You've either seen or experienced them, those sudden, unexplainable surges of heat. They seem to come at the most inopportune times, leaving you flushed, perspiring and uncomfortable. Hot flashes are a common side effect of menopause, though they can be experienced at other times as well, depending on your health and medications.
Hormones
The primary trigger for a hot flash is a hormonal one, according to BreastCancer.org. The culprit is a change in estrogen. For some reason---it's not yet been identified---a drop in estrogen affects the hypothalamus in your brain. As a result, the hypothalamus, the gland that controls your internal thermostat, decides that it must rapidly cool your body, causing a surge to spread throughout your entire system in a false need to cool you down. Your sweat glands kick into overdrive and your blood vessels dilate, creating a feeling of heat.
Birth
If you've just had a baby, you may notice a sudden flushing of your system. Your general hormonal state is in a massive state of flux, and hot flashes may occur as your body recovers from being pregnant to being a mom. As your estrogen levels out, the flashes should subside. Be sure to drink water to replace the fluid that's being sweated out, especially if you are breastfeeding.
Medications
Some medications can trigger hot flashes, and these hot flashes can be experienced by both genders. Men being treated with anti-testosterone medications to aid with prostate cancer treatments note hot flashes as a side effect. Additionally, anti-hypertensives, anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications have a potential to cause hot flashes for both men and women.
Food and Drink
Spicy foods can cause hot flashes. The capsaicin in the food causes the body to attempt to rapidly cool itself. Alcohol can also have a flushing effect, though it's not clear why this happens.
More Obscure Causes
There are several conditions that appear to cause enough change in the blood's chemistry that a hot flash can ensue. These include an injury to the spine, systemic mast cell disease, thyroid cancer, pancreatic cancer, hyperthyroidism and emotion-based flushing.
