How To Effectively Manage Hot Flushes During Menopause

If you’ve ever experienced a hot flush before, you’ll know first-hand just how disruptive they can be. The abrupt, sudden sense of heat in your face and upper body, flushed skin and unpleasant sweating. Hot flushes aren’t at the top of anyone’s list of favourite activities, and for menopausal women, finding effective ways to manage this unwelcome symptom is often the highest priority once menopause begins to introduce itself.

While some women will experience hot flushes with more intensity than others, their propensity for occurring at random times (and often at inopportune moments – like the middle of a meeting you’ve prepared for for months!) means that finding ways to minimise their impact or prevent them altogether, is key to navigating menopause with a sense of calm and control.

In this article, we will discuss more about hot flushes and provide a number of coping strategies that can help you effectively manage them throughout your menopause experience.

How are hot flushes triggered?

Hot flushes are largely the result of underlying hormonal fluctuations, making them synonymous for many individuals with their menopause journey at large. During menopause, the levels of oestrogen naturally produced by the body decrease significantly, having a direct impact on the body’s ability to regulate its temperature. This hormonal imbalance then causes the hypothalamus to become sensitised, which is responsible for controlling the body’s temperature regulation. When this part of the brain senses an increase, it can initiate a hot flush to release this excess heat. 

The result? Sweating, redness, and discomfort hitting you out of the blue and often leaving you desperately seeking immediate relief. 

It’s not all just internal, however, with a range of environmental factors also playing a role in contributing to hot flushes. Warm temperatures, tight clothing, spicy food or hot drinks can all contribute to a higher core temperature, resulting in a hot flush. For menopausal women, it becomes increasingly important to maintain a cool environment that reduces the risk of environmental impacts increasing their hot flushes, as well as making mindful lifestyle and diet choices that help to reduce this risk.

Did you know that stress and anxiety can also trigger hot flushes? As emotional stress can directly trigger the body’s ‘fight or flight’ response, this can lead to increases in heart rate and body temperature, setting the scene for a hot flush to follow in their footsteps. This is just one of the reasons why relaxation and stress-reduction strategies are at the forefront of menopausal lifestyle recommendations, helping to reduce the impact of emotional triggers on physical hot flushes.

Smoking and obesity can also lead to an increase in both the frequency and intensity of hot flushes, influencing how body temperature is regulated. 

With a range of lifestyle factors contributing to individual experiences of hot flushes, evaluating your own habits can be a helpful step in identifying the likely culprits behind your recurring menopausal symptoms. 

Not every response to these common triggers is the same, however, with individual hot flush experiences ranging significantly. With no one-size-fits-all approach, monitoring your own hot flushes, as well as any triggers that reveal patterns, is crucial in building a strategy that reduces their impact on your wellbeing. 

Treatment options for hot flushes

There are a wide range of treatment options that can help to reduce both the severity and the frequency of hot flushes. As with the triggers that can lead to a hot flush, the treatments that are effective in minimising them can vary from individual to individual. Consulting with your healthcare professional can help you assess which treatment pathways may be most suitable for your individual hot flush experiences.

These treatments can include:

• Lifestyle modifications – as certain lifestyle factors play a clear role in the intensity and frequency of hot flushes, modifying any specific lifestyle triggers is one simple way to begin to reduce their impact. Steer clear of food and drink that may lead to a hot flush (including spicy foods, processed sugar, caffeine, and alcohol), drink plenty of water, and reduce your stress levels wherever possible to make a positive impact on your management of this frustrating menopause symptom.
• Over-the-counter solutions – some supplements can help to reduce the impact of hot flushes, as well as products that are designed to provide strategic cooling support. Your healthcare professional can guide you towards the over-the-counter treatment options that may be useful during this menopausal stage.
• Medical treatments – for many women, hot flushes can have a severe, detrimental impact on their ability to function daily. This is where medical interventions can play a key role in minimising their impact. Hormone replacement therapy has proven to be of significant relief to many Australian women, reducing the intensity of all manners of menopause symptoms throughout each stage of their menopausal experience. 
• Alternative therapies – acupuncture, hypnosis, and a range of alternative therapies can also be of value when it comes to reducing the impact of hot flushes. For women looking for more flexibility in their treatments, pursuing targeted alternative therapies can offer holistic approaches to managing this symptom, as well as contributing to a higher quality of daily life through effective symptom management.

Building your personal management plan

As with every aspect of menopause, it’s important to build a personal approach that’s supportive of your daily needs and wellbeing. You can develop a personalised management plan that helps you minimise the impact of hot flushes through careful lifestyle modifications.

This plan begins with diligent and consistent observation. Take notes of individual triggers that correlate to your hot flush experiences, as well as when they occur, how intense they are, and how you were able to find relief (if possible). This monitoring can form the foundation of an ongoing strategy that’s tailored to your individual health needs, and can be assessed by your healthcare team to ensure it’s as effective as possible.

Conclusion

As with any of menopause’s symptoms, hot flushes don’t need to control your world. Careful lifestyle modifications, consultations with professionals, and the adoption of strategic treatment plans can all play a role in minimising their disruptive impact on your wellbeing.

To find crucial, expert support for reducing the impact of hot flushes throughout your menopausal journey, contact the team at Australian Menopause Centre.