not uncommon to need a sweater on and off through out the day or covers off several times during night.
Hot flashes are not just limited to women. Men have them too. Mostly men have them as a side effect of a medication they are taking or when hormone levels drop too low.
While looking deeply for the “cause” it is important to differentiate between what causes them, what triggers them and what are complications/the risk factors. You are more likely to get hot flashes if you smoke, or are obese.
Complicating factors would be things such as insomnia due to waking with hot flashes or lack of exercise because exercise brings them on.
Trigger factors may include: Caffeine, alcohol, sugar, spicy foods and even some hot temperature foods. Also medications may trigger or cause hot flashes. Hot weather or a hot room can trigger a hot flash, or many hot flashes! If anytime a woman says, “I need a cool room” or even a man, because they feel and say, “I cannot deal with these hot flashes” it is because they are suffering miserably during a “hot flash”.
What Causes all these is more complicated!!! The underlying cause can create stress over the sufferer's organs weakening them and also causing the stress that also triggers their “HOT FLASH”.
More experiences that could be had are emotional stress, physical stress, nervousness and a feeling of embarrassment.
The overall causes can be grouped into (3) three categories:
- Organ/Gland health
- Nutrition (what you eat or do not eat or drink)
- and lifestyle (activity levels, toxic exposures, stress, etc.).
In whole health care, if we are to resolve hot flashes, we must look at all the pieces of the puzzle responsible for “hormonal imbalances”. We need to know how each, and every organ is doing their job – especially the Liver, Hypothalamus, Thyroid, Adrenals, Pituitary, Large & Small Intestines, and even the Fatty Tissues play a role in your hormonal balance.
Of course, also needed is to know about your daily habits, supplements/vitamins that may be worsening the condition, lifestyle which may consist of high-risk factors, triggers, complicating factors, and overall causes. Assessing all these things gives us the knowledge and the tools to resolve hot flashes forever!
