Instantos calientes: Una onda repentina de calor corporal leve o intenso causado por avances de cambios hormonales resultantes de niveles disminuidos de estrógeno. Sofocos puede ocurrir en cualquier momento y puede durar de unos pocos segundos a media hora. Se deben a la apertura y la constricción de los vasos sanguíneos y un síntoma de la menopausia.

Sofocos are episodes that are experienced by many but not all women undergoing menopause. A hot flash is a feeling of warmth sometimes associated with flushing that spreads over the body and sometimes followed by perspiration. Menstruating women in their 40's may have hot flashes and hot flashes may last for a decade or more in some women. There is no way to predict when they will cease in a given woman. They decrease in frequency over time. The cause of hot flashes is not completely understood. Sofocos may have more to do with fluctuation of hormone levels as opposed to low hormone levels per se.

Sofocos can be treated with either oral (by mouth) or transdermal (patch) forms of estrogen. Both oral and transdermal estrogen therapies are available either as estrogen alone or as estrogen combined with progesterone . All available prescription estrogen replacement therapies whether oral or transdermal are effective in reducing hot flash frequency and severity. Generally available treatments decrease hot flash frequency by about 80-90%.