Hot flashes are one of many symptoms of perimenopause. You may have severe hot flashes that wake you up at night. It can be so severe that you wake up in a pool of sweat and have to change your night clothes, as well as your sheets. You can have hot flashes during the day also. Some women have hot flashes, which is where they will feel heat come across their face, and may even sweat. Doctors do not know the exact cause of hot flashes. They say it may be due to a drop in estrogen levels. If you are suffering from this problem, below are two things you can do to help:

Use a Chill Pillow and Fan

To help with hot flashes during the night, you can purchase a chill pillow. This type of pillow is filled with a type of cooling materials. Along with the chill pillow, purchase a fan that you can direct towards you.

You can purchase a fan that sits on the floor to cover a large area. To help you during the day, purchase a personal fan that runs on batteries that you can hold in your hand. This allows you to instantly cool yourself no matter where you are. The fan is small enough to carry in your purchase so you can take it with you everywhere.

There are some fans that have a motor that works much like an air conditioner. You can set the temperature of the air that blows out.

See Your Gynecologist

If you continue to have hot flashes make an appointment with your gynecologist. There are a variety of treatment options they can offer to help you with this.

The doctor may put you on hormone therapy (HT) to help either reduce or completely stop your hot flashes. HT raises estrogen levels in your body. The doctor will likely suggest you use this temporarily and they will use the lowest dose possible. This is because HT can increase your chances of having problems, such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer, blood clothes, heart disease, and stroke.

The doctor may prescribe an antidepressant. This is because this medication increases the amount of serotonin in your brain. This is beneficial because serotonin can help control your body's temperature.

Fortunately, you will likely not have hot flashes for the rest of your life. They may go away completely or will lessen in severity.

Talk with your gynecology office about hot flashes for much more information. They can also give you many tips to help you deal with this problem.