Keep Your Cool During Hot Flashes

cool padHot flashes are one of the most common symptoms of menopause. Characterized by sudden flushing of the face, sweating, rapid heart beat, and/or tingling in the fingers and toes, hot flashes range in intensity and duration. For some pre-menopausal and menopausal women, they occur only occasionally and are considered little more than an inconvenience. For others, however, hot flashes occur daily and are severe enough to cause dizziness, nausea, or even blackouts.

Regardless of the degree to which hot flashes affect your life, it’s worth knowing how to deal with them when they strike. Towards that end, here are some ideas to help you keep your cool during hot flashes:

  • In colder weather, dress in layers that you can remove when you feel a hot flash coming on. In warmer weather, opt for moisture-wicking fabrics that pull sweat away from your skin and allow you to cool down faster.
  • Try to avoid known hot flash triggers, including alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, spicy foods, and stress.
  • Sip ice water throughout the day and keep cool washcloths available to place on your forehead or neck when required.
  • Purchase a cooling mattress pad, cool gel pillow cover, and other cooling bedding products from CozyWinters to make nighttime hot flashes a lot more bearable.
  • Consider using natural remedies, such as a few drops of peppermint oil applied to the inside of your wrists and elbows or supplements containing evening primrose, to keep hot flash symptoms under control.
  • Eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, and make other positive lifestyle changes to improve overall health and wellbeing.
  • For extreme cases, talk to your healthcare provider about using prescription medication or hormone replacement therapy to reduce the severity of hot flash symptoms.

If you’re nearing menopause age or are already there, chances are you’ll soon experience the discomfort associated with hot flashes. When that happens, use the suggestions above to help keep your cool so you can get back to the daily demands of your life.