While we usually associate hot flashes with menopause and peri-menopause, they are sometimes caused by other conditions and factors. If you are experiencing hot flashes and don’t suspect the cause to be a normal sign of aging, you might be right. There are many non-menopausal causes of hot flashes.
What Are Hot Flashes?
Hot flashes are usually characterized by a sudden, intense, hot feeling on your face and upper body. The hot flash may also be accompanied by other symptoms, such as sweating, a rapid heartbeat ,nausea, dizziness, anxiety, a headache, a weakness, or even a feeling of suffocation.
Usually, lower levels of estrogen in the body put the hypothalamus, a gland that is responsible for body temperature among other things, into confusion, making it think that your body is too hot. Your brain then takes over in an attempt to get rid of the heat, by flushing your skin, sweating, etc.
What Non-Menopausal Conditions Can Cause Hot Flashes?
Believe it or not, you may be able to bring on a hot flash just by what you eat or drink. A good example of this is how you may go into a hot sweat after eating a meal containing capsaicin, which is found in hot peppers. The peppers stimulate your nervous system into thinking your body is too hot. There has also been associations with caffeine and alcohol causing hot flashes.
Medications can often cause hot flashes, too. Prescription drugs such as anti-depressants or medications to bring down blood pressure may cause hot flashes. Over the counter medications may have this side effect as well.
There are medical conditions that can cause hot flashes. Among them are several forms of cancer, hyperthyroidism and spinal cord injury.
Finally, the physical temperature of a room can send you into a hot flash, especially if the temperature changes suddenly, such as if the heat comes on in the middle of the night.
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