Hot flushes are mainly known as complaints of women in the menopause. Hot flushes are short-lasting and sudden bursts of heat. Sweating, palpitations or reddening of the skin can occur. Although menopause is often cited as the reason for hot flashes, they can also have other causes. Hormonal disturbances or changes, stress, medication, allergies and other factors can cause hot flushes.
Causes
During the menopause, women experience fluctuations in hormone levels. These are probably also responsible for the hot flushes that occur. But hot flushes can also occur without the menopause.
On the one hand, internal processes in the body can be responsible for this. These include changes in the thyroid gland or hypoglycaemia. External influences can also cause hot flushes.
These include hot food, medication, stress or alcohol. The thyroid gland is responsible for the production of vital hormones. The thyroid hormone regulates many metabolic processes in the body.
When the thyroid gland is overactive, too much of the hormone is released into the body. Those affected are often nervous, lose weight and have a faster heartbeat. But the thyroid hormone also has an important influence on temperature regulation.
People with hyperthyroidism can be more sensitive to heat. In addition, hyperthyroidism can lead to increased sweating. Therefore, hot flashes can be caused by hyperthyroidism.
Menopausal hot flushes are probably also caused by a change in hormone levels. Especially the drop in female sex hormones seems to have an effect. Certain drugs have a similar effect on the body.
Some of these drugs are used in the treatment of breast cancer, for example. They inhibit the effect of estrogens and thus create an artificial estrogen deficiency. This can cause hot flashes.
But other drugs can also cause hot flashes or similar symptoms. These include above all drugs which have an influence on the regulation of the vascular width. Examples are nifedipine or nitroglycerine.
Stress triggers a number of processes in the body. The body is put on high alert, hormone levels change. This can disturb the body’s heat regulation in its balance.
Therefore, stress can also be responsible for hot flashes without menopause. It does not always have to be negative stress. Happy or unforeseen events also put the body into a state of higher activation, which can cause hot flushes.
In the case of an allergy, an immune reaction against a usually harmless substance occurs. The immune system is activated and a number of messenger substances are released. Some of these messenger substances can have an influence on the vascular width or heat regulation.
Therefore, even during an allergy, sensations can occur which are described as hot flushes. Typically, allergic symptoms only occur after contact with the triggering substance. Since food allergies in particular can have very serious consequences, an allergy should be clarified by a doctor.
Hot flushes are also often described during hypoglycemia. The blood sugar level is the amount of sugar circulating in the blood. Since insulin lowers blood sugar, an overdose of insulin can also cause these symptoms.
In a healthy person, the blood sugar level is regulated by various hormones. As a result, this rarely leads to abnormalities. However, during longer periods of fasting, it can happen that the body can no longer mobilize sufficient reserves to keep the blood sugar level constant.
In this case a slight hypoglycaemia can occur. This is usually not dangerous for healthy people. However, hot flushes can occur during hypoglycaemia. The causal treatment is the intake of food containing carbohydrates.
