Hot Flashes: What Causes Them?

You’ve heard all about hot flashes, possibly from films and TV shows, where older women at the brink of menopause are the target of gags and punchlines. But do you really know what causes them? 

Hot flashes are primarily associated with hormonal changes that occur during menopause. But they vary from one individual to the next. For instance, some people might not notice the symptoms of hot flashes. For others, the symptom is intense enough to disrupt their daily lives. The severity, duration, and intensity of feeling are also different for each individual. 

What Do Hot Flashes Feel Like?

A hot flash is a sudden feeling of acute heat, accompanied by sweating and flushing. It starts mainly in the neck, upper body, and around the head. It is one of the common symptoms women approaching or already in the early stages of menopause experience. 

The Causes of Hot Flashes

Any changes in the body you’ve known for such a long time can feel scary. But arming yourself with knowledge gives you greater control over those fears. As women approach menopause, the level of estrogen in the body begins to fall. This affects the function of the hypothalamus, which is an important part of your brain. The hypothalamus is responsible for controlling your sleep patterns, body temperature, appetite, and even sex hormones. 

But according to health experts, once the estrogen levels in your body drop, they throw the hypothalamus or simply your body’s thermostat off kilter. Sometimes it works as expected, and other times it sends out “too hot” signals. Naturally, the confusion that follows is to be expected. 

Once your brain receives these “too hot” reports, it presses the emergency button sending warning signals to other vital parts of the body. For instance, the heart, blood vessels, and the entire nervous system receive an alert to immediately rid the body of the excess heat. The urgent nature of the alerts causes the body systems to “drop everything else” and start responding immediately. But how?

• Your heart begins to pump faster

• Your skin’s blood vessels dilate allowing the circulation of more blood – this is meant to fan off the heat

• Your sweat glands work extra hard to release more sweat to help you cool off

This heat-releasing process is very similar to how your body responds in the summer to prevent you from overheating. However, since hot flashes are suddenly triggered by the dropping of estrogen, your brain gives out a confusing response. That in turn causes a lot of discomfort.

This is What Causes the Discomfort

You see, during those hot flashes, your skin temperature can suddenly rise, and the heat causes your body to work extra hard to cool itself down. This can even mean that you sweat profusely at a time when you least expect it – in the middle of a meeting, your daily routine, or even while you are asleep. The ones that appear at night (labelled night sweats) are especially pesky. What’s worse is that this can often be accompanied by heart palpitations and dizziness. 

Some Other Causes of Hot Flashes

Apart from menopause, some hormonal therapies can lower the level of estrogen in your body leading to hot flash episodes. The same case applies to therapies blocking estrogen’s effects, such as tamoxifen, and letrozole, among others.

So if you are approaching menopause, are in menopause, or post-menopause, and already experiencing hot flashes, they might intensify once you start using such medications.