Are Hot Flashes Only Related To Menopause?

Hot flashes are tension-bringers to many women as they (women) tend to associate them with menopause. As much as they are one of the symptoms of menopause, truth be told, not all hot flushes are a sign of the end of a woman’s monthly menstrual cycle i.e. the time the periods cease to occur for good.  By knowing other causes of hot flushes, you can be able to tell if its menopause approaching or not. Hot flushes are characterized by heat and flushing. Sometimes sweating may be involved to the extent that the clothes are left drenched in sweat. In this case, they are referred to as night sweats if they occur during the night. A single hot flush will normally last one to five minutes. In severe cases, they may last more than this. Most women experience hot flushes during their lifetime. When hot flushes are severe, they may interfere with the normal day to day life of a person. They may be embarrassing and cause worry especially when they strike in the presence of people and are accompanied with sweating.

In the event that you start experiencing hot flushes as woman, it is important to determine the actual cause before jumping to the conclusion that it’s menopause. Below are some of the non-menopausal causes of hot flushes.

1. Spicy Foods
When you eat food filled with spices, especially hot pepper, you may experience hot flushes later on. The reason is that these foods dilate blood vessels and stimulate nerve endings. The result of such changes is extreme heat from the body. Try to minimize the spices in your food if you are experiencing this problem and see if it stops. Basically, put as much spices as needed and don’t over indulge in foods that are full of spices. While you are at it, reduce your alcohol intake; it’s also one of the culprits. You may have experienced an extreme warming sensation after taking a few too many and wondered why that happened. Now you know.

2. Emotional causes
Hormonal changes in your body may cause hot flushes. Menopause is not included here in this case. Stress, for example, is one of the major causes. It releases stress hormones that pump up blood flow in the body and in the process cause an extreme heating sensation. Anxiety and tension can also cause this. Hot flushes may also be a sign of an allergic reaction towards certain foods or environmental elements.

3. Medication
One of the side effects of certain prescription medications may be hot flushes. For example, Raloxifene, mainly prescribed for people suffering from osteoporosis, causes hot flushes accompanied by skin flushing. Also, if you are undergoing chemotherapy, you may experience hot flushes. Certain kinds of over-the-counter medications may make you have hot flushes.  If this is the case, discuss with your doctor to determine if the medication is the cause. He/ she may offer alternative medication or ways to minimize the hot flushes.

4. Other conditions
Some disease may cause you to experience hot flushes. Doctors will tell you that hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates temperatures in the body, is the one that triggers hot flushes. As a woman ages, fluctuating estrogen levels may cause the hypothalamus to malfunction. This can be treated using the hormone replacement therapy. Eating and genetic disorders are also possible causes of hypothalamus malfunction.

In some other instances, other menopause symptoms may be mistaken for hot flushes.  Take fever for example. It may be caused by conditions such as urinary tract infections and when it occurs, it gives a hot flush. Hyperthyroidism, a condition that affects the thyroid by making it overactive, may also cause a sensation of overheating that may be mistaken for hot flushes. Seek treatment if you think you might suffering from one of these conditions that may trigger hot flushes. However, before you diagnose yourself, ensure you consult the doctor to determine if you actually have the given condition.

Conclusion
Hot flushes are but one of Menopause symptoms. It is a fact of life for most women during perimenopause and menopause, well except for a few lucky ones. Keeping a diary of the hot flushes will help your doctor determine exactly what triggers them. Elaborate in the diary when they occur, how long they last, how intense they are and your diet before they occur. This way, it will be very easy to rule out possible causes and a step towards eliminating them started. This is especially important if they are affecting your quality of life. Important to note also is that using heated blankets and staying in an overheated room may also trigger this. A cool bath will help lower the temperature back to normalcy.

References
https://www.thebeautyinsiders.com/menopause-supplements
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/anginaberryz/view/7-ways-to-relax-during-menopause-781589

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8 Miserable Symptoms of Menopause & Their Solutions

It’s not possible to just skip menopause and all symptoms that come with it. Although menopause symptoms can be uncomfortable, frustrating, or even annoying to some extent, it’s possible to relieve them to go through this transition as smoothly as possible. So far you’ve probably heard and read about some symptoms that are associated with menopause, and yet there are many of them you haven’t heard about. This article lists 8 menopause symptoms and provides useful tips to relieve them.

