What are hot flashes?

Sometimes our bodies feel very hot, and this heat is of course related to the environment. For example, in a heated room, it will feel hotter. Of course, sometimes it is because of a cold or fever, and the body temperature rises, so the human body will naturally feel hot. In medicine, there are some diseases related to heat, the most common of which is hot flashes. So, what exactly is hot flashes?

Hot flashes, also known as flushing, are common in menopause or pre-menopause, and are often accompanied by symptoms of heat and dryness, such as sweating and palpitations. In most cases, they start from the face or chest and spread to the whole body. Some people have obvious facial flushing during an attack. Each attack can last 20 to 30 minutes, and the frequency of attacks varies, occurring several times a week, several times a day, or even every hour. Weather and ambient temperature can worsen hot flashes. Traditional Chinese medicine generally believes that the pathogenesis is caused by yin deficiency, damp heat, and gastrointestinal heat.

Causes

There are three causes of hot flashes: at the age of 79, kidney yin is insufficient, the essence of life is gradually exhausted, the body is yin deficient, worry and insomnia aggravate the depletion of ying yin, yin cannot support yang, and the virtual yang rises, resulting in "yin deficiency hot flashes and night sweats"; due to irregular diet, spleen yang is damaged, and yang is blocked by dampness, so fever can be seen in the afternoon, resulting in "damp-heat hot flashes"; due to unclean diet, heat damages the Yangming and accumulates in the intestines, so fever can also occur in the afternoon every day, which is called Yangming "evening hot flashes".

Hot flashes and sweating are characteristic symptoms of menopause. Modern medicine believes that they are caused by abnormal vasomotor function caused by estrogen fluctuations in the body. Some patients may also experience actual changes in body temperature.

Clinical manifestations

Different syndromes will be accompanied by different systemic symptoms and tongue and pulse. Yin deficiency type may be accompanied by menstrual disorders, heavy or light menstruation, red color, dizziness, tinnitus, fever in the five hearts, soreness of the waist and knees, red tongue with little coating, and thin and rapid pulse; damp-heat type may be accompanied by heavy menstruation, irregular menstruation, heavy leucorrhea, poor appetite, loose stools, white and greasy tongue coating, and moist and rapid pulse; gastrointestinal excess heat may be accompanied by thirst, irritability, abdominal distension, constipation, thick yellow coating, and rapid pulse.

Hot flashes are a common symptom of menopause and perimenopause and can occur several years before menopause. The feeling of dryness and heat usually occurs simultaneously with sweating and palpitations and lasts for 20 to 30 minutes. The feeling of hotness and dryness often begins in the face or chest, but may also begin in other parts such as the back of the neck, and quickly spreads throughout the body. Some patients experience symptoms of fainting.

Some patients also experience obvious flushing on their faces. Hot flashes may occur several times a day, several times a week, or every few minutes.

There are also menopausal women who never experience hot flashes. Most women experience mild hot flashes during menopause, and severe cases may experience dozens of hot flashes a day. Hot flash symptoms can be exacerbated by changes in temperature in nature and in the temperature of your environment.

Severe hot flashes are often accompanied by insomnia, which can affect mood and cause mental health problems. Some women only experience hot flashes and night sweats at night and never during the day.