Hot flashes or hot flushes is a typical symptom of perimenopause or menopause that is characterized by sudden rise in body temperature often resulting in subsequent heavy perspiration and excessive flushing. This common symptom is usually experienced along with increased heartbeats and intense feeling of heat.
Classification of Hot Flashes
In the field of medicines they are further classified in to two categories…standard and ember. While occurrence of both types is instant, standard are usually intense with a duration of few minutes while ember flashes can be experienced for 30 to 45 minutes with less and fluctuating intensity.
Typical Characteristics
- The intense feeling of heat starts in the facial region first and then at chest. Gradually your entire body will start experiencing the intense heat sensation.
- Intense and frequent hot flashes may lead to intense face reddening, night sweats and sleepless nights, which can further lead to impaired concentration and mood swings.
- Commonly observed in women going through perimenopausal or menopausal phase, usually in mid forties.
- However, cases of young women in their thirties experiencing hot flashes are not uncommon.
What Happens Exactly?
First, let us understand why we all feel the sensation of heat and subsequent flushing and perspiration. Normal human body temperature varies between 96.80 F and 99.50 F. We have in-built temperature regulation mechanism in our bodies to keep our temperature within these limits of thermoneutral zone. This thermoneutral zone is controlled by hypothalamus, a glad present in our brain. When the human body gets hot (after exercise or in summer), hypothalamus receives signals from sensory organs that eventually sens signals to blood vessels to dilate. Blood vessels expand and release more blood to body surface and sweating starts that ultimately results in cooling effect and getting the thermoneutral zone back.
Now the question arises…why women experience hot flashes even during normal scenario when atmosphere is not so high. The reason lies in the changes that occur during perimenopause or menopause in woman’s body. During this period, numerous hormonal changes do occur resulting in fluctuating levels of hormones. This upsets the temperature regulatory mechanism. In such case, even if there is slight fluctuation within the thermoneutral zone, hypothalamus receives the sensory signal of increased heat and acts to regulate the body temperature.
