If your problem is hot flashes of menopause, give a chance to acupuncture

Before and during menopause, 30-70% of women will experience hot flashes and night sweats. They are described as a sudden heat wave, usually on the chest, neck and face, accompanied by sweating and lasting a few seconds to a few minutes. They may be accompanied by a tingling sensation, irritability, even panic. They can degrade the quality of sleep, sexual activity, mood and life. The average duration of the above symptoms is four years, but 10% of these women will suffer for more than 12 years. Hormone replacement therapy is very effective in treating them, but it is not devoid of side effects. Also, women who have a history of breast cancer cannot be candidates for hormone replacement therapy. An effective treatment for women who either fear the side effects of hormone therapy or have a history of breast cancer is acupuncture. Several studies have shown an effect of 48-66% in the reduction of hot flashes, lasting at least three months after the end of treatment. Acupuncture can also help with insomnia and mood swings, which often coexist with hot flashes. Acupuncture is more than 2500 years old and is part of traditional Chinese medicine. For Chinese, acupuncture treatment occurs through the restoration of balance in yin and yang, and the recovery of Qi energy flow in body channels called meridians. In the West, a possible scientific theory assumes that the treatment of hot flashes is the result of the rise of serotonin and endorphin levels and reduction of noradrenaline in the central nervous system, therefore stabilising the thermoregulatory centre in the hypothalamus. Whatever the mechanism is, acupuncture’s contribution to the relief from hot flashes is remarkable, often noticeable from the first session