Hot flashes are one of the most common, if not the most ubiquitous sign of menopause as well as perimenopause amongst older women. Average age for menopause (and perimenopause) is pegged at 51 years of age in the United States but may range from 44 to 55 years. This is due to the body’s cessation of production of estrogen during menopause (and perimenopause) which leads to a disruption in the body’s production of epinephrine and norepinephrine which then leads to vasomotor instability.

In the United States, 70-80% of women going through menopause experience “hot flashes” or what is otherwise known as a vasomotor flush in varying degrees of intensity. During the occurrence of a hot flash, there is an increase in the skin’s surface temperature causing the woman’s upper body and face to become hot, sweaty and tinged by the telltale flushing for which it was named after.

Hot flashes occur in the body’s respiratory center (the Hypothalamus) and are associated with the decline in estrogen production. Other symptoms that accompany hot flashes during menopause are an increased heart rate, heart palpitations, night sweats etc. Since hot flashes mostly occur during night, of the following symptoms, hot flashes are therefore the most sleep-disruptive.

There are many products out in the market today aimed at targeting menopausal women intent on relieving their hot flashes. What seems to be the most widely-used of these treatments is what is known to many as Hormone Replacement Therapy. Hormone Replacement Therapy is usually prescribed in one or two forms. One is the giving of Estrogen which can be given alone to women who no longer have their uterus, or a combination of Estrogen and Progesterone. The latter is recommended for women who still have their uteruses as progesterone has been known to have some anti-cancer properties.