Hot Flashes

Hot flashes are a widespread issue for women as they navigate through perimenopause and menopause. If hot flashes and night sweats are interrupting your sleep and affecting your ability to function during the day , talk to board-certified gynecologist Kristen Matsik, MD, at Women’s Wellness and Sexual Health in Charleston, South Carolina. Dr. Matsik is a menopause expert offering effective therapies to combat vasomotor symptoms. To schedule an appointment, reach out using the online booking feature today. 

What are hot flashes?

A hot flash feels like an intense warmth that flows throughout your body. It might start in your head and rapidly spread as though you were being immersed in hot water from top to toe. Hot flashes can redden your skin, so your face and chest look flushed, and you may sweat excessively. 

Hot flashes come on quickly, so one minute, everything’s normal, and the next, a heatwave consumes you, and you start sweating profusely. They may be severe enough to cause faintness. Hot flashes often occur during the night, triggering night sweats where you wake up with the sheets soaked through with sweat. 

Hot flashes usually only last a few moments before fading. However, they might persist for longer, and you may experience them frequently — sometimes continually. Many women find hot flashes unpleasant, and they can also be embarrassing if they occur when others are around.

Why am I experiencing hot flashes?

Hot flashes are a leading symptom of perimenopause and menopause. Perimenopause happens when women reach their forties and stop producing the same quantities of the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone.

It’s a natural process lasting several years until you reach menopause when you stop producing eggs and can’t bear children anymore. Falling hormone levels cause various symptoms, including hot flashes and night sweats.

Hot flashes can sometimes affect women who undergo chemotherapy cancer treatment before menopause or surgical ovary removal (oophorectomy).

What can I do to manage hot flashes?

Keeping cool helps with hot flashes, so wear clothing in easily removable layers, have cold drinks at hand, and carry a battery-powered fan. Avoid foods or drinks that can trigger a hot flash, like alcohol, caffeine, and spices. You might benefit from learning meditation, mindfulness, or yoga techniques.

Women’s Wellness and Sexual Health also offers medication that can help reduce hot flashes. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), containing estrogen, is particularly effective for hot flashes and night sweats. Other medications that may help include:

• Some antidepressants
• Gabapentin anti-seizure and nerve pain medication
• A non-hormonal drug that targets receptors in the hypothalamus

Your provider will perform a comprehensive review of your history and help you make an informed decision about treating hot flashes.

Call Women’s Wellness and Sexual Health to arrange an appointment or schedule a consultation online today.