What are hot flashes at night?
Hot flushes are usually episodic feelings of heat, often accompanied by increased sweating, reddening of the skin and a rapid heartbeat. Purely by definition, experts speak of hot flushes only when no external, changeable causes such as too thick clothing or too warm room temperature in the bedroom can be found as a cause and those affected suffer greatly from the symptoms. In order to be able to talk about hot flushes at night, they must occur in a time frame of approximately 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (normal bedtime).
The causes
The causes of hot flashes at night can be very diverse, although most are rather banal and therefore do not really count as causes of hot flashes. For example, it is usually too thick a bedspread in the transitional periods, too warm a room temperature in the bedroom or inappropriate clothing that causes the subjective feeling of heat. Nocturnal hot flushes are quite typical in infectious diseases, although it is not uncommon for the drugs used for healing to trigger the sensation of heat as a side effect.
In women, the cause is often the hormonal change during the menopause. In the worst case, however, they can also indicate a tumor disease. The menopause in a woman is the transition from the fertile phase to the infertile phase.
From a medical point of view, this means that it is the period in which the ovary slowly stops functioning and the woman therefore ovulates less and less frequently. With the decreasing function, the hormonal balance of the female sex hormones also changes and a deficiency of the hormone “estrogen” occurs. This can cause women to suffer from hot flashes.
High blood pressure is not a classic cause of hot flushes at night. However, it is theoretically conceivable that it can cause hot flushes. If the blood pressure rises and reaches “blood pressure peaks”, the body activates excretion via the kidneys and increases the blood flow in the blood vessels as a counter-regulation.
The increased blood circulation can cause a sensation of heat and lead to reddening of the face and neck. If increased sweating occurs in addition, this already indicates a circulatory dysregulation, which usually requires medication. Tamoxifen is a drug which is used in the therapy of hormone-active breast cancer.
Strictly speaking, this means that tamoxifen is used when the breast cancer has an estrogen-dependent growth. This is because it is a drug that occupies the binding sites of the female hormone “estrogen” on the breast and thus prevents the tumor from growing. However, it also acts at the binding sites of the estrogen on the uterus, where it does not block but rather stimulates. The hormonal changes caused by this very often cause hot flushes as a side effect.
