Following a flash, body temperature drops and many women experience a chill. There is no change in blood pressure at this time. About eighty percent of American women experience hot flashes at some time during menopause. They last mostly anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes but, in rare cases, can extend to a half hour or about an hour. Weed's book is an extraordinarily useful source for herbal information about hot flashes and other menopausal changes.
Most women have hot flashes for a period between two months and two years.
A smaller percentage continue to have them a decade after their last menstrual flow. The worst hot flashes are often experienced by women who have an abrupt loss of ovarian estrogen due to surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. Studies in Japan, Hong Kong, Pakistan and Mexico suggest that 10 percent or less of menopausal women experience hot flashes. Many will be able to cope with them without using anything. Many others will have very difficult hot flashes that require some form of treatment.