Hot Flash Symptoms, Causes & Common Questions
Understand your hot flash symptoms with Buoy, including 8 causes and common questions concerning your hot flash.
Updated on
Reviewed by Buoy Medical Review Team
8 Possible Hot Flash Causes
The list below shows results from the use of our quiz by Buoy users who experienced hot flash. This list does not constitute medical advice and may not accurately represent what you have.
Symptoms of menopause
Menopause is the name for the natural process by which the menstrual cycle (period) stops happening in a woman. Usually, the process is gradual (takes months or years) and occurs from the age of 45 to 55 years. Menopause is officially diagnosed once a woman stops having a period for 12 months continuously. A woman with menopause will notice a decrease in the number and regularity of her periods until they completely stop. In addition, she may notice a number of symptoms that occur as a result of decreased estrogen levels, such as hot flashes, changes in mood, sleep problems, vaginal dryness, changes in libido, and changes in sexual function. Certain medications exist that can decrease these symptoms.
Rarity: Common
Top Symptoms: fatigue, delay in or irregular periods, vaginal discharge, anxiety, trouble sleeping
Symptoms that always occur with symptoms of menopause: delay in or irregular periods
Urgency: Self-treatment
Premature ovarian failure
"Premature ovarian failure" (POF), also called "primary ovarian insufficiency" and "early menopause" happens when the ovaries stop working well too early in life. Naturally menopause occurs between the ages 45 and 55. Symptoms of menopause are changes in menstrual period, missing periods, hot flashes, mood changes and vaginal dryness.
Rarity: Common
Top Symptoms: fatigue, anxiety, irritability, vaginal itch or burning, muscle aches
Urgency: Primary care doctor
Overactive thyroid
The thyroid is a small, bow-tie shaped gland in your neck. Its main job is to produce thyroid hormone (known as T3 or T4), which serves a wide array of functions throughout the body.
When too much thyroid hormone is released, the body’s metabolism gets ramped up, causing symptoms ...
Premenstrual syndrome
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a condition that can produce emotional and physical symptoms in women in the days leading up to their menstrual cycle. Common symptoms include bloating, cramping, headaches, irritability, fatigue, and sleep and appetite changes. These symptoms...
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Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is an abnormal growth of cells in the ovaries, the reproductive organ in women responsible for producing eggs. Risk factors for developing ovarian cancer include familial genetic syndromes, increasing age, obesity or weight gain, starting menses at an early age, undergoing menopa...
Insomnia disorder
Insomnia disorder is a short-term or chronic condition whereby individuals have difficulty
sleeping. Other common symptoms include fatigue, difficulty with concentration, social
dysfunction, reduced motivation, and behavioral changes. The short-term form of
the condition is usually ...
Panic or anxiety attack(s)
Panic or anxiety attacks are sudden feelings of intense fear or stress without true danger. Symptoms usually peak and then decrease within minutes. One may feel as if they are losing control or have physical symptoms like sweating or a racing heart. A panic attack can be a very scary experience and should be taken seriously.
Rarity: Common
Top Symptoms:
Symptoms that always occur with panic or anxiety attack(s): anxiety or anxiety/panic attacks
Urgency: Primary care doctor
Acute stress disorder
Acute stress disorder (ASD) is a psychological condition caused by trauma, especially by any violent attack such as robbery, assault, or combat. "Acute" means that clear symptoms appear within days of the traumatic event. Most susceptible are those with a previous history o...
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FAQs About Hot Flash
Here are some frequently asked questions about hot flash.
How long do hot flashes last?
There is mixed data on how long hot flashes due to menopause last. Menopause has been thought to last no longer than a few years, but recent data suggests that most individuals have hot flashes for five to seven years after menopause, and as long as twenty years after or more.
What age to hot flashes start?
Hot flashes do not begin at a particular age. They begin just before or during menopause and can continue for a decade after in most women, and up to two decades after in rarer cases. The median (most common, not the average) age of menopause is 51.4 years and is defined as 12 months of amenorrhea. Nearly half of women will experience hot flashes by age 50.
What happens during a hot flash?
During a hot flash, the processes that allow the body to manage its temperature become temporarily dysfunctional. Additionally, inappropriate dilation or widening of blood vessels causes flushing, and sweating also increases significantly. These changes can chill the body temperature and cause shivering or chills at the end of a hot flash.
What causes menopause hot flashes?
Menopausal hot flashes are caused when the body begins to withdraw from estrogen. Women during menopause stop producing estrogen and as their body adapts to its absence. Normally, the body begins to sweat and the blood vessels dilate when the temperature increases by .5 degrees Celsius (or 1 degree F). During menopause, these effects occur much earlier. Estrogen tends to solve these problems.
What causes hot flushes apart from the menopause?
Hot flashes are not commonly caused by anything apart from menopause. Additionally, however, hot flashes can be caused by an excess of thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism). When a thyroid is overly active, it can cause an increase in thyroid hormone, which tends to advance the metabolism and cause an increase in body temperature and a subjective feeling of body temperature rising.
Questions Your Doctor May Ask About Hot Flash
To diagnose this condition, your doctor would likely ask the following questions:
- Are you feeling irritable (easily made upset)?
- Do you have trouble sleeping?
- When was your last menstrual period?
- Have you been feeling more tired than usual, lethargic or fatigued despite sleeping a normal amount?
If you've answered yes to one or more of these questions
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Hot Flash Symptom Checker Statistics
People who have experienced hot flash have also experienced:
- 7% Nausea
- 5% Fatigue
- 4% Abdominal Pain (Stomach Ache)
People who have experienced hot flash were most often matched with:
- 42% Premature Ovarian Failure
- 42% Overactive Thyroid
- 14% Symptoms Of Menopause
Source: Aggregated and anonymized results from Buoy Assistant (a.k.a. the quiz).
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