Menopause

Women say the most embarrassing symptom of menopause are the hot flashes (also called hot flushes). All of a sudden there is a feeling of heat, the woman burns out into profuse sweating, then the sweat evaporates and is followed by a feeling of coldness and a bout of shivering. Some women also say they have palpitations - the rapid beating of the heart.

But hot flushes are very real. It happens as waves of vasodilatations - dilation of the blood vessels around the face, the neck, the upper part of the chest and the breasts. This dilation will last for one or two minutes, the patient will turn red and the sweating follows.

"This condition can occur even in a nice air-conditioned office when the woman is at work, but usually happens at nights when everyone else is cool and covered up, the woman would be soaking wet after about of vasodilatation".

Every woman between age 45 and 55 will experience menopause or "the change of life". It is the time of life when menstruation (or the period) stops and this is sometimes accompanied by a host of emotional and other changes.

There is an increase of fat deposits around the breasts, hips and abdomen, the skin becomes a little dryer and more wrinkles might appear. She might also experience headaches, insomnia, poor memory, irritability, anxiety, loss of libido and depression.

But these emotional changes are not necessarily related to the hormonal changes or the hot flashes, but to other causes of stress and anxiety in the woman's life at that time. These may be stresses in the family, children going off to college or the arrival of grandchildren.