Menopause: The Hot Flash

Feb. 27 -- It's a world where no man has gone and every woman is destined to go. In Good Morning America's Healthy Woman series, "Altered State: Menopause Today" we'll look at old myths and new breakthroughs.

Hot flashes — everybody knows they are associated with a woman's change of life but few people understand how and why hot flashes happen. Doctors and scientists are just beginning to get a real handle on what exactly causes them and on how they might possibly be controlled one day.

While working on our menopause series we met Ellie Wood Fahan, a 52-year-old single mother who has been dealing with menopause for the past four years.

"I can get cranky quickly," said Fahan. "But then it goes away and I think that mood swings is a very definite part of it too."

She has learned to deal with the mood swings and the insomnia — but the most annoying and common menopause symptom for Fahan is the hot flash, a temporary fluctuation in body temperature caused by decreasing estrogen levels.

Sudden Heat

"It could be any time. I can be just sitting doing bills and suddenly I just start beading up and the back of my neck and under my hair gets sweaty. And it's pretty miserable," said Fahan.

Like many women, Fahan "flashes" as often as five times a day. Scientists have been unable to figure out when flashes will happen or what really causes them. Researchers are not sure why some women suffer from hot flashes and others never experience even one.

Typically, 85 percent of women flash at some point during menopause which can last anywhere from a few months to up to 10 years. An average flash lasts three minutes. When it begins it causes one's heart rate to speed up and it increases blood flow to the skin — causing women to flush.

Help and Humor

While there is still a lot to learn about why they happen, there is help for hot flashes. Fahan has begun taking a soy supplement and she says it's helping her.

"I've been taking it for about four weeks and it's really helping," said Fahan. "It's decreased the hot flashes by about 50 percent I'd say."