Hot Flashes

Welcome to our Decision Health Guide on Hot Flashes.

This guide is designed for women who are experiencing hot flashes during menopause.

Hot flashes occur when estrogen hormone levels decrease. Hot flashes are felt by about 85% of women during the years immediately before and after menopause. They are uncomfortable, but they are not dangerous. By answering a short series of questions, you will learn about typical hot flashes and ways to help relieve them.

The information provided in our guide is intended to augment the advice from your own doctor. You should always contact you doctor's office if you think your symptoms are even a little atypical. You want to be sure that they are just hot flashes related to menopause.

Click here to review the symptoms of a typical "hot flash."

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Date Last Modified: 12/9/2008 Source: from Harvard Health Decision Guides, Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.

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