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Women's Health Is it normal for hot flashes to last long after menopause begins? October 5, Ask the doctor Menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes may last for years after menopause begins. Image: iStock Q. Print This Page Click to Print. It helps to know what triggers them first. Take note of each incident, including which foods you ate before the hot flash. A symptom journal can help you narrow down your hot flash triggers and determine which lifestyle changes to make to reduce your symptoms and prevent hot flashes.
Your doctor can also use the journal to help make a diagnosis. To deal with hot flashes while pregnant, keep rooms cool and wear loose clothing.
Rinse your face with cold water, and try to avoid hot and crowded areas. If beta-blockers , hyperthyroidism , or antithyroid medications are causing your hot flashes, there are medications you can use to relieve your symptoms. In extreme cases, surgery may be necessary to remove the malfunctioning areas of the thyroid gland.
Note that using some of these prescription drugs for hot flashes is considered off-label use. However, a doctor can still use the drug for that purpose.
This is because the FDA regulates the testing and approval of drugs, but not how doctors use drugs to treat patients.
So, your doctor can prescribe a drug however they think is best for your care. Some people prefer to use natural or alternative remedies to treat their hot flashes. One option is acupuncture. A study of women experiencing four or more menopause symptoms a day found that acupuncture significantly reduced their menopause symptoms, including hot flashes and night sweats.
Herbs and supplements touted as menopause remedies are also sold at many drugstores. Below are herbs and supplements that are sometimes used for symptoms of menopause. Research on them has been inconclusive. Larger, higher-quality studies are needed. Native to North America, the black cohosh root is one of the most popular herbal remedies for hot flashes. Research is mixed, with some studies indicating that it helps ease symptoms and others indicating that it has no noticeable effect. Dong quai is a plant native to East Asia.
Very few studies have looked specifically at its effect on menopause. The studies that do exist concluded that its effects were insignificant. Evening primrose oil is extracted from a flower.
A small study of menopausal women found that over the course of 6 weeks, two milligram doses could lead to significant improvements in hot flashes. Study participants saw a 39 percent improvement in frequency, a 42 percent improvement in severity, and a 19 percent improvement in duration.
By all measures, evening primrose oil was more effective than the placebo. What are hot flashes? What causes them to happen? Hot flashes are the hallmark symptom of menopause. If the hypothalamus senses that a woman is too warm, it starts a chain of events to cool her down. Blood vessels near the surface of the skin begin to dilate enlarge , increasing blood flow to the surface in an attempt to dissipate body heat. This produces a red, flushed look to the face and neck in light-skinned women.
It may also make a woman perspire to cool the body down. Women may sense their hearts beating faster. A cold chill often follows a hot flash. A few women experience only the chill. Menopause-related hot flashes usually follow a consistent pattern unique to each woman, but the pattern differs greatly from woman to woman. Some hot flashes are easily tolerated, some can be annoying or embarrassing, and others can be debilitating.
Is menopause the only cause of hot flashes? Other medical conditions such as thyroid disease, infection, or rarely cancer can cause hot flashes too.
Drug therapies such as tamoxifen for breast cancer, raloxifene for osteoporosis, and some antidepressants produce them as well. How long will I have hot flashes?
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