Editing Hot flash (section)

== Signs and symptoms ==
Hot flashes, a common symptom of [[menopause]] and [[perimenopause]], are typically experienced as a feeling of intense heat with [[Perspiration|sweating]] and rapid [[Heart rate|heartbeat]], and may typically last from two to thirty minutes for each occurrence, ending just as rapidly as they began. The sensation of heat usually begins in the face or chest, although it may appear elsewhere such as the back of the neck, and it can spread throughout the whole body.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hot Flashes - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic |url=https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hot-flashes/symptoms-causes/syc-20352790?p=1 |access-date=2021-03-31 |website=www.mayoclinic.org}}</ref> Some people feel as if they are going to [[Syncope (medicine)|faint]]. In addition to being an internal sensation, the surface of the skin, especially on the face, becomes hot to the touch. This is the origin of the alternative term "hot flush", since the sensation of heat is often accompanied by visible reddening of the face.

The hot-flash event may be repeated a few times each week or every few minutes throughout the day. Hot flashes may begin to appear several years before menopause starts and last for years afterwards. Some people undergoing menopause never have hot flashes. Others have mild or infrequent flashes. Those most affected experience dozens of hot flashes each day. In addition, hot flashes are often more frequent and more intense during hot weather or in an overheated room, the surrounding heat apparently making the hot flashes themselves both more likely to occur, and more severe.

Severe hot flashes can make it difficult to get a full night's sleep (often characterized as [[insomnia]]), which in turn can affect mood, impair concentration, and cause other physical problems. When hot flashes occur at night, they are called "[[night sweats]]". As [[estrogen]] is typically lowest at night, some people get night sweats without having any hot flashes during the daytime.<ref>{{cite web |author = University of Glasgow |author-link = University of Glasgow |title = Doctors seek the key to understanding hot flushes |work = University News (Archive of news) |publisher = University of Glasgow |date = 24 October 2007 |url=http://www.gla.ac.uk/news/archiveofnews/2007/october/headline_50212_en.html |access-date = 19 April 2013}}</ref>

=== Young females ===
If hot flashes occur at other times in a young female's menstrual cycle, then it might be a symptom of a problem with the [[pituitary gland]]; seeing a doctor is highly recommended. In younger females who are surgically menopausal, hot flashes are generally more intense than in older females, and they may last until natural age at menopause.<ref name="Menopause on About.com">{{cite web |title = Menopause |publisher = About.com |date = n.d. |url = http://adam.about.net/reports/Menopause.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110309173415/http://adam.about.net/reports/Menopause.htm |url-status = dead |archive-date = 2011-03-09 |access-date = 19 April 2013 }}</ref>

=== Males ===
Hot flashes in males could have various causes. It can be a sign of low testosterone.<ref>{{cite web |last = Bunyavanich |first = Supinda |name-list-style = vanc |title=Low Testosterone Could Kill You |work = ABC News | publisher = ABC News Internet Ventures |date = 6 June 2007 |url = https://abcnews.go.com/Health/ActiveAging/story?id=3247773 |access-date = 20 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = Hot Flashes in Men: An Update |publisher = Harvard Medical School |date = March 2014 |url = https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/Hot-flashes-in-men-An-update |access-date = 5 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Petering |first1=Ryan C. |last2=Brooks |first2=Nathan A. |date=2017-10-01 |title=Testosterone Therapy: Review of Clinical Applications |url=https://www.aafp.org/afp/2017/1001/p441.html |journal=American Family Physician |volume=96 |issue=7 |pages=441–449 |pmid=29094914 |issn=0002-838X}}</ref> Males with [[prostate cancer]] or [[testicular cancer]] can also have hot flashes, especially those who are undergoing hormone therapy with [[antiandrogens]], also known as androgen antagonists, which reduce testosterone to castrate levels.<ref>{{cite web |title = What to Expect During Therapy |work = Lupron Depot |publisher=Abbott Laboratories |url =http://www.lupronadvancedprostatecancer.com/about-lupron-depot/what-to-expect-during-therapy.cfm |access-date=20 April 2013}}</ref> Males who are [[castrated]] can also get hot flashes.<ref>{{cite web |title = Hot Flashes in Men -- Mayo Clinic Researchers Describe A Treatment |work= ScienceDaily |publisher = Science Daily LLC |date = 19 October 2004 |url = http://sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041019085808.htm |access-date = 20 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors = Engstrom CA, Kasper CE |title = Physiology and endocrinology of hot flashes in prostate cancer |journal = American Journal of Men's Health |volume = 1 |issue = 1 |pages = 8–17 | date = March 2007 |pmid = 19482779 |doi=10.1177/1557988306294162 |s2cid = 20123822 |doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last = Anitei |first = Stefan |name-list-style = vanc |title = Men Can Experience Hot Flashes, Just Like Women in Menopause |publisher=Softpedia |date=16 April 2007 |url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/Men-Can-Experience-Hot-Flashes-Like-Menopause-Women-52030.shtml |access-date = 20 April 2013}}</ref>

=== Types ===
Some menopausal females may experience both standard hot flashes and a second type sometimes referred to as "slow hot flashes" or "ember flashes". The standard hot flash comes on rapidly, sometimes reaching maximum intensity in as little as a minute. It lasts at full intensity for only a few minutes before gradually fading.

Slow "ember" flashes appear almost as quickly but are less intense and last for around half an hour. Females who experience them may undergo them year round, rather than primarily in the summer, and ember flashes may linger for years after the more intense hot flashes have passed.