What are Hot Flashes?
Hot flashes are basically the sudden raise in the temperature of the body without any external trigger. Though a woman can face such a scenario during her normal menstrual cycles too, it is most prevalent during menopause and pregnancy. Hot flashes are basically related to the changes in the hormonal states.
The Symptoms
You could be experiencing hot flashes in a mild fashion or in a severe manner. If it is in a severe manner, you will experience acute heightened body temperature for some time interval. You may turn red and feel too warm. If it is mild, you will experience mild increase in body temperature. Sometimes you may not even notice it.
Minimizing Hot Flashes
Since hormonal imbalances during menopause are non-avoidable, you could instead work on minimizing the occurrence of hot flashes. The following list encompasses some guidelines to decrease the chances of experiencing hot flashes.
- Visit a doctor and find out if there is any medication you can get or the ways in which you can soothe the symptoms of menopause.
- Strictly avoid spicy food, acidic eatables (like pickles, tomatoes etc), drugs and tobacco products.
- Watch what you drink too. Completely avoid alcoholic drinks and keep away caffeine intake as much as possible. If you are particularly in places like meetings or get-togethers where you wouldn’t want to experience hot flashes and turn all red, avoid drinking coffee or tea.
- Until your condition is in control avoid getting into saunas, steams or hot tubs. These will further contribute to the raise in the temperature
- Keep your mind calm and stress free.
- Try to be in cool surroundings
- Wear comfortable clothes. You can wear many layers of clothes. In case you get hot flashes, you can remove one layer of clothing until the flash effect depletes.
- Stay close to your family and friends. Hormonal imbalance causes a lot of mental stress too, so having a supportive circle will ease your discomfort.
- There are home remedies that you can try but don’t do it without the doctor’s consent. You can take a mixture of 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar and 2 tbsp of water daily. Or you can take one cup filled with soy milk everyday.
- Try and reduce your sugar and caffeine consumption and incorporate Vitamin E supplement in your diet after consulting a doctor.
- Exercise regularly at least for half an hour.
- There also are some herbal remedies available. But don’t push yourself into these without proper information and consent of your doctor.
- If you are experiencing hot flashes during pregnancy, then you can be sure that it is going to be for very small period, especially during the child birth. Wear comfortable clothes and follow the guidelines listed above (except for exercising of course).
Hot flashes are not dreadful diseases. However, they can get very obstructive and stressful if not handled properly. So, use the tips in this article and prevent hot flashes from happening.
