10 Ways To Beat The Chill During A Menopause Cold Flash

10 ways to decrease menopause cold chills

Always talk to your doctor about your menopause symptoms. Find a healthcare practitioner who will listen and develop a plan to determine the root cause of the cold flashes.

If you don’t feel your doctor is taking your menopause symptoms seriously or only recommends hormone therapy (HT) as a treatment solution, search for one who specializes in menopause.

Some doctors don’t have adequate training in menopause. So, it’s best to find a practitioner with specific expertise and a focus on menopause if there is one available in your area.

Some of the best tools for managing cold flashes include many of the same techniques you can use to manage overall menopause symptoms. It often comes down to doing those things that help you create and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Here are a few easy shifts you can discuss with your doctor to decrease your menopause-related cold flashes.

1. Think about black cohosh.

Black cohosh is one of many herbs that can help with several symptoms experienced during the menopause journey – general aches and pains, abdominal cramps associated with changes in the menstrual cycle, and low mood.

While some studies indicate that black cohosh does not help with hot flashes, other researchers have found it can reduce their number and severity. By extension, it, therefore, could indirectly help with cold flashes. The jury is still out, with no clear consensus in the scientific and medical communities.

As always, check with your healthcare practitioner to identify any reasons you should not use black cohosh based on your particular circumstances. And then, make sure the preparation you select is high quality, free of contaminants, and of sufficient potency to be effective without causing potential issues like liver failure.

Look for a brand that uses organic black cohosh and has been independently verified by a third party like U.S. Pharmacopeia, NSF International, or ConsumerLab.

You may also want to consider working with an experienced herbal medicine practitioner with training at a reputable school. There is no mandatory national licensing or certification system for herbalists, although there may be specific practice requirements from state to state. Therefore, an additional safeguard you can take is to check with your state medical board to see if there have been any documented complaints or lawsuits.

2. Consider a wearable device.

Have you ever noticed if you’re hot under the covers and stick a foot out from underneath, the rest of your body becomes cooler too?

There is technology, often designed to look like a bracelet or watch, which can sense that a hot flash or cold flash is on the way and then cools or warms the skin of the inner wrist to prevent flashing.

Some devices can address both hot and cold flashes, while others work for one type or the other.

Current options include Thermaband and Embr Wave.

3. Avoid caffeine and alcohol.

Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Both can play a role in disrupting your body’s ability to regulate your core temperature.

Alcohol and caffeine are also hot flash triggers. If you find they are among your triggers, you want to avoid these – since anything that triggers a hot flash can often trigger a cold flash – like sugar, alcohol, and spicy food.

These beverages can also make it harder to fall asleep or get a good night’s sleep, which is another menopause symptom.

4. Change your eating habits for menopause symptoms.

Eat a balanced diet, with foods that can improve menopause symptoms rather than cause symptoms like spicy food.

Include plenty of fresh fruits, green leafy vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.

Healthy eating will also help with weight loss/management, which is important for many reasons, including the link between obesity and a greater risk of hot flashes during menopause.

5. Start an exercise routine to help cold symptoms.

Add regular exercise to your routine – including weight-bearing, strength training, and both balance and aerobic exercises. Physical activity has been shown to reduce hot flashes. And since cold flashes can follow a hot flash, reducing one can lead to fewer of the other.

As a bonus, exercise can keep your body and mind active and help reduce stress and anxiety. This is important since women in perimenopause are more prone to anxiety.

Exercises targeted for menopausal women will also help with other menopause symptoms like weight gain and health risks like osteoporosis.

As always, check with your doctor. You want to ensure your exercise plan takes your health status, including underlying conditions like heart disease, medications, and your medical history, is one that will be safe for you. And if you have been sedentary, it is even more crucial. When doing a “healthy habits reboot,” it can be tempting to jump right in and overdo it in an attempt to get fast results. However, trying to go from couch potato to Olympic athlete in no time flat is not a good idea and may lead to injuries or a dangerous, acute health event.

6. Stop smoking and vaping.

If you haven’t already, now would be the perfect time to address a nicotine habit, including regular cigarette smoking and vaping. Nicotine can also make your body temperature regulation irregular.

7. Reduce your stress.

Let’s face it. Cold flashes can be stressful. Especially at work, where there may not be awareness or education regarding the menopause journey, colleagues may look at you oddly if you’re suddenly cold for an unexplained reason on a regular basis.

Even a few minutes a day of mind-body practices like meditation, yoga, guided imagery, etc., can quiet your mind, reduce anxiety, and decrease stress whether the stress is from an external factor or the cold flash itself. Try these self-care strategies to reduce stress.

8. Try non-hormonal techniques,

There are dozens of non-hormonal options for managing menopause symptoms. Many of them work with hot flashes and can help with cold ones as well.

One of the non-hormonal techniques builds upon the stress reduction approaches above.

Focusing on the connection between your mind and body, with meditation and hypnotherapy, has also been shown to help decrease hot flashes, which could potentially help with cold flashes.

9. Speak with your healthcare provider about non-hormonal medications.

The only non-hormonal drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat hot flashes is paroxetine, which was originally used to treat depression. It has been shown to decrease hot flashes significantly and, therefore, can also potentially decrease cold flashes.

Other non-hormonal prescription medications, which in this circumstance would be used “off-label” (i.e., prescribed for an issue other than that for which the drug was developed and approved by the FDA), can also help reduce cold flashes are:

• gabapentin, an anti-seizure medication
• clonidine, used to treat hypertension
• oxybutynin, prescribed for overactive bladder syndrome.

These three medications act on the neurotransmitters (chemical messengers that occur naturally in your body) involved in the hypothalamus, the region of the brain involved in triggering a hot flash and regulating body temperature.

10. Consider hormone therapy (HT).

If you and your healthcare professional have decided that hormone therapy (HT) is the right choice to address hot flashes, HT could potentially decrease your cold flashes indirectly because of its ability to reduce hot flashes and night sweats.