Home Remedies For Menopausal Hot Flashes Whether you’re a menopausal-aged woman or prematurely experiencing hot flashes, you’ll welcome any form of relief from this uncomfortable symptom. Even when the room or the outside temperature is cold, a hot flash can send clothes flying in just a matter of seconds.
Some women have mild hot flashes while other women report that a hot flash makes them feel as if their body is on fire. A typical hot flash can last for around one minute and it’s not uncommon for a hot flash to hang on for up to five minutes straight. The information below answers many questions you may have about hot flashes and offers various home remedies to lessen these occurrences.
What Causes Menopausal Hot Flashes?
There aren’t any real answers as to why some women have frequent episodes of hot flashes and other women never have any at all while going through menopause. Some researchers suggest that hot flashes and night sweats during menopause are caused by modifications in the reproductive hormones. Other studies suggest that they occur because the body’s inner thermostat, the hypothalamus, becomes extra sensitive to varying temperatures.
Popular Home Remedies For Hot Flashes
There are various home remedies that many women try and some offer good results. Although all of the remedies won’t work for everyone, you should attempt them all to see which ones really help to decrease the number of hot flashes you have each day.
(1) Cut Out The Caffeine
Caffeine may cause some women to have more hot flashes, so it doesn’t hurt to try and cut back on the coffee drinking every morning or throughout the day if you like sipping java all day long. If you just can’t function without the taste of coffee in the morning, drink decaffeinated coffee as a substitute. Other caffeinated drinks, such as sodas and tea, should also be avoided so you can learn if this has any effect on the hot flashes.
(2) Cool Your Body
If possible, keep the temperature inside the house a bit cooler than you normally do and use fans to keep cool air circulating around your body. Looser clothing can also keep your body cooler and wearing lighter-colored clothing, such as white and yellow, and avoiding dark shades, such as black and navy blue, can also help with the intensity of hot flashes. A cool shower or bath can offer quick hot flash relief and it will make you feel refreshed after breaking out in a sweat during a hot flash.
(3) Try Popular Herbs
Some women swear by the use of herbs to control their hot flashes. Before taking any type of herbal supplement, women should speak with their doctor to make sure that the product is okay for them to take and that it won’t cause any negative reactions with their existing medications.
• Flaxseed Oil (contains natural lignans similar to estrogen. It is thought to help estrogen levels stabilize)
• Black Cohosh (this one is effective at preventing excess sweating)
• Red Clover– contain isoflavones which are phyto-estrogens that have shown the ability to reduce intensity and frequency of hot flashes.
• Evening Primrose Oil- acts as a sleep aid due to high gamma linolenic acid count and increased prostaglandin production
• Chickweed- daily use is said to greatly lessen the severity and number of hot flashes
Taking a vitamin E capsule once daily also helps some women control bouts of hot flashes during menopause.
Additional Home Remedies
Eating hot or spicy foods may contribute to excessive hot flashes and women should concentrate on eating healthy meals that are well-balanced. Foods that contain soy is another home remedy that seems to work well for some women.
Additional home remedies include:
4. getting at least 30 minutes of exercise every day
5. quitting smoking
6. trying to avoid stressful situations
all of which can increase the frequency of hot flashes.
If the hot flashes tend to occur mostly at night, avoid synthetic bedding as synthetic fibers cause more perspiration than natural fibers such as cotton or bamboo.
Women who are miserable because of frequent hot flashes can try the home remedies listed above to get relief. Incorporating several of these remedies into your lifestyle can considerably diminish the frequency of your hot flashes.