While it’s true that for many women hot flashes are a side effect of menopause, there are some women who never experience hot flashes. There are even some women, estimated between ten and fifteen percent, who experience no discomfort whatsoever during menopause.

What is Menopause?

Menopause is classified as the cessation of menstruation for twelve consecutive months. Menopause begins as early menopause, also called perimenopause, when a woman is as young as thirty, or when she’s much older, in her sixties. Slowly the ovaries produce less estrogen, and with the decrease in estrogen comes a decrease in egg production. Eventually her ovaries stop producing eggs, and therefore she stops menstruating. Symptoms of menopause begin when estrogen levels begin to drop. Health risks increase as a woman gets older due to the drop in estrogen.

What Are Common Symptoms of Menopause?

Common symptoms of menopause include hot flashes, night sweats, irritability, mood swings, thinning hair and vaginal dryness. Many women experience all of these symptoms, and some women experience none of them. It’s estimated that ten to fifteen percent of women never experience hot flashes.

What Is A Hot Flash?

A hot flash is essentially a wave of heat that occurs in the chest, neck and face. Some women get a flush on the area and many women perspire. Some women experience severe perspiration accompanied by nausea, an elevated heartbeat, dizziness, anxiety, headache and feelings of weakness or suffocation. The body responds to the hot flash by lowering its core temperature; when the heat is over many women suddenly may feel chilled due to the temperature drop.

Night Sweats

Night sweats are essentially hot flashes that occur at night. Since you are wrapped up in sheets and blankets, the night sweat usually will wake you up, often drenched in sweat. Some women have to change their sheets nightly because of the sweating. Using a fan or dropping the room temperature overnight may alleviate the sweats.

Is it Bad if I Don’t Have Hot Flashes?

If you do not experience hot flashes while going through menopause, consider yourself lucky. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, and you can enjoy the absence of a symptom most women dread. While not all women are bothered by the hot flashes, most find them at least somewhat annoying, and others find their lives affected by hot flashes. We”ve all had the aunt, friend or mother who refuses to turn on the heat or turn down the air conditioning because they are so hot. You can enjoy life without the bothersome hot flashes your fellow menopausal women have.

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Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/menopause/guide/hot-flashes