1. Hot flashes/night sweats

It’s one of the most uncomfortable and persistent symptoms of menopause. It spreads from your chest to the head and you feel like you’re fighting for the air. At night, you might be even unable to fall asleep due to night sweats. Here are some solutions to this problem:

• Sleep in a cool room
• Try deep, slow abdominal breathing
• Exercise
• Chill pillows 
• Avoid triggers linked with hot flashes such as: caffeine, alcohol, stress, spicy foods, tight clothes, heat, cigarette smoke
• Use menopause supplements as they are formulated to relieve symptoms of menopause including hot flashes/night sweats
• Wear clothes made of natural materials such as cotton, silk 
• Dress in layers to remove easily excess clothes.

2. Irregular sleep patterns

As mentioned above, due to night sweats your sleep pattern will be impaired. Also, hormonal fluctuations are associated with disturbed sleep as well. Here are a few tips that will help you sleep better:

• Create your own bedtime routine
• Go to bed every night at the same time and wake up every morning at the same time as well
• Avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed (and limit the intake of these beverages during menopause anyway)
• Make a cup of chamomile tea 
• Don’t use phone or other gadget in bed
• Take a shower or relaxing bath 
• Wear cotton sleepwear 
• Meditate or practice yoga.
  

3. Heart palpitations

In some women, a racing or pounding feeling in the chest can accompany hot flashes. It is believed heart palpitations are caused by fluctuations of the hormone estrogen. Below, you can see how to tackle this problem:

• Regular aerobic exercise is beneficial for strong and healthy heart
• Eat healthy diet
• Drink plenty of water
• Reduce stress
• Consult your doctor. 

4. Vaginal dryness

Due to hormonal changes, women experience vaginal dryness during menopause. In turn, sexual intercourse becomes painful which makes some women avoid it. In turn, lack of sex has a significant impact on the quality of a relationship or marriage. Plus, vaginal dryness can also lead to infections. Here are some tips you’ll find useful:

• Use lubricant
• Use estrogen supplements such as creams, rings or tablets
• Stay hydrated
• Quit smoking
• Avoid oil-based skin products
• Engage in more foreplay with your partner
• Avoid excessive douching.

5. Skin changes

During menopause, your skin becomes dryer, its texture roughens and some even are more prone to irritations and redness. Furthermore, irritations might lead to itchiness. Since your skin loses elasticity, you might even notice wrinkles showing up faster. Luckily, there are some things you can do to restore the healthy glow and smoothness of your skin:

• Establish a regular skin care regimen
• Exfoliate once or twice a week
• Eat fruits and vegetables
• Use sunscreen throughout the year 
• Consult your doctor about menopause treatments to relieve symptoms. For example, HT is known to improve quality of your skin as well as other symptoms of menopause.

6. Headache/migraine

Headaches and migraines are extremely frequent in menopausal women. Some women develop a migraine even though they didn’t have it before menopause. This severe pain is usually treated with medications, but here are some other tips you’ll find useful:

• Keep a diary of things you do or eat every day to identify migraine trigger and avoid it
• Eat estrogen-boosting foods such as soy, alfalfa, apples, cherries, potatoes, rice, yams, wheat
• Use lavender essential oil to relieve pain e.g. dip a cloth into a bowl of water with a few drops of lavender oil and place the cloth on your head
• Relax in dark room
• Drink a caffeinated beverage (small amount only)
• Don’t skip meals. 

7. Hair changes

This is one of the most unpleasant symptoms of menopause; more facial hair and less scalp hair. You might even notice that your hair isn’t silky and shiny anymore. And you guessed it right, this also happens due to hormonal imbalance. Here are some tips that will help you:

• De-stress
• Taking birth control pills is helpful, but you should bear in mind it’s only temporary solution
• Take abundance of vitamins, particularly vitamins B and E
• Don’t wear a weave or extensions
• Avoid using curling irons or hair straighteners too much.

8. Loss of memory, focus and concentration 

Forgetfulness and inability to concentrate are quite common in menopausal women. In fact, as we age, our concentration and ability to focus decrease and we experience memory lapses frequently. Below, you can see how to deal with this problem when you’re in menopause:

• Make lists
• Call yourself – if you think you’re going to forget some appointment, medications etc. call yourself and leave a message
• Do mind-engaging activities such as Sudoku, crosswords, puzzles etc.
• Use all your senses to remember a certain information
• Get organized
• Socialize
• Get enough sleep
• Manage chronic conditions e.g. kidney or thyroid problems. 

