Curb hot flashes without hormones

Luise Heine has been an editor at since 2012. The qualified biologist studied in Regensburg and Brisbane (Australia) and gained experience as a journalist in television, in the Ratgeber-Verlag and in a print magazine. In addition to her work at , she also writes for children, for example for the Stuttgarter Kinderzeitung, and has her own breakfast blog, “Kuchen zum Frühstück”.

More posts by Luise Heine All content is checked by medical journalists.

Suddenly bathed in sweat - menopausal women suffer from hot flashes. Many make do with drugs that contain hormones. Others rely on natural alternatives: medicinal plants, relaxation techniques or lifestyle changes. A panel of experts has now assessed what helps and what does not.

There is great uncertainty among women when it comes to treating uncomfortable heat attacks. “A lot of people try one thing at a time,” explains Janet S. Carpenter of the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (Nashville). It often takes months before an affected person accidentally stumbles upon something that helps her. Carpenter was one of the experts who examined various alternative approaches to hot flashes and the state of the art for the North American Menopause Society.

Hypnosis and behavior therapy

According to this, women most successfully get hot flashes under control with a combination of behavior therapy, relaxation techniques and good sleep hygiene. Even if the number of heat attacks did not necessarily decrease, they were perceived as less intense and therefore less stressful. Hypnosis was also found to be helpful as a treatment approach.

But changes in lifestyle can also bring relief - even if the significance of the studies considered was not quite as high as in hypnosis and behavioral therapy. Women who want to relieve their hot flashes should still try to reduce weight and stress.

Limited recommendable

Certain active ingredients, including soy products and a so-called stellate blockade - a local anesthetic is used to immobilize certain nerves - bring some women an improvement in symptoms. Various serotonin inhibitors, clonidine and other neurotransmitter inhibitors also showed an influence on the hot flashes. However, the experts only recommend these interventions with a certain degree of caution, simply because the evidence of their effectiveness was not quite as strong.

Yoga and Co. don't help

A variety of other alternative approaches have shown no evidence of effectiveness against hot flashes. Yoga, acupuncture, chiropractic or certain breathing techniques do not relieve the symptoms, even if they are beneficial for your health in other ways. The experts also do not recommend numerous medicinal plants that are often used against hot flashes. These include flaxseed, evening primrose, grape silver candle or Chinese angelica. According to studies, vitamins, pollen extract or omega-3 fatty acids also have no effect on hot flashes.

Hot flashes and menopause

Hot flashes are seen as a typical side effect of menopause. The exact mechanism of how the heat bursts occur is still unclear. What is certain, however, is that hormonal changes play an important role. The production of the sex hormone estrogen decreases during menopause, and this messenger substance influences, among other things, the body's heat regulation. In addition to the hormones, other factors can also promote hot flashes, such as coffee, spicy foods or food that is difficult to digest. But they can also be side effects of medication.

Source: North American Menopause Society: Nonhormonal management of menopause-associated vasomotor symptoms: 2015 position statement of The North American Menopause Society .; Menopause. 2015 Sep 17. [Epub ahead of print]

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