Every woman, ready or not, gets to experience menopause. If you're currently one of those women you at least have the comfort of knowing that roughly 50% of the population either understands your situation or soon will. Another upside is that with so many people experiencing those annoying hot flash symptoms, there are many resources available that help relieve them. We've all heard of the dreaded "hot flash symptoms," but what other symptoms will you be experiencing during menopause?

Another major menopausal symptom is the mood swing. One moment you're fine and the next you're definitely not. You may recognize your lack of patience and increased irritability, but find it incredibly difficult to control or care to control. After the hot flash symptoms and mood swings the vaginal dryness, weight gain, energy loss, and skin and hair changes begin. Depending on severity, these symptoms can be relatively simple to alleviate or a little more stubborn. However, compared to hot flash symptoms, osteoporosis and heart and vascular disease are considerably more significant menopausal problems that women need to address.

Almost ninety percent of women in the United States will experience hot flash symptoms of some sort. These symptoms will continue for about a year or two after their period stops. Some 20-50% of these women will continue to have hot flash symptoms for many more years. However, the intensity and frequency usually diminish over time.

So what exactly are hot flash symptoms? Hot flashes vary considerably in each woman. Some women experience hot flash symptoms that last for up to an hour off and on all day long. Others may only have a hot flash that lasts a minute or two once or twice a day. Most women report hot flash symptoms between six and eight in the morning and from six to ten in the evening.

Hot flashes may seem to feed on themselves. During a hot flash, you are already sweating, thanks to the rise in body temperature. But get ready to keep sweating. Once your brain registers that your temperature has risen it sends out a message to your heart, blood vessels and nervous system to "cool down!" In turn, your body gets your sweat glands going even more in order to release sweat to cool you off. These hot flash symptoms can be quite miserable. Your body's drop in estrogen stimulates your brain's response and can change the temperature of your skin by even six degrees Centigrade! It really is a vicious cycle of sweating.

However, hot flash symptoms need not be out-of-control. Since you will be living with hot flash symptoms from one to ten years, action will need to be taken to maintain your body at a comfortable temperature. With the plethora of available resources, you can fight these hot flash symptoms head on.

The old medical treatment was hormone replacement therapy. Because of the recent studies outlining the risks of HRT, most women these days use a combination of herbal remedies and natural strategies. While hot flash symptoms can be very uncomfortable, they are easily controlled with these types of remedies. During menopause, every woman should put together her own hot flash relief strategy. Doing so will insure a much easier and healthier menopause.