Dear Diana:

Your question is a good one. Unfortunately, there is no one-answer-fits-all. Approximately 85% of women will experience some degree of hot flashes, often starting during perimenopause. But every woman is different with a unique hormone profile and unique response to hormone changes in her body, so the intensity and duration varies from woman to woman. Most women experience hot flashes for one to five years, about a quarter for five to ten years and ten percent for more than ten years.

Researchers believe that hot flashes occur when the hypothalamus nerve cells in the brain, which help regulate body temperature, mistakenly sense you are too warm and attempt to cool you off. These nerve cells have estrogen receptors, so when estrogen levels decline, their temperature regulators don't work as well as they used to and can result in hot flashes.

Your body responds to what the brain says by increasing heart rate and blood flow to the extremities. Skin may become cool and clammy and a flush may develop on the face and chest. As skin temperature rises, you feel the heat and sweating may occur. When your body temperature drops from this cooling effect, blood vessels constrict and you may begin to feel cold and shiver. The hot flash happens in a matter of minutes, but it may take 30 minutes or more for your body temperature to normalize. If this occurs at night as "night sweats, it may disrupt sleep resulting in fatigue and irritability the next day.

Triggers are different for each woman. Stress and anxiety, spicy foods, caffeine, hot drinks, alcoholic beverages and hot room temperature may all play a part. If you are having hot flashes, recording when they occur and if any of these factors are associated, may help you pinpoint and avoid some of the causes for you.

Dressing in light layers, sleeping in a cool room with light, natural fiber bedding and sipping cool beverages may help. Of course, we also recommend our ProCycle^® Gold, formulated to help with hot flashes and other menopause symptoms. Black cohosh may also help, and of course, estrogen replacement is an option to consider.

Educating women on health care options is the personal mission of Marla Ahlgrimm, R.Ph., founder and CEO of Women's Health America. If you have a women's health care question, send it to Marla at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . If your question is chosen for publication, we'll send you a free sample of one of our latest health care innovations.