Conclusion

Although symptoms of menopause can be uncomfortable and frustrating, it’s possible to relieve them and go through this important stage of your life as smoothly as possible. Remember, healthy lifestyle is extremely important – exercise, eat healthy foods, and consult your doctor if you’re worried about some symptoms.

References

https://www.thebeautyinsiders.com/menopause-supplements

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The Risks and Side Effects of Premature Menopause

Menopause is a natural transition for women in their early 50’s when the ovaries seize to produce Oestrogen hormones. It could be said that menopause marks the end of the fertile phase in a woman’s life. In certain instances, women experience Premature Menopause where the affected ovaries stop producing the Oestrogens well before the menopausal age.

There are certain known factors that affect the ovaries resulting in early menopause, but there are also cases of Idiopathic Premature Menopause with unknown causes. Early or Premature Menopause is seen in women in their late 30’s. As per the reports of the National Institute on Aging, most women in the United States go through menopause at the average age of 51.

What causes premature menopause?
Premature Menopause or Premature Ovarian Failure (POF) is caused by certain known factors such as:
Genetics
According to the researchers Anna Murray, Claire E Bennette and John R.B Perry et al, the menopause age and chances of premature menopause are most likely inherited in women.  The study was conducted by the researchers on four genetic variants related to premature menopause due to genetics in approximately 2000 women within the age group of >45, and showed that all of the variants indicated increased risk of premature menopause in the study participants.
Another genetic factor that increases the risk of Premature Menopause in women is defective chromosomes. Turner syndrome, Fragile X syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities can result in Premature Ovarian Failure in women.

Autoimmune health issues
A research conducted by Alper, Michael M. MD; Garner and Peter R. MB, Bch in The American College of Gynaecologists shows that out of the 33 patients (susceptible to early menopause) examined for evidence of autoimmune diseases, 39% were diagnosed with autoimmune disorders and 18% of the patients had a family history of autoimmune diseases. Thyroid disorders are most commonly observed in women who are prone to early menopause.

Lifestyle
Lifestyle habits can significantly affect the wellness of an individual, and early menopause is commonly observed in chain smokers. A study conducted by researchers on “Meta-analyses identify 13 novel loci associated with age at menopause and DNA repair and immune pathways” showed an association of smoking with early menopause.

Epilepsy
Researchers Klein P, Serje A and Pezzullo JC from the Department of Neurology, Washington DC, USA found that 14% of 50 study participants with epilepsy had either non-surgical early peri-menopause or menopause. The research showed that women with epilepsy have an increased risk of Premature Ovarian Failure (POF).

Symptoms of Early Menopause
Most women who are prone to Premature Ovarian Failure attain a normal puberty with regular periods, but later on, they may develop missed or infrequent periods. These women also experience infertility as the ovaries fail to produce eggs.  Women with Early Menopause experience Menopause symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, insomnia, decreased sex drive and mood swings with depression. In a nutshell, early menopause symptoms are akin to the menopause symptoms that women experience in their early 50’s.

Side effects of Premature Menopause
There are certain side effects to early menopause in women such as:

• Premature aging - A research presented at the annual gathering of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) in 2014 revealed one of the side effects faced by early menopausal women. The research showed shortened telomeres (structures that sheath DNA) in women with premature menopause. The changes in the telomeres are linked to the egg production by the ovaries. As premature menopausal women have decreased egg count, the aging in their body starts sooner than other women with normal health.

• Infertility - Infertility is one of the severe side effects of early menopause that affect young women emotionally and physically.  As per the statistics, 6%-8% of women with Primary Premature Ovarian Failure succeed in conceiving, but the majority of the women with POF resort to conception through egg donations or they may not conceive at all.

Menopause effects
As early menopause mimics the natural menopause phase, women experience similar side effects to those of natural menopause.

• Thinning of hair
• Hirsutism
• Dry and itchy skin
• Acne outbreak
• Rheumatic pain
• Behavioural changes

Health risks associated with Premature Menopause

• Bone health - As per the study conducted by Gallagher JC at Creighton University, Omaha, USA, women with early menopause are at a higher risk of Osteoporosis. In another study by van Der Voort DJ et al, it was found that early menopause increases the risk of fractures in women.

