More than half of women with the approach and onset of menopause experience specific vegetative-vascular paroxysms - hot flashes, which can be described as a sudden wave of heat through the body, accompanied by profuse sweating, palpitations, often - an increase in blood pressure. Hot flashes during menopause reduce emotional mood, interfere with concentration, impair performance. Correction of such conditions is carried out depending on the severity and frequency of manifestations: the appointment of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), modification of the diet, lifestyle, use of drugs alternative to hormones.

Hot flashes are one of the frequent unpleasant symptoms of menopause Why hot flashes appear during menopause A decrease or shutdown of the functional activity of a woman's gonads, leading to a permanent cessation of menstrual bleeding, is called menopause, or menopause. Persistent termination is usually understood as the absence of menstruation during the year. Such changes in a woman's body can be natural and artificial..

Age-related depletion of follicles in the ovaries in the period from 45 to 55 years leads to menopause, called natural. Reasons for artificial menopause can be:.

surgical removal of the ovaries;

radiation exposure;

taking medications.

In addition, there is a distinction between premature menopause, occurring before the age of 40.. Its occurrence is associated with premature depletion of the follicular apparatus of the gonads, due to various etiological factors:.

hereditary predisposition;

autoimmune processes;

past viral infections;

the influence of surgical, chemical, radioactive intervention.

In some cases, it is not possible to clearly establish the cause. A certain role is assigned to the toxic effects of the environment, smoking (more than 25-30 cigarettes per day), starvation. But whatever the etiology of the process, the result is a lack of female sex hormones - estrogens.. It is their lack that provokes unpleasant vasomotor symptoms - hot flashes..

The mechanism of hot flashes in menopause It is believed that the lack of estrogen in menopause affects the thermoregulatory center located in the diencephalon - the hypothalamus. When there is a decrease in the level of sex hormones in a woman's body, the concentration of estrogen reaching the brain also falls, and the temperature regulation center loses its usual hormonal stimulation.. Violation of its stable operation is manifested by such reactions: excessive activation of heat transfer due to vasodilation and an increase in the intensity of sweating.

However, hot flashes occur not only as a result of endocrine changes, but also as a result of dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system.. Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system is aggravated by a number of factors.

Provoking factor.

Negative impact.

Psycho-emotional stress.

Stress, anxiety, fear lead to cardiovascular neurosis.

Bad habits.

Alcohol, smoking, abuse of spicy foods, caffeine, hot drinks increase vasomotor symptoms.

Hypodynamia.

A sedentary lifestyle disrupts neuro-reflex connections, leads to maladjustment (inability to adapt to new conditions of existence) and the formation of chronic adrenal insufficiency.

Understanding the pathophysiology of the process helps to effectively get rid of hot flashes during menopause.

Symptoms of hot flashes during menopause Hot flashes that occur during the period of extinction of the hormonal function of the gonads are characterized by a diverse spectrum and severity of signs.

Characteristic.

Description.

Objective and subjective sensations.

Sudden wave of intense heat extending from the head to the neck, chest and further to the periphery; excessive sweating, and more often profuse sweating, changing at low tide with a feeling of trembling and chills. Frequent companions of these sensations are objective manifestations: increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, real redness and fever of the skin in the face and upper chest.

Attack duration.

A vegetative-vascular attack can last from 2–3 minutes to half an hour..

Period duration.

How long the period accompanied by hot flashes will last depends on many factors: heredity, age, concomitant diseases. In some patients, relief occurs after a few months, in others the problem has not been removed from the agenda for many years.. On average, it takes from 6 months to 2 years to experience discomfort, usually the severity of symptoms gradually decreases over time.

Frequency.

Vasomotor tides can roll from several times a month to several times during the day. Most patients experience characteristic sensations more often at night..

expressiveness.

The intensity of manifestations is very individual and does not always correlate with the duration of the attack.. Often short attacks are accompanied by sharp and significant sensations, and vice versa. The severity of hot flashes is influenced by air temperature: in stuffy rooms, in the summer heat, negative manifestations are aggravated.

Methods for the treatment of hot flashes in menopause It is necessary to deal with the vegetative-vascular manifestations of the pathological course of menopause, given many factors:.

patient's age;

duration of seizures;

frequency of paroxysms;

severity of manifestations;

the presence of comorbidities;

individual drug tolerance.

Hot flashes can be dealt with effectively using a variety of methods..

