====== Hot flashes ======

//Hot flashes// (a.k.a. //hot flushes//) are an extremely common uncomfortable condition associated with [[content:life_sciences:human_body:menopause]].

They are typically experienced as a rapid-onset feeling of intense heat, often with sweating, anxiety, and a rapid heartbeat, usually lasting from two to thirty minutes. They can occur several times a day, and their frequent occurrence often persists for several years.

Although the flashes are almost certainly a result of changing hormone levels, the exact cause(s) - and the triggering mechanism -  are unknown.

>Hot flashes are associated with declining levels of estrogen (estrogen withdrawal) and other hormonal changes. It does not appear that low levels of estrogen are the sole cause of hot flashes, as women who experience hot flashes have around the same plasma estrogen levels as women who do not have them, and prepubertal girls do not have hot flashes despite low estrogen levels.\\ There are indications that hot flashes may be due to a change in the hypothalamus's control of temperature regulation."\\ \\ Source : [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_flash|Wikipedia]]

Note that although it's known that the brain's hypothalamus region is associated with body temperature control, exact details are unknown. See [[content:life_sciences:zoology:thermoregulation]]