Remedies For the Menopause Blues

Menopause is not a disease or an illness. Menopause occurs when a woman permanently stops menstruating.The average age of menopause in the Western world is 51 years, and the normal age range for the occurrence of menopause is somewhere between the age of 45 and 55. A last period ever occurring between the ages of 55 to 60 is known as a "late menopause". An "early menopause" on the other hand is defined as last period ever occurring between the age of 40 to 45.

Rarely the ovaries stop working at a very early age, anywhere from the age of puberty to age 40, and this is known as premature ovarian failure (POF), also commonly referred to as "premature menopause". Some known causes of premature menopause include auto-immune disorders, thyroid disease, diabetes mellitus, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Menopause is more likely to occur at a slightly earlier age in women who smoke, have never been pregnant, or live at high altitudes. However, in the majority of spontaneous cases of premature menopause, the cause is unknown.

Menopause is a fact of life that affects every woman around the world. A generation ago, no one talked about menopause. Even though this topic is out in the open today, many women arrive at their menopause years without knowing anything about what they might expect, or when or how the process might happen, and how long it might take.

Many women who have natural menopause report no physical changes at all during the perimenopausal years except irregular menstrual periods that eventually stop when menopause is reached. But in other cases, the physical and emotional symptoms of menopause can disrupt your sleep, sap your energy and - at least indirectly - trigger feelings of sadness and loss.

Hormone therapies are the prescription drugs used most often when treating menopause symptoms. In addition to relief from hot flashes, hormone therapy remains an effective treatment for osteoporosis. Women had been advised for many years by numerous doctors and drug company marketing efforts (at least in the USA) that hormone therapy with conjugated equine estrogens after menopause, might reduce their risk of heart disease and prevent various aspects of aging. From pills to patches to creams, women have estrogen therapy options to help them cope with many bothersome menopausal symptoms. Estrogen therapy (ET) is a common treatment for moderate to severe menopause symptoms and estrogen therapy patches may be the most convenient method yet.

Until more becomes understood about the possible risks, women who elect to use hormone replacement therapy are generally well advised to take the lowest effective dose of hormones for the shortest period possible, and to question their doctors as to whether certain forms might pose fewer dangers of clots or cancer than others. However, all hormone replacement therapies probably do carry some health risks, including high blood pressure, blood clots, and increased risks of breast and uterine cancers. Women who have had a hysterectomy seem to tolerate estrogen-only therapy with fewer risks than apply to mixed-hormone therapy in women who still have a uterus.

Estrogen therapy may have beneficial effects on skin, but it cannot reverse genetic aging or sun damage, or change any risk of skin cancer. Due to potential risks, estrogen therapy should never be used solely for its beneficial effect on skin.

Menopause Symptom - Hot Flashes

One of the chief symptoms of menopause is a hot flash. Menopausal symptoms vary among women, but it has been found out that hot flashes are the most common menopausal symptom.

A hot flash is a feeling of heat that runs through the body neck downwards. They generally result in sweat. The period for which it lasts varies from a few seconds to half an hour. These hot flashes sometimes take place along with night sweat. When this happens you may find that your whole body is wet with perspiration. If these occur together then sleep is hampered which results in weariness and hence schedules may go haywire.

These hot flashes generally result in reddish skin tone. This happens because of increased blood flow to the skin surface and this leads to an increase in the rate of heart beat.

The causes of hot flashes are varied. They happen because of hormonal as well as biochemical reactions. The chief reason is the decreased level of estrogen in older women. There are two types of hot flashes; firstly the normal hot flash and secondly "slow hot flash". In the normal or standard form, the hot flash is fast and reaches highest intensity in a very short span, say a few seconds. It then slowly fades. However, in the slow hot flash it lasts longer and is less acute. These last for one hour or more, and they also tend to recur for at least a year in women having this kind of hot flash. What you must remember is that this slow variety is one that may continue to give trouble for years.

There is another form of hot flash, a kind totally different. These are hot flashes that occur in young adolescents who are about to start menstruating or have begun doing so recently. Such hot flashes may occur with interchanging cold flashes. In young girls it is seen that the hot flashes do not last long. The girls who have hot flashes when young may continue doing so till a later stage. In women who have had menopause brought on through surgical treatment the hot flashes are more acute than those having normal menopause.

There are mainly two treatments of hot flashes. They are: Hormone Therapy, either oral or transdermal, or Hormone Replacement Therapy. The second treatment basically consists of an application of estrogen or a blend of estrogen with progesterone. Such therapies help reduce the hot flashes by 80-90%.

Several simple things can be incorporated into your daily life to reduce the agitation of hot flash. You must drink lots of water, you should not smoke, and you should have fewer intakes of food and beverage such as red wine, chocolates, cheese and alcohol. If you perspire it is more sensible to wear natural fabric like cotton.

Another thing that has been discovered is that women from Asian nations suffer less from hot flashes than their counterparts elsewhere in the world. It has been suggested that this is so because Asians consume more soy proteins.