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Sudden Hot Flashes While Pregnant | Is This Normal?
Yes, experiencing sudden hot flashes while being pregnant is a completely normal part of pregnancy.
In fact, since you experience a lot of intensive hormonal changes in your body, hot flashes are a part of the ride too.
There are many reasons for having hot flashes while pregnant, such as sudden fluctuations in hormonal levels, high rate of metabolism, and as well as a significant drop in a hormone called estrogen.
How long do hot flashes last?
When you experience the condition, it mostly affects your head, neck, and chest. In general, it may only last a few seconds to a few minutes. Sudden hot flashes mean that your body is trying to adapt itself to drastic hormonal and metabolic changes. More than 33 percent of women reported having hot flashes during pregnancy.
Usually, pregnant women experience hot flashes during the second and third trimesters, but others may even keep having them even after the delivery. However, it is still essential to define whether you are having a fever or just a hot flash. Since fiver indicates that you have an infection, it may have dangerous consequences during pregnancy.
The main difference between fever and hot flashes is that the latter won’t raise your body temperature.
How to handle hot flashes during the third trimester:
As previously noted, pregnant women usually experience hot flashes in the second and third trimester, and due to the breastfeeding, they may even continue having it after the baby is born.
You may the following steps to stay cool:
- Try to wear clothes that are made from cotton and linen, which help more air to circulate near your skin and help you stay cool.
- If you have night time flashes often, try to keep the bedroom temperature cool while sleeping.
- You may want to have a hand-held mini fan which you can carry in your bag in order to regularly to cool yourself down.
- Having a shower during the day may also help you to feel fresh.
Night sweats due to infections
Night sweats could also indicate that you have a serious infection, albeit this would be one of the rare causes of having night sweats when you are pregnant.
Being pregnant can increases the chances of getting an infection which may be the reason night sweats due to the response of the immune system. According to the study, pregnant women are more susceptible to certain bacteria and viruses and also they get more severely affected. In addition, certain bacteria, such as Listeria monocytogenes, many pregnant women become more vulnerable to foodborne infections.
Therefore, unlike hot flashes, if you experience muscle aches, fever, flu-like symptoms, and nausea, you need to immediately consult your doctor.
Side effects of certain medicine
When you are pregnant, many drugs, even over-the-counter ones, may result in side effects and night sweats. Thus, it is wise to advise your OB about any medication or supplement you are using while pregnant.
Since morning sickness or nausea is one of the common pregnancy symptoms, physicians oftentimes prescribe ondansetron (Zofran) to relieve the condition. Since it can also cause you to have night sweats, this is one of the medications you need to be aware of.
Having a low blood sugar
All metabolic processes in your body, as you are pregnant, focus on providing all the required nutrition for your baby. This means that you may lack lots of healthy calories throughout the day, which may lead to hypoglycemia or having a low blood sugar that may also cause hot flashes or night sweats.
However, according to another study, if a pregnant woman is not diabetic, then hypoglycemia is a rare condition. Therefore, those who have any type of diabetes should be aware of night sweats as a condition associated with risk factors.
