Night Sweats and Hot Flashes - Most Prevalent Symptoms of Menopause

Menopause is a phase in a woman's life wherein her menstruation stops and with it there are a chain of body reactions that lead to unpleasant results. These results affect the woman's body, emotions and state of mind. A woman is considered to be undergoing her menopausal stage when she has no menstrual period for twelve months. A doctor can be consulted when you have no menstrual period for six months so that tests can be conducted and a diagnosis could be made if you are really undergoing menopause or if you have any other underlying medical condition. Symptoms can also determine if the woman is going through menopause. There are 34 symptoms of menopause but the most prevalent ones are the night sweats and hot flashes. Such symptoms are being experienced by 75-85% of women who are undergoing menopause.

Hot flashes are burning sensations or hot temperature that turns the face red. It occurs on the neck, face and chest and it may be accompanied by sweating which becomes severe at night that is why it is known as night sweats. A woman can feel abnormally warm throughout her body and her face turns red. Hot flashes are the result of the decrease of the estrogen level in a woman's body. The symptom can start slowly with long intervals which can develop and become more intense and more frequent as you go through your menopausal stage. It can also be a full forced flash with short intervals for a short period of time. Some women experience flash-free periods but this would only last for a while. The flashes would return with more intensity and with more severity.

Night sweats are the second most common symptom of menopause. There has been studies made concentrating on night sweats and it reveals that 75% of women who are in their menopausal stage experience evening sweats. Women could experience hot flashes without experiencing evening sweats or she could experience both. Studies also reveal that evening sweats could lengthen a woman's life a little longer. The symptom can be experienced even if the body is resting at night. A woman might have episodes of hot flashes and night sweats even while sleeping. This could cause her to have nightmares or scream in the middle of the night. Evening sweats are scientifically termed as "nocturnal hyperhydrosis". Some people might think that it is a sleeping disorder but it is actually a natural reaction of a woman's body when she is going through the menopause stage. Due to the lack of sleep, she is usually easily irritated, almost always tired, and stressed throughout the day.

Menopause causes great discomfort to women especially when she is experiencing the symptoms that goes with it. It is a very difficult stage that every woman would go through in her life. Treatments can be done but understanding and caring for her is the best way to help her deal with it.

Jim F. Roberts has been expertly writing articles for 5 years on a variety of topics of interest. He also found a great resource on night sweats and hot flashes that can also help ease menopause experienced by your sister, mom, grandma or your loved one.