When was the last time you took a trip to the tropics!? Your own PERSONAL tropics that is?! If you’re like me, the flights are daily and almost nonstop!
So why that sudden feeling of warmth, usually most intense over the face, neck and chest, your skin turning blotchy or reddening like a school girl blush? Lucky for those of us on this tropical trip, the causes according to the medical community aren’t really known. OK, that’s not quite true, but seriously it’s not like anyone can truly pinpoint the exact causes let alone a full solution.
The obvious, you are in your peri-menopausal and menopausal years and it’s those damn hormones! Medical researchers have identified the lowering of estrogen that sends a signal to the hypothalamus in your brain that you’re too hot. In response, your brain sends a message to your body to cool you off which is accomplished by sweating, which is your body’s way of cooling off.
When this brain trigger happens, the blood vessels constrict and then expand rapidly that starts the chain of events to lead to skin flushing and temperature changes in what we are so familiar with in a hot flash or night sweat! The blood rushing to the vessels nearest the skin may raise skin temperature by five to seven degrees, but core body temperature will not usually rise above a normal 98.6 degrees. For any of us going through a hot flash, the change can feel extreme with an average hot flash lasting about 10 minutes.
There’s no ‘one size, fix all’ to this hot flash roller coaster. I believe that alvöru clothing does provide an option that makes a difference. Check out our blogs Ice cubes & alvöru and common hot flash triggers for more info.
