If you are over 45 years old, you may be experiencing hot flashes caused by premenopause or menopause.
Premenoupause is early onset menopause, usually beginning before age 45.
Viola Davis, 51, recently discussed her experience with hot flashes.
The How to Get Away with Murder star sat down with late night talk TV host Jimmy Kimmel.
The Oscar nominated actress described living with the symptoms of menopause.
“Can I just tell you, I had about five hot flashes during the Emmy Awards? So smiling during a hot flash is a hard thing,” she said.
“It’s like someone set you on fire for two minutes,” she replied. “Listen they come in successions sometimes, so as soon as one is over then another one comes. Everyone else is like, ‘It’s freezing! It’s freezing!’ and you have sweat dripping…”
Hot flashes is one of the dreaded symptoms of menopause. But not all hot flashes are caused by menopause.
Hot flashes are caused by a sudden drop in female hormone levels.
Hot flash symptoms include:
What causes hot flashes?
A sudden drop in hormones, particularly Estrogen, sends a signal to a part of the brain that regulates body temperature.
Your brain thinks your body is overheated when it’s not.
Your brain increases production of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and leuteinizing hormone (LH). These hormones regulate your body temperature, sleep, and metabolic rate.
Blood vessels in the skin dilate to release the excess heat even though your body temperature is normal.
When the blood vessels dilate, the sudden rush of heat causes the skin to feel hot and sweaty.
Hot flashes can last from seconds to over an hour and up to 20 hot flashes per day.
Some women continue to experience hot flashes up to 15 years.
Treatment with HRT
Hot flashes can be treated by replacing estrogen through hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
HRT is known to cause breast cancer. If you have a history of breast cancer in your family, your doctor may not prescribe HRT for you. But there are natural treatment options available to relieve hot flashes.
As someone who is taking hormone replacement myself, HRT relieved my hot flashes 100% .
Once you’re on HRT you will never feel a hot flash again — as long as you are taking the right dosage and your hormones are balanced.
The tricky part is finding a doctor in your area who is very experienced with hormone replacement. Many doctors take a one-size-fits-all approach to HRT.
Hormone replacement patches can be expensive and most are not covered by insurance.
Avoid HRT pellets that are inserted under your skin. They’re expensive and cause unwanted side effects, such as hair loss, skin irritation, weight gain, etc.
This has been your Medical Minute.
