Am I Having Hot Flashes?
Hot flashes in pregnancy will generally make your skin feel warmer, and it may also cause sweating. In the case that a hot flash occurs in the middle of the night, for example when you wake up sweating, these are called night sweats. Both of these are relatively common.
Skin that is warmer to the touch and sweating are typically the only symptoms of a hot flash, but there are other symptoms to look out for that could potentially indicate that something more serious is going on.
If you’re experiencing diarrhea, a fever, or flu-like symptoms, it’s strongly encouraged that you reach out to a medical professional for help. It’s especially important to reach out to a doctor if your body temperature gets much higher than normal. If your body reaches approximately 99 degrees Fahrenheit, reach out for medical help as quickly as possible.
How Can I Make Hot Flashes Less Common?
Hormone treatments generally help those experiencing hot flashes during menopause. However, if you’re experiencing hot flashes during your pregnancy this is not advisable and generally will not be permitted by your doctor. This is because hormonal treatments could harm your baby.
Luckily, there are a handful of recommended strategies you could try to make your pregnancy hot flashes much less common.
According to Good To, wearing more breathable fabrics to bed can help you avoid triggering night flashes while you sleep. It’s also been suggested that taking showers that are more tepid in temperature could help you maintain the correct internal body temperature.
Ultimately, the goal is to keep your environmental temperature from changing as much as possible, especially from becoming dramatically warmer. Dramatic changes in temperature can make hot flashes occur more frequently.
Additionally, as noted by The Remedy Room, you can drink more water to help your body avoid pregnancy hot flashes. This can decrease the likelihood of you becoming dehydrated, and being adequately hydrated makes it significantly less likely your body temperature will increase.
Maintaining a regular temperature in your home, by using a fan or air conditioner, can also help keep your body from overheating too quickly.
How do I Stop Triggering Pregnancy Hot Flashes?
Following is a noncomplete list of potential hot flash causes, including:
- Clothing that fits too tightly
- Increased temperatures
- Anxiety or stress
- Hot food or drink
- Things that increase your heart rate, including caffeine
- Spicy food, as it can make you more likely to sweat
- Alcohol consumption (this should especially be avoided during pregnancy)
How Do I Soothe my Pregnancy Hot Flashes?
Hot flashes can’t be stopped once they have already started, but there’s some evidence that particular actions can make your hot flashes shorter. Causing your hot flashes to end more quickly could be extremely helpful in minimizing disruptions to your daily life.
Lower Your Stress Levels
Try lowering your stress levels in order to shorten your hot flashes. Pregnancy and hot flashes can easily cause anxiety levels to spike because they can both be a little bit scary, especially if you’re not very experienced with them. Practices like yoga or meditation can help you get your heart rate down.
Additionally, you can try distracting yourself from the hot flash and its symptoms. Try concentrating on deep breathing, drinking some water, or reading a book that sufficiently distracts you.
Don’t Try to Cool Yourself Down
Cooling yourself down too quickly during a hot flash can actually do more harm than good, including making your hot flash last longer than it typically would. Hot flashes are highly correlated to shifts in your body temperature.
Unfortunately, this means that fanning yourself or turning on the air conditioner might not help you as much as you would like during your hot flash episodes.
Instead, if it’s possible, try to keep the temperature in your home as consistent as you can. Though it might sound or feel miserable in the immediate moment, if you stick it out through your hot flash without trying to cool yourself down, you’ll feel better much faster.
Black Cohosh
According to Menopause.org, as well as several other websites, black cohosh has gotten a lot of scientific attention because of its supposed positive effects on hot flash activity. The correlations with use of black cohosh and success are unclear, but some people who experience hot flashes have claimed that the substance has helped them.
While it was once believed that black cohosh acted similarly to estrogen, thus once explaining why it was thought to work, it’s since been proven that this is not the case. Therefore, it can potentially support soothing hot flashes for those who are pregnant without the same kinds of risks that are associated with typical hormonal treatments.
However, black cohosh has been associated with other bodily issues that are still being scientifically reviewed.
If your hot flashes are heavily disrupting your day-to-day life, contact a medical professional for additional help. After your pregnancy, you may want to check Majka for helpful information about breastfeeding.
