Thermography of menopausal hot flushes.

The skin temperature changes associated with menopausal hot flushes have been examined by thermography on a small group of patients. The subjective sensation of heat during a flush seems to be out of proportion to the actual skin temperature increase which was only about 1 degrees C on the face, neck and upper chest during this study. The increased temperature on the cheeks often persisted for several minutes after the symptoms of the flush had subsided, whereas sweating on the forehead produced a more rapid local cooling effect. Sequential temperature changes were portrayed by using an AGA Thermovision Model 680 Medical System with a colour isotherm attachment. This study provided colourful objective evidence that the symptoms of menopausal flushing is associated with an increase of skin temperature which may be monitored by thermography.