Taking hormonal drugs It is possible to alleviate the patient's condition by taking hormonal drugs. To compensate for sex hormones that have stopped synthesizing the ovaries, optimal doses of hormonal agents in various dosage forms are used:.

tablets;

plasters;

gels.

According to patients, when using hormone replacement therapy, there is a significant decrease in the number and severity of hot flashes.. You should not be afraid of prescribing HRT, since modern drugs contain estrogens that are as close as possible in chemical structure to the hormones synthesized in the female body, therefore:.

have minimal side effects;

effectively remove the negative manifestations of menopause;

prevent long-term disturbances of metabolic processes;

reduce the risk of malignant transformations, in particular, of the large intestine.

The use of drugs containing estrogens in combination with progestins - combination therapy, avoids hyperplastic processes in the uterine mucosa, they can be prescribed in two versions: cyclic and monophasic. The first involves the preservation of bleeding like menstruation, the second - their absence, due to the transfer of the uterine mucosa into atrophic, which means an inactive state.

Monotherapy - taking only estrogens, is indicated for women with artificial menopause, who, according to the indications during surgery, underwent not only the removal of the gonads, but also the extirpation of the uterus (removal of the uterus and cervix).

It is necessary to take hormonal drugs in any mode only on the advice of a specialist and under his control, since they have contraindications:.

hereditary predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer;

malignant diseases of the breast, ovaries, uterus;

hormonally dependent cancer of any localization;

venous thromboembolism;

severe liver dysfunction.

In some patients, as a result of taking hormones, the following may occur:.

headache;

excess fluid retention;

soreness of the mammary glands.

It should be noted that usually these symptoms bother women at first.. They are leveled by reducing the dosage or replacing the dosage form of the drug..

Alternative therapies Despite the reduction in the frequency and severity of hot flashes in the vast majority of patients taking HRT, some women are unwilling or unable to take hormonal drugs. What to do in such a case? There is a way out - these are alternative types of therapy.

Therapeutic measures.

Recommendations.

Power correction.

There is no strictly established diet for the pathological course of menopause.. Nutrition during this period depends on many factors: body weight, metabolic rate, the state of the immune system, the presence of concomitant pathology, etc.. A balanced diet in terms of fat and carbohydrate components, the inclusion in the menu of products containing the required amount of trace elements, vitamins are the main principles of women's nutrition during this period.. In case of excess weight and its increase, calorie correction is required by reducing the proportion of animal fats and simple carbohydrates. The proportion of vegetable fats and proteins is not subject to restriction. Reduce consumption of: fatty red meat, lard, bacon, offal, sausages, canned and smoked foods, fast food, sugar, cakes, jams, white flour baked goods.

The diet must necessarily include products that contain phytoestrogens.. The latter are natural plant compounds that have a similar structure to female sex hormones and cause effects in the body similar to those of estrogens.. They are found in soybeans, lentils, flax seeds, sesame seeds, barley, hops, red grapes, etc..

Rejection of bad habits.

It is necessary to give up the use of strong alcohol, be sure to stop smoking.

Increased motor activity.

With limited motor activity, or physical inactivity, muscle tone decreases, neuroreflex connections are disturbed, the work of the nervous system and metabolism are discoordinated.. Patients during the period of extinction of the hormonal function of the gonads need at least half an hour of physical activity every day in the form of walking, simple physical exercises, if possible, then classes in the gym.

Drinking regime.

For the normal functioning of organs and systems, you should drink enough liquid: from 1.5 to 2 liters per day. Preference should be given to water, green tea, fruit and vegetable juices. Juices should be prepared just before drinking..

Water procedures.

The severity of hot flashes can be reduced with the help of water procedures. Douches, rubdowns, contrast showers, baths, swimming lessons are very useful..

Non-hormonal drugs.

With moderate symptoms of vegetative vascular tides, you can do without hormonal drugs. Among the alternative pharmacological agents, herbal preparations and dietary supplements are most commonly used: Klimadinon, Klimadinon Uno, Remens, Klimaksan, Tsi-Klim, Estrovel, Bonisan, Inoklim, Feminal, etc.. You should be aware that taking such funds does not give an instant result, they must be used for a long time (2-3 months), if necessary - repeated courses.

A quick and effective effect can be obtained by taking preparations based on the amino acid beta-alanine (Klimalanin, Abyufen, Mense). The active substance prevents the appearance of hot flashes due to the saturation of peripheral receptors, which leads to the expansion of skin vessels. At the same time, the amino acid is completely different from the structure of the hormone and does not have antihistamine activity, although it effectively counteracts the sharp release of histamine..

neboleem. net.