• Neurological risks - Women who have undergone Oophorectomy- induced early menopause as a result of removing ovaries, have an increased risk of dementia or cognitive impairment according to the Mayo Clinic Cohort Study of Oophorectomy and aging. The same study also shows the prevalence of Parkinsonism in women with induced, early menopause.

• Other health risks - There are other health concerns associated with premature menopause like Cardiovascular disorders, increased risk of ovarian cancer, periodontal diseases leading to tooth loss, colon cancer and an increased susceptibility to the formation of Cataract.

As women with POF fail to produce Oestrogen, they develop sensitivity to many diseases and health risks compared to women with normal health as Oestrogen has many protective benefits for women in their life term. Women with Premature Menopause can find some relief with the use of hormonal treatments used to treat menopause symptoms both in natural menopause ad premature menopause. However, early menopause cannot be reversed.

References:

https://www.thebeautyinsiders.com/menopause-supplements

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How Early Menopausal Hot Flashes Link To Heart Risk

The giant of heart diseases is slowly creeping into the continent and taking away lots of people especially women who are past menopause. This has led to many people assuming that there could be a close link between menopausal symptoms and heart problems. Among the symptoms, it is the hot flushes that have been mostly connected to this problem. More and more people assume that they could have something to do with this risk.

Related Issues
The assumption that hot flushes can increase heart risk has sparked the never ending debate on whether the hot flashes that occur during menopause can lead to heart problems. Many scholars have tried to unravel this mystery with little success. Hot flashes happen when the blood vessels near the skin dilate to cool down. The end result of this is a red face and sometimes sweating.  On the extreme this can lead to difficulty in sleeping or a disruption of the normal working. They are especially common in women undergoing menopause due to hormonal changes in the body.

These flushes happen at different times. Some women get them early as menopause creeps in, others after a few years after the menopause while others get them at a much later stage. All these stages have been proven to have a bearing on the risk of heart problems.

Studies
 However, despite the thorough and numerous researches done, none has been able to fully link early menopausal hot flashes with heart disease. This is to say that women who get these flashes early are at a lower risk of getting heart problems. The risk increases in women who get flushes at an advanced stage of menopause.

However, as much as the risk of heart diseases is high with women who are past menopause, there are no enough grounds to show that it is actually the menopause symptoms that caused the hearts problems. I mean, how can you ascertain that it is the hot flushes that happened a decade ago that caused the heart disease? It is also difficult to get reliable information on when these flushes appeared to the woman. For all we know they could have started early, later in life or never happened at all.
This has however not stopped some researchers from concluding that women who get hot flushes early into their menopause are at a lower risk of getting heart disease. This should however not be taken to mean that hot flashes at the onset of menopause are a sure guarantee that you will never get heart problems or that because you had your flushes later in your menopause now you are destined to die of heart failure. This is not what we are saying: It does not happen that way.

There are numerous factors that increase the risk of heart problems, menopause aside. Factors like high cholesterol levels, smoking and blood pressure can all lead to heart failure even for people who are not undergoing menopause.

Healthy Lifestyle
It is in this regard that you who are on the threshold of menopause or already in should embark on a healthy lifestyle in order to reduce this risk. Proper dieting will for instance keep your weight in check while still ensuring that your cholesterol levels are not high. I know menopause can comes with stress that calls for overeating, but resist it. It can be detrimental to your body and more so to your heart should you become overweight. You should also exercise regularly to burn those calories that usually build up with the onset of menopause. It has been proven that hot flushes are more common in women who are overweight and hence if you are to avoid heart disease after menopause, you have to keep a close tab on your weight.

Conclusion
There is a lot of hullaballoo around hot flushes in menopause. Most people take them as a red flag signaling the impending disaster in the form of heart diseases. Their assumptions are not all wrong because it has been noted that these flushes can actually increase heart risk, especially if they appear after menopause has already started. It is in this light that we can conclude that flashes which start early as menopause creeps in reduce the risk while those that come later on increase it. Therefore, if you get your flashes very early in your menopause, then you are less likely to suffer heart problems in the future. However, early onset of flushes is not a foolproof guarantee of heart diseases never happening. This is because heart problems are caused by a variety of factors and menopausal symptoms are just a tip of the iceberg. This is why you should take a keen interest on your health by eating healthily and exercising in order to fully scrap this risk.

References

https://www.glozine.com/lifestyle/health

https://www.consumerhealthdigest.com/menopause-center/what-is-menopause.html

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