Two ladies standing together

About VMS

You’re not alone. Nearly half of women going through menopause may experience moderate to severe hot flashes.

What are Vasomotor Symptoms?

Hot flashes and night sweats are a real medical condition, so they have a real medical name—VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms). They may happen during menopause.

What to know about hot flashes

Hot flashes are often the most bothersome symptoms of the menopausal transition.

Women may experience:

Temperature rising icon

Sudden intense sensations of heat in the upper body (usually face, neck, and chest). These typically last 1-5 minutes.

Sweating-and-chills-icon

Sweating, chills, and impact on mood.

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Sleep disruption.

Hot flashes may also present as episodes of heat or sweating during sleep that can cause discomfort and disrupt your beauty rest. These night sweats can be so severe that they cause women to wake up feeling drenched and unable to fall back to sleep.

A woman experiencing mild hot flashes

Warm sensation, but no sweating or disruption
of activity

A woman experiencing moderate hot flashes

Warm sensation and sweating,
but no disruption of activity

A woman experiencing severe hot flashes

Warm sensation, sweating,
and disruption of activity

The severity of hot flashes can vary widely among women. It’s important to talk to your healthcare provider about the impact of your symptoms.

 

Take our VMS Impact Quiz to help get the conversation started.