Are There Any Non-Medical Ways For Me To Deal With My Hot Flashes?

March 16, 2009 -- Question: Are there any non-medical ways for me to deal with my hot flashes (as a man receiving hormone treatment for prostate cancer)?

Answer: So, non-medical ways to deal with hot flashes have been evaluated somewhat -- more in women than in men. But what seems to help in women also seems to help in men. So, there are some environmental things that can be done, like the clothes that a person wears, cotton clothing as opposed to heavy wool sweaters, for example, cool room, fans -- those sort of things help to some degree.

Some people have thought about whether exercise actually helps for hot flashes. Most of the information is, at this time, that that does not help.

.Early information is suggesting that maybe some hypnosis treatments or maybe some paced breathing exercises done once or twice a day might help for hot flashes. It's too early to tell that for sure. Things otherwise that have been suggested to be tried, such as acupuncture has been around there or out there, suggestions made -- the randomized trials that have been done so far don't suggest that's very helpful. Herbal products, such as soy products or black cohosh, have been tried in women, but most of the evidence to date suggests that those are not helpful.