Coping With Hot Flashes During Warm Weather
Menopause is one of the biggest changes a woman goes through during her life. During menopause, the mix of mood swings and hot flashes can make you feel as if you’re coming undone, making menopausal hot flashes a burden.
This holds true even more during the warm weather months when cooling off during a hot flash is difficult without the right techniques.
According to studies, over 75% of women suffer from hot flashes during the warm weather months, but with these effective tips, you can cool down in no time, making these months easier on you.
What Are Menopausal Hot Flashes?
Many women have heard the term 'hot flash,' yet they are unaware of what they are. When you have a hot flash, your estrogen levels within your body change, which affects the area of the brain that regulates your body's temperature.
The blood vessels near your skin become dilated, which creates a flow of heat that travels to your neck, face and head. When these changes occur, your heartbeat increases and some women even experience nausea in menopause. Once the hot flash is over, many women experience a chill.
Hot Flashes in Groin Area
Some areas of the body are more prone to sweating than others. If parts of your body make contact, for example, it's likely you sweat more there due to heat and friction. In perimenopause, you're already sweating more due to hot flashes, so areas like your elbows, breasts, and groin are even more prone to annoying sweat.
Unfortunately, inner elbow sweat and sweating between the legs are just another part of menopause women deal with. Excessive sweating between legs is made even more uncomfortable in the warm summer months, when we're already prone to sweating, and often wear more leg-baring clothing.
Some women report their perimenopause sweating gets so bad it looks as if they've had an accident. If you're experiencing the "sweaty crotch" symptom of menopause, try:
- Wearing loose-fit clothing, such as long dresses and skirts.
- Natural fabrics, like cotton, as opposed to synthetics like polyester.
- Ditching your panty-hose.
- Changing underwear several times a day.
- Wearing panty-liners.
- Using unscented powder or antiperspirant on your inner thighs.
- Wearing sleeping gowns and going commando at nighttime.
If these techniques don't work for you, speak to your doctor about hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) for treatment options. Relief for hyperhidrosis includes anticholinergic medications, Botox and prescription antiperspirants.
This quick change in hormones during menopause can be stressful, but you can survive even during the hottest days by using these great techniques.
Carry Cold Scarves
Placing a cool scarf around your neck is a great way to prevent hot flashes. You can place a cold towel or scarf around your neck after it’s been placed in water and kept in the freezer. There are also devices you can similarly buy that work, but many women find a cold scarf from the freezer to be just as effective and less expensive.
User Rose Water
Rose-scented water not only offers a great fragrance, but also an effective tool for preventing hot flashes. Filling a spray bottle with rose-infused water and even lavender essences allows you to mist the back of your neck and ward off hot flashes. Some women like to use the fragrance diluted in water, while others prefer to use it undiluted and placed on the inside of their wrists.
Stay Nourished
Regularly eating during the day is one effective tool for combating hot flashes. Calcium and magnesium-rich foods are great for regulating your body’s temperature and preventing hot flashes.
According to experts, drinking plenty of water during the day is effective in replenishing fluid that’s lost to perspiration during hot flashes. By staying nourished and hydrated, you can prevent hot flashes or at least reduce their symptoms.
Use Less Spice
You may not realize it, but many women experience hot flashes after they eat something spicy, which can be a frequent occurrence depending on your lifestyle and diet choices. Both spicy food and high-carb meals are known to increase hot flashes.
You can also reduce the number of menopausal hot flashes you have during the day by opting for fresh fruits/vegetables and cutting down on spices while cooking/eating.
Remember to Breathe
Mood swings are common in women going through menopause. During a mood swing, your stress level increases dramatically, which can result in high blood pressure. High blood pressure can cause your heart rate to go up, and your body’s internal temperature to increase along with it.
When you learn how to relax your mind and body through breathing techniques, you can reduce the number of mood swings you have and the number of hot flashes you experience.
Learning deep breathing relaxation techniques will allow you to calm your mind and body down during a mood swing and reduce the number of hot flashes you have. Simply breathing in your nose, holding it for five seconds, and then letting it out through your mouth is a great way to achieve instant relaxation.