The bane of every woman's existence after menopause, hot flashes are commoner than most people realize.
Hot flashes can be extremely annoying, even to the point of disrupting a normal lifestyle.
They may last for a few days or as long as 10 years or even more. Those women who are awakened repeatedly by night sweats are especially disturbed because of hot flashes leaving them unable to get peaceful sleep. But there are millions of women who cannot or will not take estrogen. Hot flashes occur because the brain perceives that the body has become overheated. This sends out signals that dilate peripheral blood vessels inducing sweating resulting in heat loss.