What Are the Causes of Hot Flashes & Sweating?

Most people think hot flashes and night sweats go hand in hand and are an inevitable part of a woman's life during menopause. This is confusing to women who have not arrived at this stage of life but have experienced both of these symptoms. Women of all ages have hot flashes and night sweats.

Stress

• High levels of stress make many demands on the body that cause hormones to work overtime. Loss of employment, death of a loved one or even marital problems may lead to a hormonal imbalance that brings on hot flashes or night sweats.

Food and Drink

• Alcohol can trigger hot flashes and night sweats, and everyone knows certain foods like hot peppers may cause similar feelings of discomfort.

Drugs

• Antihypertensive and mood-altering drugs are known to trigger hot flashes and night sweats. Some street drugs may have the same effects.

Illness

• Hormones may become imbalanced due to cancer, thyroid problems, spinal cord injuries and myriad other ailments and produce these responses in the body.

Heat

• Simply being too hot is another potential cause, for example when a woman uses a thermal blanket or has the heat turned up too high in her home. The body is simply reacting to the high-temperature environment.