Hot Flashes Treatments

When it comes to hot flashes treatment, patience is essential. Because hot flash duration and frequency can be extremely variable, it can take some time before a woman finds an adequate treatment. Fortunately, it is more than possible to find an effective treatment for hot flash relief. Read on to learn about the safest and most effective methods for hot flashes treatment.

Hot Flashes	In order to determine the most effective hot flashes treatment, it is a good idea to begin by keeping track of the circumstances around which they occur so that one may stop hot flashes. For example, noting the time of the episode, current emotional state (e.g. stress level), food and drink consumed around episode, clothing worn, and methods of attempted relief (successful or not). This information can help a woman to determine what is triggering her hot flashes, which may help her determine what treatment is most effective. Read on to learn about the three main approaches to hot flashes treatment. Three approaches for treating hot flashes A woman wishing to treat hot flashes has three categories, or levels, of treatment available to her: (1) Lifestyle Changes, (2) Alternative Medicine and (3) Drugs and Surgery.
Hot Flashes Overview About Hot Flashes What are hot flashes? Sign and symptoms Risk factors Causes of Hot Flashes Hormonal causes Other causes Managing Hot Flashes Survival Tips Avoiding Triggers Hot Flashes Treatments

Women are encouraged to begin with the least risky approach to hot flashes treatment -lifestyle adjustments. While these are often effective at curbing hot flashes, they alone do nothing to address the underlying causes of hot flashes -hormonal imbalance. Fortunately, natural remedies can be combined with lifestyle changes to provide a safe and effective hot flashes treatment. While medical intervention is not usually necessary to stop hot flashes, some women may wish to consider drug options if they are unable to find relief from natural hot flashes treatment. For women considering this option, it is important to understand, and carefully weigh, the risks associated with such hot flashes treatment.

1: Lifestyle Changes for Hot Flashes:

Lifestyle changes are the first level of treatment available to women. While this hot flashes treatment is usually cost-free and virtually risk-free, they do require the greatest amount of self-discipline. Believe it or not, daily behaviors can have a significant impact a woman's experience of hot flashes. For example, eating a spicy dinner or having one too many glasses of wine with dessert can trigger hot flashes. Increased stress due to work pressure or family  obligations can  also  set  a

hot flash into motion. Lifestyle adjustments are two-pronged: some strategies focus on avoiding triggers while others concentrate on increasing overall health (some overlap in the two exists, as one would expect).

Avoiding triggers: • Dress in removable layers • Wear natural breathable fibers • Avoid constrictive clothing • Reduce consumption of hot drinks • Reduce alcohol and caffeine intake • Turn down the thermostat • Apply a cold wet compress to cool   down • Avoid spicy or hot foods

Increasing Overall Health: • Practice slow, diaphragmatic breathing • Eat a balanced diet • Increase Vitamin E intake to   800mg/day • Increase Vitamin B intake • Increase soy protein intake • Exercise regularly • Consider meditation, yoga, visualization   or other methods of stress relief

Making lifestyle changes as a hot flashes treatment is easier said than done. For example, some triggers can be hard to avoid: it may be possible to skip that extra glass of wine but virtually impossible to avoid work-related stress. It can also be difficult to suddenly and drastically change habits and preferences you may have had your whole life.

Moreover, while this changes will help alleviate many symptoms, they do not address the cause of hot flashes: hormonal imbalance. Fortunately, alternative medicine treatments are available to treat the root hormonal imbalance that causes hot flashes. This natural hot flashes treatment has a much lower risk of side effects, compared to medical hormonal treatments. Read on to learn more about natural hot flashes treatment.

2: Alternative Treatments for Hot Flashes:

Alternative approaches involve little to no risk and can be an extremely effective way to treat hot flashes. This level of approach can involve several different therapies. Herbal remedies are the most prominent, though in addition women may turn to such techniques as acupuncture, biofeedback, massage, homeopathy, or hypnosis. All of these can be valid and effective options, though most women find that herbal remedies are the easiest alternative treatment to follow, as the others require a greater time and monetary commitment. In addition, herbal remedies are the only viable option to treat the hormonal imbalance directly at its source.

In the case of herbal remedies, there are two types of herbs that can be used in the treatment of hot flashes: phytoestrogenic and non-estrogenic herbs. Phytoestrogenic herbs (e.g. Black Cohosh) contain estrogenic components produced by plants. These herbs, at first, do treat the underlying hormonal imbalance behind hot flashes by introducing these plant-based estrogens into the body. However, as a result of adding outside hormones, a woman´s body may become less capable of producing estrogen on its own. This causes a further decrease of the body´s own hormone levels.

By contrast, non-estrogenic herbs, as the name suggests, don't contain any estrogen. These herbs stimulate a woman´s hormone production by nourishing the pituitary and endocrine glands, causing them to more efficiently produce natural hormones. This ultimately results in balancing not only estrogen but other pertinent hormones such as progesterone. Non-estrogenic herbs (e.g. Macafem) can be considered the safest way to treat hot flashes naturally as the body creates its own hormones and doesn´t require any outside assistance.

A combination of approaches is usually the most effective route to take. Lifestyle changes combined with alternative medicine will most likely be the best way to alleviate the symptoms of this hormonal imbalance. While this approach is optimal for many women, others will find that they want or need to go to the third level of treatment.

3: Pharmaceutical Options:

Interventions at the third level involve the highest risk and often the highest costs. The most common drug therapy for hot flashes treatment in the US is hormone replacement therapy (HRT). This may be a quick and strong hot flashes relief; but, unfortunately, it entails serious side effects and increases the risk of different types of cancer among women, as the following study has proven.

In 1991 the National Institute of Health (NIH) launched the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), the largest clinical trial ever undertaken in the United States. The WHI was designed to provide answers concerning possible benefits and risks associated with use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). This study was canceled in July 2002, after it was proven that synthetic hormones increase risks of ovarian and breast cancer as well as heart disease, blood clots and strokes. The findings were published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and to this date have not been disputed.

In addition to hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, several other pharmaceutical drugs may be hot flash treatment options. These drugs include:

• Selective-Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (anti-depressants)
• Blood pressure medications
• Mild sedatives
• Seizure medications

It is important to bear in mind that while all of these drugs have the potential to assist in relief for hot flashes, they all carry side effect risks, some of which may outweigh any potential benefits. If hot flashes are at the level of severity that a woman wishes to consider this hot flashes treatment option, it is wise to speak to a healthcare professional for guidance..

These three levels of approaches are not mutually exclusive. A woman may use different hot flashes treatments at different times or any combination of them, depending on the duration and severity of her hot flashes. Today more and more women find that dealing with hot flashes is best accomplished via a combination of healthy lifestyle and alternative treatments.

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