Womens Health Blog

Hot flushes can be managed either by modifying your lifestyle and developing a positive attitude and/ or medicines such as hormones and other synthetic preparations.

• Lifestyle modifications: It is desirable that you make necessary lifestyle adjustments to cope with hot flushes. You first need to identify factors that either increase the frequency of hot flushes or make them more severe. These could be hot drinks, alcohol, caffeine, hot environments, etc. Wear light and loose clothes and avoid heavy foods. Eat large portions of fruits and vegetables. Stress at home and workplace can also worsen hot flushes. You therefore need to practice relaxation techniques such as yoga and meditation to deal with stress effectively.
• Deep breathing: Some studies have indicated that deep abdominal breathing can control hot flushes. It is desirable that you breathe six to eight times a minute for about fifteen minutes each twice a day.
• Exercises: Regular exercises five times a week for at least twenty minutes each time can effectively control hot flushes. Exercises reduce blood levels of some hormones of the brain that influence secretion of estrogen and progesterone by the ovaries. They also increase some chemical substances that decrease during a hot flush. In case the hot flushes adversely affect your day-to-day work despite attempts to modify factors that aggravate them, you need to consult your doctor. He/ she may recommend hormones to control them. It is important to remember that the available therapies do not cure hot flushes. They provide relief from troublesome symptoms by red using the frequency of hot flushes and/ or making them less intense. Sometimes they may disappear during treatment and recur once you stop the medicines. This is because it is very difficult to predict how long your hot flushes will last and how severe they will be. In order to avoid the hot flushes from recurring when you stop medicines, your doctor is likely to recommend gradual reduction in the dose of medicine over several weeks.
• Estrogen: This is the most preferred medicine for management of hot flushes. Its effect is usually not immediate and may take up to several months before the hot flushes are effectively controlled. There are several estrogen preparations and your doctor, will prescribe the type of estrogen most suited to you based on your symptoms and other associated health problems, if any. Estrogen can also improve other symptoms such as sleeplessness, dryness in the vagina, lack of memory or concentration, and problems of the urinary tract.
• Non-estrogen medicines: Majority of the women get relief from hot flushes with estrogen. In case estrogen is contraindicated for you or you have severe adverse reactions to it, your doctor is likely to recommend medicines that do not contain estrogen, which are called non-estrogen medicines. Non-estrogen medicines normally recommended for management of hot flushes include progestins and clonidine.

Progestins are mainly of two types: (a) Medroxy-progesterone acetate (MPA) and (b) megestrol acetate (MA). MPA can be taken either orally or as injections either in the upper arm or the buttocks. The major side effect of MPA injections is abnormal menstruation. The side effects are relatively less severe when it is taken orally. Hot flushes are normally controlled by the third month of treatment. Oral megestrol acetate or MA has lower risk of abnormal bleeding and depression as compared to MPA. They are therefore preferred for management of hot flushes.

Clonidine, another non-estrogen medicine, is one of the medicines prescribed for control of high blood pressure. It reduces the dilation of blood vessels of the skin, which is commonly associated with hot flushes. Clonidine is especially useful to control hot flushes if you have associated high blood pressure. Its major side-effect is dry mouth. Other minor side-effects are nausea, headache, fatigue and dizziness.

• Vitamin E: Some studies have indicated that taking Vitamin E supplements can reduce the frequency and severity of hot flushes. More studies are however required to determine its effectiveness and the type of people for whom it may be most effective. It is important to remember that indiscriminate use of Vitamin E can harm your body. Since this vitamin is fat­ soluble, it accumulates in the body over a period of time. Excessive deposits of any vitamin in the body can adversely affect your health.

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