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Many women experience hot flashes during their menopause. Are there any non-hormonal treatment options? A review of trials has found that nothing matched oestrogen. No-one knows what causes the hot flash. It's the feeling of being warm or hot that can come on suddenly associated with sweats, a rapid heart beat and even a sense of anxiety, which many women experience during their menopause and about one in ten can have for years . Hormone replacement therapy prevents hot flashes but many women are wary of hormones even though they're fine for short-term use. So what, if any, non-hormonal options work? A review of non-hormonal trials for hot flashes has found that nothing matched oestrogen. An antidepressant called paroxetine had reasonable evidence but on average only reduced hot flashes by about one a day as maybe can a blood pressure medication, clonidine. An anti epileptic called gabapentin is perhaps a little more effective but all of these medications have significant side effects -more than oestrogen. Isoflavones - plant derived oestrogens - unfortunately simply didn't work. What's needed for better treatments, say commentators, is understanding what's actually behind hot flashes. Meantime there are choices which can save at least some drenched blouses.
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