# Can \*ALL\* Women (of menstruating age) Have Hot Flashes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 9, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-all-women-of-menstruating-age-have-hot-flashes/675903 "2013-12-09T17:04:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-all-women-of-menstruating-age-have-hot-flashes/675903/1 "2013-12-09T17:04:52Z")
Mrs. Homie has had a few hot flashes over the past year or so. I mentioned menopause (she’s 40), but she blew off the suggestion. She said that any woman who has periods can have hot flashes. This is news to me. Is it true? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-all-women-of-menstruating-age-have-hot-flashes/675903/2 "2013-12-09T17:15:57Z")
From 14 to 50% of premenopausal women report having hot flashes too, per a variety of studies. Here’s one: [Longitudinal analysis of the association between vasomotor symptoms and race/ethnicity across the menopausal transition: study of women's health across the nation - PubMed](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=16735636) ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-all-women-of-menstruating-age-have-hot-flashes/675903/3 "2013-12-09T17:18:44Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > From 14 to 50% of premenopausal women report having hot flashes too, per a variety of studies. > > Here’s one: [Longitudinal analysis of the association between vasomotor symptoms and race/ethnicity across the menopausal transition: study of women's health across the nation - PubMed](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=16735636) So does that mean that, say, a woman in her twenties or even in her teens could have hot flashes (at least statistically)? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-all-women-of-menstruating-age-have-hot-flashes/675903/4 "2013-12-09T17:23:24Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > So does that mean that, say, a woman in her twenties or even in her teens could have hot flashes (at least statistically)? Yep. Could be other causes than estrogen withdrawal, though. Heck, men can have ‘hot flashes’. Hot flashes represent thermoregulatory dysfunction; there is inappropriate peripheral vasodilatation with increased peripheral blood flow and perspiration resulting in rapid heat loss and a decrease in core body temperature below normal. Shivering then occurs as a normal mechanism to restore the core temperature to normal. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-all-women-of-menstruating-age-have-hot-flashes/675903/5 "2013-12-09T17:25:39Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > So does that mean that, say, a woman in her twenties or even in her teens could have hot flashes (at least statistically)? Yes, but it should be checked out by a doctor, just to make sure it’s “normal” hot flashes and not a problem. [http://news.yahoo.com/causes-hot-flashes-young-women-20110105-093400-468.html](http://news.yahoo.com/causes-hot-flashes-young-women-20110105-093400-468.html) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-all-women-of-menstruating-age-have-hot-flashes/675903/6 "2013-12-09T17:27:32Z")
Ummm… your question aside, if she’s having hot flashes and she’s 40, they are probably menopause-related. That’s not too young. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-all-women-of-menstruating-age-have-hot-flashes/675903/7 "2013-12-09T17:30:11Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Ummm… your question aside, if she’s having hot flashes and she’s 40, they are probably menopause-related. That’s not too young. Thank you. I am vindicated. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-all-women-of-menstruating-age-have-hot-flashes/675903/8 "2013-12-09T17:40:43Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Ummm… your question aside, if she’s having hot flashes and she’s 40, they are probably menopause-related. That’s not too young. And I have heard women say it can take a long time from start to finish, so it might be the beginning. I never knew menstruating premenopausal women could have hot flashes before this thread. Never even heard of such a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-all-women-of-menstruating-age-have-hot-flashes/675903/9 "2013-12-09T19:39:17Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Ummm… your question aside, if she’s having hot flashes and she’s 40, they are probably menopause-related. That’s not too young. Perimenopause is a long road for a lot of women. Doctors think that about two years is normal, but eight is known (rare but known). So if you hit menopause early (say 45) and are lucky enough to get eight years of perimenopause, its quite possible to be having menopause related hot flashes in your 30s. Now, if she doesn’t actually hit menopause until she is 60, then these hot flashes probably weren’t menopause, but something else. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-all-women-of-menstruating-age-have-hot-flashes/675903/10 "2013-12-09T19:41:12Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > And I have heard women say it can take a long time from start to finish, so it might be the beginning. > > I never knew menstruating premenopausal women could have hot flashes before this thread. Never even heard of such a thing. A friend of mine took niacin tablets for a while for cholesterol, and would get hot flashes. She said she was practicing 🙂